Are shorter email subject lines better?
If we look at the old surveys and research data, it reveals that the most frequent length of email subject lines was between 41 - 50 characters. As per this data, 25% of email subject lines were this length. But it was long before smartphones & mobile devices came came into picture.
When smartphone came into picture, screen size was the limitation. Considering the average screen size of these mobile gadgets, it could accommodate only 4 - 7 words i.e. upto 30 - 33 characters only. Knowing the fact that almost 40% of emails are opened on mobile first, it becomes crucial to limit email subject lines to a maximum of 33 characters to ensure better viewing.
According to a report from Retention Science, emails with 6-10 word subject lines had a 21% open rate. Those with subject lines containing five or fewer words ranked second with a 16% open rate, and those with 11-15 words had a 14% open rate. Despite the effectiveness of shorter subject lines, most emails examined (52%) had subject lines of 11-15 words.
The perfect email will always be subjective to some degree, but when it comes to subject-line length, this data seems pretty clear. So, next time try and test sending short & crisp email subject lines and see if your results improve.
When smartphone came into picture, screen size was the limitation. Considering the average screen size of these mobile gadgets, it could accommodate only 4 - 7 words i.e. upto 30 - 33 characters only. Knowing the fact that almost 40% of emails are opened on mobile first, it becomes crucial to limit email subject lines to a maximum of 33 characters to ensure better viewing.
According to a report from Retention Science, emails with 6-10 word subject lines had a 21% open rate. Those with subject lines containing five or fewer words ranked second with a 16% open rate, and those with 11-15 words had a 14% open rate. Despite the effectiveness of shorter subject lines, most emails examined (52%) had subject lines of 11-15 words.
The perfect email will always be subjective to some degree, but when it comes to subject-line length, this data seems pretty clear. So, next time try and test sending short & crisp email subject lines and see if your results improve.