MarketingCharts Reports on the Link between Subject Line Length and Email Clicks Weaker is than Thought.

“Marketers should keep in mind that most recipients will likely decide to open an email based on their relationship with the sender and the first 38 to 47 characters of the subject line,” the report stated. “However, that decision may depend less on a subject line of 38 to 47 characters,and more on the information those 38 to 47 characters contain. campaign, the vital piece of information may be the brand name. For another, it may be the consumer benefit.”

Overall, Epsilon recommends that marketers should rethink how they develop subject lines and place increased emphasis on positioning the most important elements first – a concept the company calls “pole position” writing. This includes front loading subject lines with the most important information, keeping the subject line as short as possible to convey the message and using longer subject lines only when there is a compelling reason to do so.

Dave McClure will be quick to tell you spend 80% of your eNewsletter effort on the subject line, 20% on the content. He’s right. What’s the point of a great email if less than 5 in a hundred people open it. Get those open rates up!

Also, on a related note, we’re finding Monday to be the best day to send eNewsletters, the earlier in the day the better. Tuesday is still pretty good, but Monday may be the new personal productivity day as so many people are used to having web-access at work.