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Steer Clear of These Subject Lines for B2B & B2C Email Marketing

b2b b2c

The biggest challenge of email marketing is creating an interesting subject line that actually intrigues readers enough to make them open your message. Of course, depending on whether you’re a B2B brand or a B2C brand, the words you use in your subject line can make or break your attempt. So, what are the best (and worst) words to use when trying to get that ever-elusive open?

For B2B brands, research by Tech Journal determined that the best words to use in email marketing subject lines are apply, demo, connect, payments, conference and cancellation. While those words got the best open rates, subject lines containing the words confirm, join, assistance, speaker, press, social and invite had the worst open rates.

Of course, there is a world of difference between the worlds of B2B and B2C. Although currency symbols in B2B subject lines perform well, Marketing Charts‘ research determined that they should be avoided in B2C subject lines. Likewise, coupon, half price and free should also be avoided. Instead, Marketing Charts says that the best words to for B2C emails are sale, video, exclusive, new and listing a specific % off.

What about your brand? Have you discovered that certain words result in better engagement than others? Share your experience with us. And if you’re still looking for help boosting that open rate, check out our email marketing section.