Smart subject lines key to e-mail marketing success, Wine Enthusiast says

E-mail marketing begins front and center with the content of a subject line, many e-commerce marketers say. Because Internet users often give only a second or two of consideration when deciding whether to open an e-mail, the quality of a subject line can make or break the success of an e-mail campaign.

The subject line is key, says Glenn Edelman, vice president of marketing at Wine Enthusiast Companies, because it begins the process of e-mail marketing. Edelman compares the qualities of an e-mail subject line to the cover of a catalog, saying if a catalog’s cover is not compelling, shoppers may never open it.

He begins the subject line crafting process by asking his e-mail copywriter to give him 10 subject lines for one e-mail. The Wine Enthusiast marketing team will study those and toss some more ideas around, eventually whittling the list to two or three.

“We’ll do A/B or A/B/C tests, generally taking up to 25% of our list and splitting that for a test,” explains Edelman, who uses e-mail services provider Responsive Email Inc. and web analytics vendor Omniture Inc. “We have a lot of our own branded products, and in one case we tested ‘Wine Enthusiast Wine Refrigerators’ versus ‘Our Wine Refrigerators.’ The ‘our’ registered as more personal to customers, and it won out.”