20 Catchy Subject Lines for Survey Emails
Anyone who regularly watches Netflix already knows that even a lifetime spent in front of the screen won’t improve your chances of being able to consume the unimaginable quantity of content offered by the streaming giant. In truth, Netflix is keenly aware of this, as well. Despite its heavy investment in producing original content and in purchasing successful television series, the company has no real way to know what will strike a chord with us and keep us in front of the tube. So, what can be done? Throw tons of materials at the wall and cultivate anything that sticks. In Nextflixish this means that that they create a never-ending stream of content and track who the viewers are. They discern which content works and use this information to better respond to our content preferences. This is the reason why Netflix continually displays its “like” button on every frame, on the big box and in its mobile app. This helps them understand what we like to watch.
Netflix, of course, isn’t the only one. Customer service has already long been the “new marketing”, and feedback and customer satisfaction surveys are the cornerstone of this approach, aiding organizations in better understanding what their customers and clients think of them. This metric (survey results) is critical to corporate growth and marketing decision making, at all times. Our customers are, of course, an integral part of our organization, so why not include them in all phases of our marketing efforts and understand what it is they want.
Ask the right questions
Every marketing manager knows that customers don’t share information easily, and that if they want to get real, valuable feedback from their customers, they need to ask the right questions. It really isn’t the customers’ job to provide companies with constructive criticism, so we need to provide them with guidance, with questions that will lead them down the correct path towards the answers that we marketers wish we didn’t have to see. As such, it is vital that we choose the right survey and be careful not to waste our customers’ valuable time. This means limited response options to short and pointed questions in a closed-ended survey, and minimal character limits in surveys with open-ended questions.
We must also consider the importance of timing, of when we send out our surveys. A customer that has just signed up for your newsletter shouldn’t be asked to answer product usage questions. The appropriate timing for sending out a satisfaction survey is after you’ve had direct interaction with the customer, a few weeks after their initial registration, or as part of predetermined mailings. And, yes, don’t forget to use A/B testing to check which survey works better for you and to add a “thank you” incentive for the time the respondents took to fill out the survey.
A well thought out and well-composed survey can be a valuable way to gather customer feedback. Your email marketing mailing list offers you direct access to people who can give you first-hand accounts of just how good your customer experience and customer service really are, as well as specific feedback on the products and services they’ve purchased from you.
While email surveys take just a minute or two for the customer to fill in, the email marketer behind it needs to invest significantly more effort. Of course, once you’ve spent the time creating that survey, you want to make sure your contacts are actually opening the email – otherwise, what’s the point?
As with other forms of digital communication, survey email subject lines play a key role in determining open rates. Unless you get those emails opened, you won’t get many responses, so we’re about to share some of the best survey subject lines we’ve come across.
Surveys serve a purpose beyond just measuring customer satisfaction or other metrics – when you explicitly request someone’s opinion, you make them feel valued, potentially strengthening your relationship. And, as anyone who works in marketing knows, customer relationships are what really determines your success.
Survey Subject Lines Rule #1 – What Do You Want to Achieve?
General email subject line guidelines still apply when you’re sending a survey invitation, as you want to be eye-catching and avoid spam filters. However, as you are now seeking a response from the recipient, you’ll need to compose your subject line that aims to trigger an emotion and prompt participation.
The exact content of your survey subject lines will depend on what your goal is and that goal can vary quite dramatically from survey to survey, regardless of the industries.
For example, you may currently be considering subjects lines for survey emails relating to:
- Customer satisfaction surveys
- Satmetrix/Net Promoter Score surveys
- Post-purchase feedback
- The relevance of newsletters or other email marketing content
- Event or conference feedback
- Feedback on some potential new releases
- General customer experience gauging
Whatever the reason behind your survey email, the subject line is a great way to boost your email open rates (and hopefully your survey completion rate too). The best survey subject lines are those which are brief, catchy and make it clear that you’re seeking feedback.
Catchy Survey Invitation Subject Lines – Some Examples
If you’ve been using the powers of email marketing for a while already, you will no doubt have used tools like segmentation and A/B testing to find out what works for your audience. Remember to use this data when writing your survey subject lines.
Some examples of catchy subject lines for survey emails we’ve seen recently include:
- Got a minute?
- Be honest – what do you think of your new [product]?
- We’re listening! (accompanied by a 20% discount for completing a survey email)
- Heads or tails? Would you rather have: (accompanied by a choice of perks in the body of the email)
- Help improve [business name]
- How was your recent airport experience, [recipient name]?
- How was your stay at our place?
- We want to hear you (and give you 50% off)!
- Cast your vote! Win up to 40% off!
- Make our newsletter even better
- How can we make [service] work for you?
- Want to share your point of view?
- You have a [product]. And an opinion
- How likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend?
- Tell us more about the [product] you bought yesterday [recipient name]
- Hi [recipient name], how does your new [product] fit?
- Let’s keep our conversation going
- Hi [recipient name], can we talk?
- [recipient name] – take our survey, earn 30% off
- Help out the underdog! Vote for [company name] (seen below)
As you’ve probably noticed, these are all pretty simple email subject lines. Generally, when it comes to survey email subject lines, short and sweet is best and, as always, personalization is invaluable. In short, the best survey subject lines tend to include:
- Fewer than 10 words
- A question
- A clear call to action
- Focus on any benefit/discount/offer
- Wording designed to trigger an emotion
Creating Great Survey Email Subject Lines (And Getting Them Seen)
If you’re not naturally a creative type, preferring to stick to the point and communicate succinctly, writing great email subject lines can seem like a laborious task.
Even when you’re really good at it, survey subject lines can be tricky to get right! The good news is that, aside from the survey element, the main aspects of good marketing emails still apply. That means that the expertise and best practices you have built up during your career to date can be put to very good use here.
Marketing automation software, combined with a survey tool, can make excellent survey emails incredibly easy to produce. Not only can you segment your audience and test some tweaked email subject lines, but you can also then use the resulting analytics to filter your mailing list through dynamic segmentation based on customer behavior.
So, if you sent an email asking your subscribers about their footwear preferences, and some clicked on the logo of a well-known sports shoe brand, those individuals could be added to a group tailored to sneaker lovers, meaning the content they receive in future will be even more relevant.
To sum up, survey emails differ slightly from most of the communication you send to your email subscribers, but only because you actually want a response this time.
Otherwise, your main concerns are getting those emails opened, avoiding spam filters, and writing a survey email subject line that prompts the reader to participate. Catchy, short, readable on mobile devices, and a clear call to action are the way to go – and don’t forget to use emojis in the subject line if you feel they’re appropriate for the topic in hand.
Read more:
Nonprofit Email Marketing: The Complete Guide in 2020
