How To Improve Your Email Subject Lines

According to my latest Top Tier Higher Ed data, 27.8% of students say the subject line is the number one thing that got them to stop and open a college related email during their search.

The other two survey choices are who the email was from, and the name of the college or university.

It you think about it, it makes sense because along with the sender, the subject line is the first thing they see when they scan their inbox.

At the recent NACAC Conference in Columbus I had a VP of Enrollment ask me why most students continue to say that email is their preferred medium of communication with colleges when nobody reads them. My reply to her was, “They’ll read emails, just not impersonal emails with boring content that’s been copied and pasted from your website.”

As someone who has seen close to 200 college or university enrollment comm flows over the past 11 years, I can tell you that 95% of the subject lines sound like a “mass” marketing message.

If you want more students to open your emails, your subject lines have to feel personal, create curiosity or excitement, and/or let the reader know what kind of content they’ll find inside if they click.

Is putting the student’s first or preferred name in the subject line also a smart strategy in 2025? It is, BUT almost every school does it so it doesn’t make as big of an impact when they scan and see Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy in every message.

Here are a few more do’s and don’ts when it comes to your subject lines:

Do…

• Use keywords like you, your, because, update, important, tip(s), and support.

• Use a phrase like “What our students think about…” or “Real student feedback about…” when you include the current student point of view on a particular topic.

• Use the subject line “One question for you, that’s it” and then simply ask one question in the body of your email, and prompt them to respond.

• From time to time ask a question in your subject line like “How are you feeling about…?”

  
  

Don’t….

• Use common spam trigger words like money, free, and prize as well as phrases such as best price, and apply now.

• Put your subject line in all CAPS – that’s another spam trigger.

• Start your email with “Dear…” because that can also trigger spam filters. 

• Say something that could be misinterpreted.

• Overuse Gen Z slang – students say it feels like you’re trying too hard.

  
  

If you want some quick advice about a subject line you’re going to use in an upcoming email, I’m happy to offer it… seriously. Just reply back to this week’s newsletter email or drop me a note here.

And if you found this article helpful, go ahead and forward it to someone else on your campus who could also benefit from reading it. You can also encourage them to sign up for my weekly newsletter.