Emojis in subject lines draw attention. They stand out in a bit of a dull world.
Let’s admit it - inboxes can be pretty dull.
Depending on how strict you are at keeping to ‘Inbox Zero’, a lot of emails get scan-read and lost in the mix of unopened mail.
If you’re looking to increase your open rates, emojis are your friends - they inject a slice of colour and pazazz 
They’re convenient, they set a friendly tone and using them (wisely) can really affect your email marketing success in a positive way.
I’m going to talk you through how to use emojis in email subject lines the right way.
And by ’right’, I mean in a non-spammy, non-annoying way. A way that will increase your open rates and help your content stand out and increase your open rates.
Notebooks at the ready…
Emojis are space and time saving devices
Using emojis as opposed to text to convey part of the message in the subject line can save you space. This is an especially important point when you think about how short subject lines show on mobile.
Space-saving is a two-fold benefit, as using fewer characters means that you can get your point across quicker.
A couple of examples:
A
to convey a free giftA
to convey an upcoming celebrationA
to convey the cold weather making you want to stock up on warm things!
to convey a free gift
to convey an upcoming celebration
to convey the cold weather making you want to stock up on warm things!See the ultra-relevant use of those examples? That’s important.
Make your emoji use relevant. Use them to back up what the subject is saying, don’t just use them to ‘prettify’ - you’ll lose the meaning.
Emojis can help differentiate between different email series
If you’re sending out a few different’ lots of email series to your list, for example, a daily tips series alongside bi-weekly emails about brand new YouTube vids of blogs… (firstly, well done - keep up the content!) How about using an emoji to differentiate, ie. 
to precede the subject line of the new YouTube vid sharing email, or a 
for the blog-sharing email.
After I read high value emails I pop them in a folder so I can revisit them.
The ones that really stand out to me have an emoji in the subject line - it makes it super easy to keep track of what's what in my swipe folder, which totally ticks my boxes.
Using emojis in this way also primes people for what they are receiving - they’ll be on the lookout for that next installment from you...
Emojis put a face to emotions
Emojis can be an excellent way to share your emotions and help entice the reader’s emotions.
They can deliver your good vibes in a really immediate way.
They egg your reader on. Consider the following comparisons
Next Tuesday... I can’t wait!
Next Tuesday...I can’t wait!
The use of grinning face emoji does the following things here:
1. Entices my own excitement
2. Pulls me to hit open on the email and see what all the fuss is about
3. Makes me feel like the sender is a friendly one.
That’s an ideal response!
It can be a tricky thing to convey excitement/express all the myriad of emotions in a subject line.
Lean on emojis, they will help you to convey what words can’t.
An alternative could be to type the subject line IN ALL CAPS. But that can be;
1. Really annoying.
2. A spam-trap sweet spot.
Stand out - but not too much!
You want to stand out in those inboxes, but when does a subject line making use of emojis become a spammy one?
Using too many is a definite spammy method, and your message may be sent straight to junk, but if you stick to my advice is to only ever using a maximum of 2 emojis in a subject line. (Ideally 1. No more. Don’t be tempted. Stop it.) your emoji use should not impact on your email deliverability.
Remember to Test Test Test
It’s really important that I stress the test here!
Emotions are expressed differently in different email clients. Here is a really handy overview of that.
This means that you need to test your email in multiple email clients to make sure it’s displayed properly 
Not only that, but different browsers and devices can display your emojis in different ways. Test.
How to Add emojis into subject lines of email delivered in Infusionsoft™ by Keap™?
Visit https://getemoji.com/ to find the emoji you want to use. I like this site because you can see all the emojis in the one place.
Once you’ve found the right emoji, copy and the emoji itself I have chosen. ‘Man Dancing’... one of my favourite emojis!
Head to this ‘Emoji Converter’ tool: https://www.cylog.org/online_tools/utf8_mail_header_converter.jsp and paste in your chosen emoji
Next, open up the email builder in Infusionsoft™ by Keap™, and paste the code in /after / in between your AWESOME subject line copy. Bear in mind that you can’t have any punctuation directly before or after the code.
Send yourself a test. And your mum. And your gran. And all your colleagues. Because you’re remembering to test on different email clients, browsers and devices, right?
Are you going to give emojis a try in your email marketing?
Adding an emoji into a subject line is the PERFECT place for a simple A/B split test to see if your audience responds well to their use.
See which version they prefer, and if it was one containing the emoji, use that knowledge to optimise future subject lines, leading to higher open rates. Winner.
Remember, don’t be tempted to over-use emojis. Use them in your subject lines in a strategic way - you’ll stand out in inboxes and, by sticking to my guidelines, you’ll avoid triggering spam filters.
Don’t forget to bookmark these two resources:
- https://www.copyandpasteemoji.com/ is where to go browse and grab your emojis from
- https://www.cylog.org/online_tools/utf8_mail_header_converter.jsp is that awesome tool for creating the coded string for pasting into Infusionsoft™ by Keap™’s email builder.
If you aren’t sure about how to build campaigns that are strategic and relevant which includes cracking those pesky subject lines then get in touch so we can talk about guiding you through it from A to Z.
We also have a fabulous resource in Hack The Buyer Brain, which is the ultimate marketing bible in behaviourally intelligent marketing. This will be your master class in getting to grips with how to engage with your prospects. You can buy it direct here, or from Amazon here.
