It's a challenge for event marketers to stick out from the crowd, especially when it comes to email inboxes in these days. For most organizations, less than half of all recipients even open their emails and far fewer even read it.
To keep your event emails out of trash or spam folders, you need catchy subject lines for event emails. In this guide, we’ll give you the formulas, data and examples you need to create subject lines that ensure higher engagement with your online fundraising platform.
Table of Contents
One of the most important performance indicators in event marketing is the open rate of email messages and subject lines are particularly important for their success. This is one way to monitor donor engagement with your organization.
Government, healthcare and nonprofit organizations maintained the highest open rates in 2023-2024, while companies in the games, construction and marketing industries struggled with open rates.
In terms of geographical distribution, there are some differences. For instance, Oceania is one of the top regions in terms of success in the world.
These tables summarize the most recent statistics by industry and region.
|
Industry |
Open Rate |
|
Government |
46.94% |
|
Healthcare |
46.67% |
|
Nonprofits |
46.49% |
|
Games |
32.02% |
|
Construction |
32.48% |
|
Marketing and Advertising |
33.62% |
|
Region |
Open Rate |
|
Oceania |
55.6% (highest globally) |
|
North America |
45.3% (+14.2% YoY) |
|
Asia |
Notable click-through rate (CTR) growth, 4% |
Crafting compelling subject lines for RSVP emails and fundraising event emails is crucial for event planners using email marketing platforms to engage community members and potential sponsors alike. It's often the first (and, in some cases, only) indicator that provides information about what the recipient will find in the email and encourages them to keep reading.
According to research, open rates can be influenced by just the subject line of the email notification, and can increase open rates by as much as 30%.
To drive open rates, personal and segmented titles and subject lines are also more effective – so success is all about relevance.
Here are 13 of our best ideas on email subject lines that can help drive open rates.
Formula: "What [Audience] Don't Know About [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Piques curiosity, encouraging recipients to open the email to learn more about the event
Formula: "How to [Achieve Desired Outcome] by Attending [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Highlights a clear benefit, promising a positive outcome by attending the event
Formula: "[First Name], You're Invited to [Event]!"
Examples:
Why It Works: Makes the email feel more relevant and appealing to the recipient
Formula: "Only [X] Days Left to Register for [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Creates urgency, prompting the recipient to take immediate action
Formula: "[X] Reasons to Attend [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Numbers suggest clear, digestible content and signal a quick, compelling read
Formula: "Are You Ready to Make a Difference at [Event]?"
Examples:
Why It Works: Engages the reader by posing a question that invites participation
Formula: "Don't Miss Out on [Event] – Limited Spots Available"
Examples:
Why It Works: Leverages the reader's fear of missing a valuable opportunity
Formula: "Why [Event] is Different from Any You've Attended"
Examples:
Why It Works: Challenges assumptions, sparking interest in how this event is unique
Formula: "How [Person/Organization] is Changing Lives at [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Engages the reader emotionally through compelling narratives
Formula: "Unlock the Secrets to [Desirable Outcome] at [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Evokes strong emotions and creates a sense of excitement or urgency
You can incorporate these power words into your event email subject lines to grab attention, evoke emotions and increase open rates. Remember to use them strategically, judiciously and in context to maintain authenticity and avoid appearing overly sensational.
Formula: "The One Thing You Need to Know About [Event]"
Example: "The One Thing You Need to Know About Our Charity Auction"
Why It Works: Leaves readers hanging, compelling them to open the email
Formula: "Stop Missing Out – Here's Why You Should Attend [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Addresses pain points directly and offers a solution, motivating action
Formula: "Join [Number] of Your Peers at [Event]"
Examples:
Why It Works: Leverages the power of social influence, showing that the event is popular and valuable
Learning how to write event email subject lines involves implementing a few key tips, such as using concise language, adding personalization and focusing on urgency to create attention-grabbing email subject lines that appeal to readers. Here are some other tips and techniques to power your subject lines.
Using emojis in email marketing is becoming more popular but their impact may differ depending on the context and audience. Based on recent research, adding emojis to subject lines can raise open rates by 56%, provided that the audience and industry are appropriate.
Do’s:
Don'ts:
Successful Examples:
Because readers open about 60% of emails on mobile devices, it's important to optimize subject lines for mobile use. Your emails' engagement levels with recipients might be negatively impacted by truncated subject lines on mobile screens.
Personalized subject lines tailored to segmented audiences perform better than generic subjects. Segmentation allows marketers to divide their audience into groups based on criteria like behavior, demographics or past event participation.
A Backlinko study indicated that subject lines between 36-50 characters perform the best across most devices.
Shorter event email subject lines outperform longer options. This is likely due to truncation of longer subject lines, which limits how much the reader sees.
The success of event marketing efforts relies significantly on email subject lines. To ensure they use the most effective methods to improve engagement, marketers must consistently measure and analyze their performance.
Benchmarking creates context and comparison points for evaluating how well your subject lines are performing.
Different industries experience varying email open rates, CTR and conversion rates, provding insight into what counts as good performance.
As we mentioned earlier, across industries, the average open rate for emails is approximately 41.31%, though certain sectors perform significantly better.
For example, government (46.94%), healthcare (46.67%) and nonprofit (46.49%) sectors tend to lead the way in open rates. On the lower end of the spectrum, industries like games (32.02%) and construction (32.48%) struggle with engagement.
To evaluate how your email campaigns stack up, follow these steps:
Evaluating subject line means finding the best strategy for each audience. Some practical and tested solutions include:
A/B testing is an important method for discovering which subject lines engage your audience. This is how to conduct effective A/B tests:
Improving subject line performance is not a one-time task – it has to be an ongoing approach based on data. Efficient monitoring of some key performance indicators and refining strategies over time is one way to create efficiency.
The first or basic level of this cyclical process involves data collection and analysis of your email campaigns. This includes the number and rates of opens, CTR and opt-out rates.
For instance, if open rates drop when you use longer subject lines, your audience is likely more comfortable with short and direct messages.
Once you analyze performance data, you can begin testing new variations of your subject lines. For instance, if your findings state that using urgency-driven subject lines yields good results, try different urgency terms such as "Last call” or “Seats still open.”
Companies must constantly adapt to be successful. Stay with the formats, words and phrases that seem to boost open rates if they perform well in previous email campaigns.
On the other hand, if a particular strategy does not work, do not wait to adapt. For instance, if you see a lower open rate caused by emojis in subject lines, think twice before using that element again.
|
Strategy |
Key Focus |
Expected Outcome |
|
Benchmarking |
Compare email performance against industry standards. |
Identify strengths and areas for improvement. |
|
A/B Testing |
Continuously test subject line variations. |
Discover the most effective strategies for boosting open rates. |
|
Data-Driven Adjustments |
Regularly review and adapt subject line strategies based on performance data. |
Improve open rates and reduce unsubscribes. |
|
Scaling Success |
Apply successful subject line strategies across all campaigns. |
Maintain consistent, high-performing email engagement. |
Yes. Engagement with subject lines must adhere to the CAN‑SPAM Act and GDPR rules. Subject lines that fool or trick readers can lead to fines. Do not use expressions that fake urgency or claim special offers. Specify if the email is an advertisement and include opt-out features.
For nonprofit organizations, creating subject lines that are mission-oriented and emotional should be the goal, along with highlighting the impact, like “Help Us Change Lives Today!” or "Partner with Us to Impact the World." Paying attention to the recipient's name and raising urgency with respect to the cause can also greatly enhance engagement.
When it comes to subject line optimization, testing is important. It allows marketers to test the text length, the voice and whether or not to include emojis. Also, running A/B tests once a week can improve open rates by up to 49% and uncover your subscribers’ favorite items.
Do not use all capital letters. Do not use too many emojis. These strategies can cause spam filters to move your emails into your recipients’ spam folders before they even see them. Similarly, it is vital to avoid errors in your subject lines because this erodes recipients’ trust and risks your compliance.
Organizers give additional information on essential components of events. Marketing professionals come up with creative approaches in line with the organization’s tone and tenor. Email marketers check legal compliance and practicality. The cooperation of these roles helps to create subject lines that are attractive, legal and have the highest conversion rates.
A study by MIT found that workers can complete tasks in 40% less time and improve the quality of output by 18% with ChatGPT. Since the study in 2023, AI tools have improved significantly. AI tools can now be preprogrammed with time time-tested email marketing formulas, frameworks and styles that have proven track records of success. We built two free tools to help you create fundraising emails and email invites. These tools create subject lines, preview text and body copy based on your organization's unique details. You can use these tools for free.
Fundraiser Email Builder:
Email Invite Builder:
Imagine setting up your next fundraising event in just five minutes. That’s what Vanco does for you—no learning curve, just a quick setup and an easy, intuitive system. You can try it risk-free and discover what thousands of nonprofits already know: event management doesn’t have to be a chore.