Best Email Marketing Subject Lines for Restaurants

According to one email service provider, email marketing outranks popular marketing tools like social media, SEO, and PPC advertising.

This means email marketing for your restaurant is more important than ever.

It helps you get promotions and events into the hands of your customers. It also helps you build relationships with your customers, increasing their loyalty.

There’s a lot that goes into effective email marketing, and one of the most important aspects is the subject line. Let’s look at the most effective email marketing subject lines for restaurants.

Breaking Down Subject Lines

Your open rate is directly affected by your subject line. In fact, everything begins (and ends) with it. You might even say it’s the most important part of your overall email marketing strategy. (tweet this)

Choose a good subject line, and you have a high open rate. Choose poorly, and your email is a dud.

Consider these statistics:

• Forty-seven percent of email recipients open an email based on the subject line.
• Sixty-nine percent of subscribers say they are likely to read your email because of who it’s from.

Bottom line – you want to spend as much time writing your subject line as you do your headings and y our content.

Details for Subject Lines

When planning the most effective subject lines, take the following into consideration:

• Subject lines with six to 10 words deliver the highest open rate.
• Eight words is the magic number for increased open rates.
• Never use more than 12 words in the subject line.
• One word subject lines for restaurants can be quite effective. Consider a word like “Yum.”
• Personalize the email subject line. When you add the recipient’s first name, your open rate can lift as much as 20%. (tweet this)
• Make sure your subject line is personal and meaningful in order to get your email opened.

If your subject lines are too long, your email will cut it off, and your reader won’t see it. So, this is why shorter is better.

What’s more, mobile readers see even less words, so keep your subject lines well under 90 characters. A typical inbox reveals about 60 characters of an email’s subject line, while a mobile phone shows just 25 to 30 characters

Best Practices for Subject Lines

When it comes to best practices for emails, we’ve put together a list. That being said, do remember to test your subject lines so you can see what works best for your audience.

• Ask a question in your subject line.
• Put the most important words at the beginning.
• Get rid of filler words. Succinct is best.
• Your subject lines should be specific, so readers know what to expect.
• Don’t use all caps.
• Consider writing your email subject line first before you craft the email.
• Use a limited number of words. For example, “Yum, this is tasty.”
• Consider using subject lines that reference song lyrics or movie titles to entice readers.
• If you use a video, tell your readers there’s a video inside in the subject line. It can increase open rates.
• Words like secrets, coupon, sale inside, and awesome can increase open rates.
• Include a deadline for urgency and to encourage quicker opens.
• Don’t use emojis or hashtags in your emails as they can discourage opens. Or, if you do choose to try an emoji, always test your subject line to see how your audience receives the emoji.

Ideas for Subject Lines

Next, let’s generate some email marketing subject line ideas for you to try out in your own campaigns. You can personalize them and adjust the text to work for your restaurant.

• Do you have plans for dinner?
• Let’s do lunch.
• Wake up to sizzling sausage.
• Happy birthday surprise inside.
• Our way of saying thank you for eating with us yesterday.
• Have your cake and eat it too.
• Tis the season for…
• Strawberry or chocolate? You choose.
• Pick your dessert. It’s on us tonight.
• Did you miss our new menu item?
• Guess how many items are on our menu?
• Have that special glass of wine tonight.
• All you can eat…
• How to have a great first date.
• Free kids meal this weekend. Open for coupon.
• Start the year with a free meal.
• Dinner is covered.
• It’s national meatball day. (Or use whatever “national” day it is).

Styles for Subject Lines

Your best email marketing subject lines are short, descriptive, and enticing. In this framework, there are several different styles of subject lines you can choose to use for your restaurant.

• Special offers: when you offer a great incentive in your subject line, you’ll get the opens you’re looking for. This direct method is easy to use as long as you’re offering something your customers want.
• Informational: this subject line provides the information your busy customers need. It’s clear and direct and honors their time.
• Personal: this subject line shows your readers you care. It can help engage your audience immediately. Personalization can include their first name or a reference to their last visit at your restaurant.
• Fear of missing out (FOMO): No one wants to miss out. In fact, people downright fear it. By offering something that shows scarcity, you’ll also encourage email opens.
• Urgency: similar to FOMO, this subject line creates urgency, so people act now by opening your email.
• Questions: asking your readers a question in the subject line triggers their brain to start an instant dialogue with you by opening the email. Leave the question open ended.
• Command: tell your readers what you want them to do in the subject line. Start it with an action verb.
• Sneak peek: this gives your readers an early look into something new at your restaurant. Add an exclusive coupon, and you’ll increase open rates.

To Conclude

Email marketing is vital to your restaurant’s overall marketing strategy. Why?

First, you’ve been invited in. Your customers have provided you with their email address and invited your content into their inner sanctum. They want to hear from you.

Second, you can link to your website, promotions, and your social media platforms through your email platform, thus increasing your digital reach overall.

Next, email marketing is affordable and easy to create. There are no postage stamps, and you can even use templates in your email service provider.

Finally, you can A/B test your email marketing. One of the most important things you can test are your email marketing subject lines. This way, your email service provider can choose the winner and use it to send to the rest of your email addresses.

This gives you ultimate control over your messaging and fine tuning the message that works. 

At Restaurant Engine, not only do we create great, responsive websites, but you can count on us to create a website that drives business to your restaurant and edges you above the competition by using mobile-friendly design with a terrific user experience. Ready to take the plunge and create a website with an online menu, blog, and beautiful photos? Get your free website consultation today!

Images: Solen Feyissa and LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash