How Important Are Emojis in Subject Lines?

If you check your email regularly, you’ve probably noticed emojis showing up in the subject lines of the email you receive more frequently. Why do you suppose that is?

Fun fact: 92% of the online population use emojis to help them more accurately express their thoughts and to make it easier for people to understand them. Emojis help us create personal relationships and engage with each other on a more emotional level.

Emojis come with some 💣 benefits

According to a report by Experian, 56% of brands that use emojis in their subject lines saw a 45% increase in their open rates. If that’s not motivation to try using a 😊 or two the next time you send out an email campaign we don’t know what is.

Not only do emojis have a positive effect on your open rates but they’re great space saving tools as well. And every email marketer knows space is at a premium when it comes to your subject lines.

This is especially true when you’re attempting to craft a mobile friendly subject line where you only have about 30-40 characters to work with. Emojis help email marketers say a lot with a significantly small amount of space.

Speaking of space, inboxes are crowded and emojis are excellent resources for helping you stand out. Check out these two (example) subject lines:

Falcons Fans – Gameday Grub Specials

Tailgate the right way 🍗 🙌 🍺

Which one was your eye drawn to? The one with the emojis right?

🤔 Which emojis should you use in your subject lines?

Which emojis you use in your subject lines really comes down to your audience. Even though the majority of people are pleased to see emojis in the subject lines of the emails they receive, you have to use them wisely.

You should only use emojis when they make sense, when it’s logical to do so, and when they can be used to support your message.

MailChimp tells us that 31% of email marketers using emojis utilize more than one in their subject lines. Emojis add a playful touch to most of the email subject lines that utilize them but it’s important to remember not to overload your messages unless you want your recipients to get bored.

If you want to use emojis successfully in your subject line, MailChimp also suggests the following:

• Use emojis from the same category together (smileys, food, activities, etc.)
• Take advantage of 😎, he’s pretty popular
• Learn which emojis connect small groups together. For example, ✈️can be used to connect earth, travel, and transportation

Don’t forget: it’s okay to be creative! As email marketers, emojis give us creative freedom. Make the most of it.

Popular emojis you can test in your next subject line 😉

Before you start using emojis regularly in your subject lines you should try running some A/B tests first. In your test, send one group of recipients an email with your subject line + an emoji and send another group the same email without the emoji.

Do this a couple of times and analyze your open rates. This should give you a good indication of whether or not your audience engages well with emojis.

Ready to get started? Here are 15 of the most popular emojis to appear in subject lines: 😃 😍 😉 😎 👍 💪 👏 ☀️ ❤️ 🔥 🎁 ✈️ ⭐ ™️ 💨

What are some of your favorite emojis? Leave them for us in the comments!