Editor’s Note: This subject line contest is no longer accepting entries. Check out “The Writer’s Dilemma:How to know which marketing copy will really be most effective” to see which entry won, why it won and what you can learn from that to further improve your own marketing.
This blog post ends with an opportunity for you to win a stay at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and a ticket to Email Summit, but it begins with an essential question for marketers:
How can you improve already successful marketing, advertising, websites and copywriting?
Today’s MarketingExperiments blog post is going to be unique. Not only are we going to teach you how to address this challenge, we’re going to also offer an example to help drive home the lesson. We’re going to cover a lot of ground today, so let’s dive in.
Give the people what they want …
Some copy and design is so bad, the fixes are obvious. Maybe you shouldn’t insult the customer in the headline. Maybe you should update the website that still uses a dot matrix font.
But when you’re already doing well, how can you continue to improve?
I don’t have the answer for you, but I’ll tell you who does — your customers.
There are many tricks, gimmicks and types of technology you can use in marketing, but when you strip away all the hype and rhetoric, successful marketing is pretty straightforward — clearly communicate the value your offer provides to people who will pay you for that value.
Easier said than done, of course.
How do you determine what customers want and the best way to deliver it to them?
Well, there are many ways to learn from customers, such as focus groups, surveys and social listening.
While there is value in asking people what they want, there is also a major challenge in it.
According to research from Dr. Noah J. Goldstein, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, UCLA Anderson School of Management, “People’s ability to understand the factors that affect their behavior is surprisingly poor.”
Or, as Malcom Gladwell more glibly puts it when referring to coffee choices, “The mind knows not what the tongue wants.”
This is not to say that opinion-based customer preference research is bad. It can be helpful. However, it should be the beginning of your quest, not the end.
… by seeing what they actually do
You can use what you learn from opinion-based research to create a hypothesis about what customers want, and then run an experiment to see how they actually behave in real-world customer interactions with your product, marketing messages and website.
The technique that powers this kind of research is often known as A/B testing, split testing, landing page optimization or website optimization. If you are testing more than one thing at a time, it may also be referred to as multivariate testing.
To offer a simple example, you might assume that customers buy your product because it tastes great and because it’s less filling. Keeping these two assumptions in mind, you could create two landing pages — one with a headline that promotes that taste (treatment A) and another that mentions the low carbs (treatment B). You then send half the traffic that visits that URL to each version and see which performs better.
Here is a simple visual that Joey Taravella, Content Writer, MECLABS created to illustrate this concept:
That’s just one test. To really learn about your customers, you must continue the process and create a testing-optimization cycle in your organization — continue to run A/B tests, record the findings, learn from them, create more hypotheses and test again based on these hypotheses.
This is true marketing experimentation, and it helps you build your theory of the customer.
Try your hand at A/B testing for a chance to win
Now that you have a basic understanding of marketing experimentation (there is also more information in the “You might also like” section of this blog post that you may find helpful), let’s engage in a real example to help drive home these lessons in a way you can apply to your own marketing challenges.
To help you take your marketing to the next level, The Moz Blog and MarketingExperiments Blog have joined forces to run a unique marketing experimentation contest.
In this blog post, we’re presenting you with a real challenge from a real organization and asking you to write a subject line that we’ll test with real customers. It’s simple; just leave your subject line as a comment in this blog post.
We’re going to pick three subject lines from The Moz Blog and three from the MarketingExperiments Blog and run a test with this organization’s customers.
Whoever writes the best performing subject line will win a stay at the ARIA Resort in Las Vegas as well as a two-day ticket to MarketingSherpa Email Summit 2015 to help them gain lessons to further improve their marketing.
Sound good? OK, let’s dive in and tell you about your client:
Subject Line Contest — Craft the best-performing subject line to win the prize
Every year at Email Summit, we run a live A/B test where the audience helps craft the experiment. We then run, validate, close the experiment and share the results during Summit as a way to teach about marketing experimentation.
We have typically run the experiment using MarketingSherpa as the “client” website to test (MarketingExperiments and MarketingSherpa are sister publications, both owned by MECLABS Institute).
However, this year we wanted to try something different, so we interviewed three national nonprofits to find a new “client” for our tests.
We chose VolunteerMatch — a nonprofit organization that uses the power of technology to make it easier for good people and good causes to connect. One of the key reasons we chose VolunteerMatch is because it is an already successful organization looking to further improve. Here is a case study explaining one of its successful implementations: Lead Management: How a B2B SaaS nonprofit decreased its sales cycle 99%.
Another reason we chose VolunteerMatch for this opportunity is that it has three types of customers, so the lessons from the content we create can help marketers across a wide range of sales models.
VolunteerMatch’s customers are:
- People who want to volunteer (B2C)
- Nonprofit organizations looking for volunteers (nonprofit)
- Businesses looking for corporate volunteering solutions (B2B), to which it offers a Software-as-a-Service product through VolunteerMatch Solutions
VolunteerMatch design of experiments
After we took VolunteerMatch on as our Research Partner “client,” Jon Powell, Senior Executive Research and Development Manager, MECLABS, worked with Shari Tishman, Director of Engagement and Lauren Wagner, Senior Manager of Engagement, both of VolunteerMatch, to understand their challenges, look at their current assets and performance, and craft a design of experiments to determine what further knowledge about its customers would help VolunteerMatch improve performance.
That design of experiments features a series of split tests, including the live test we’re going to run at Email Summit as well as the test you have an opportunity to take part in by writing a subject line in the comments section of this blog post. Let’s take a look at that experiment:
The Challenge
VolunteerMatch wants to increase the response rate of its corporate email list (B2B) by discovering the best messaging possible. In order to determine that, MarketingExperiments wants to run an A/B split test.
One issue is that the B2B list is relatively smaller than the volunteer and cause list (B2C), making it harder to test in, gain statistical significance and determine which messaging is most effective.
So we’re going to run a messaging test to the B2C list. However, this isn’t without its challenges because most individuals on the B2C list are not likely to immediately connect with B2B corporate solutions messaging.
So the question is:
How do we create an email that is relevant (to the B2C list), without asking too much, that simultaneously helps us discover the most relevant aspect of the solutions (B2B) product (if any)?
The Approach — Here’s where you come in
This is where the Moz and MarketingExperiments community comes in to help.
We would like you to craft subject lines relevant to the B2C list that highlight the various benefits of the corporate solutions tool.
We have broken down the corporate solutions tool into three main categories of benefit for the SaaS product. In the comments section below include which category you are writing a subject line for along with what you think is an effective subject line.
The crew at Moz and MarketingExperiments will then choose the top subject line in each category to test. Below you will find the emails that will be sent as part of the test. They are identical, except for the subject lines (which you will write) and the bolded line in the third paragraph (that ties into that category of value).
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
Category #3: Ease-of-use
About VolunteerMatch’s brand
Since we’re asking you to try your hand at crafting messaging for this example “client,” here is some more information about the brand to inform your messaging:
VolunteerMatch Identity
VolunteerMatch Core Values
10 Things VolunteerMatch Believes:
- People want to do good
- Every great cause should be able to find the help it needs
- People want to improve their lives and communities through volunteering
- You can’t make a difference without making a connection
- In putting the power of technology to good use
- Businesses are serious about making a difference
- In building relationships based on trust and excellent service
- In partnering with like-minded organizations to create systems that result in even greater impact
- The passion of our employees drives the success of our products, services and mission
- In being great at what we do
And now, we test
You must leave your comment with your idea for a subject line before midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015. The contest is open to all residents of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) 18 or older. If you want more info, here are the official rules.
When you enter your subject line in the comments section, also let us know which category you’re entering for (and if you have an idea outside these categories, let us know. We just might drop it in the test).
Next, Annette Promes, Chief Marketing Officer, and Cyrus Shepard, Head of SEO and Content, Moz, will pick the subject lines they think will perform best in each category from all the comments on the Moz blog, and the MarketingExperiments team will pick the subject lines we think will perform the best in each category from all the comments on the MarketingExperiments blog.
We’ll then give the VolunteerMatch team a chance to approve the subject lines based on their brand standards and test the subject lines. We’ll report back to you through the Moz and MarketingExperiments blogs which subject lines won and why they won to help you improve your already successful marketing.
So show us what you’ve got. Write your best subject lines in the comments section below. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
You might also like
If you’re interested in learning more about marketing experimentation and A/B testing, you might find these links helpful:
Don’t Fall Into the Trap of A/B Testing Minutiae
A/B Testing: Example of a good hypothesis
Multivariate Testing: Can you radically improve marketing ROI by increasing variables you test?
Marketing Campaign: Landing page optimization can help improve the return on your media spend
Landing Page Optimization Online Course
Online Marketing Tests: How could you be so sure?
A/B Testing: Split tests are meaningless without the proper sample size
Here’s a look at a previous subject line writing contest we’ve run to give you some ideas for your entry:
Are You a Copywriting Hotshot? Test Your Skills in an Email Marketing Duel
A/B Testing for Fun and Profit [Subject Line Writing Contest]
Category #2
Subject Line:
How to Make a Difference a Thousand Ways via VolunteerMatch
category #1:
Subject line: 5 team volunteer activities to build a strong office culture
#1 – Proof, recognition, credibility
Ready to bring your passion for volunteering to the office?
#2 – Better, more opportunities to choose from
Want to bring thousands of volunteer opportunities to your workplace?
#3 – Ease-of-Use
Want to be the office hero?
Subject lines + preheaders as a bonus!
#1 Proof, recognition, credibility
SL: You are worth more than you think
PH: Unleash your value as a volunteer with VolunteerMatch.org
#2 Better, more opportunities to choose from
SL: Want to give something more valuable than money?
PH: VolunteerMatch.org helps to choose a worthy cause to volunteer for
#3: Ease-of-use
SL: You’re ready to make a difference
PH: Find out it easy it is to find a cause you’d love to support through VolunteerMatch.org
#1 – Proof, recognition, credibility
In 2015, make sure your volunteer efforts REALLY count
#2 – Better, more opportunities to choose from
You + your company = exponential good for more causes you care about
#3 – Ease-of-Use
Just click – it’s easy for your company to do good
1. If you could change the world, would you?
4. Together, we can make a better world
category 1: prove that volunteering helps your company
Category #1
Subject Line: Have Your Employees Saved a Life Today?
#1: See how your effort matters, [FIRSTNAME]
#2: You choose how to make a difference, [FIRSTNAME]
#3: Does it get any easier than this to help?
Category 2:
SL: Do volunteers make better employees?
add opening line to email between recipient name and current opening sentence:
A recent Stanford study (link: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/do_volunteers_make_better_employees) finds that “Employees who volunteer are better employees.”
(consider offering the study as a downloadable white paper to those who fill out a form with info about them and their company – use captured company data to personalize follow-up emails… ie: “[NAME] please forward this information to your Director of HR at [COMPANY]”)
Proof, Recognition, Creditability
• Proven Platform Increases Your Social Good
• Proven Platform Increases Your Bottom Line through Volunteering
• Proven Easy Way to Get Employees Volunteering Fast
Better, more opportunities to choose from
• How to Increase Volunteers to Improves Your Bottom Line
• How to Increase Volunteers to Improves Your CSR Campaign
Ease of Use
• How to Grow Corporate Social Responsibility Leaders in Mass Fast and Easy
• How to Get Your Employees Volunteering Faster
• Discover Easy Way to Get Employees Volunteering Fast
• Discover Easy Way to Start Volunteering Fast
• Proven Easy Way to Start Volunteering Fast
Category 2:
Find your passion, then lend your hand
Assumptions:
1. B2c Customers work for organisations that that have a lot of employees who believe in volunteering.
2. B2c customers work for organisations who know the importance of and value employee engagement.
Category1 heading – , do you believe that volunteering can help in employee engagement?
Category 2 heading – , can a choice of volunteering opportunities increase employee participation?
Category 3 heading – , can a simple volunteering app improve employee participation ?
Category1 heading – [name], do you believe that volunteering can help in employee engagement?
Category 2 heading – [name], can a choice of volunteering opportunities increase employee participation?
Category 3 heading – [name], can a simple volunteering app improve employee participation ?
1. [FIRSTNAME], you are the right person to make a better world. Help us!
Category #3:
VolunteerMatch: It’s the one-click way to make a difference in your community and company
Making a difference is as easy as 1 click. Get your company involved today
Your coworkers are 3 clicks away from making a difference with VolunteerMatch
Help your favorite causes by connecting your coworkers via VolunteerMatch
It’s easy to make a difference with the help of your co-workers via VolunteerMatch
Helping causes is easy, and now VolunteerMatch can partner with your business
Category #2
Volunteer YOUR way – and bring the whole crew.
(Name), look out for gold in (place)
Context: promoting gold rated green buildings
Subject line email contest:
Clicking this will honestly help someone in need!
I think this could work for any category, but probably a better fit for Category #1.
Category #1
Subject Line: Be Exceptional. Volunteer.
Subject Line: Be Exceptional. Volunteer Today.
Subject Line: Find Your Match. Volunteer Your Way.
Category #3 –
[New App] The Better Way to Do Good Your Way
Category 3:
, This Common Assumption is just WRONG…
#1: You Can Make an Impact. We’ll Prove It.
#2: Pick Your Passion. We’ll Make it Happen.
#3: Less Time Searching. More Time Making A Difference.
I was needing a response from a list of people by a certain date. My subject line was, “Patience hell, I’m going to …. ”
In the body I then proceeded to tell them I was going to be sad if they didn’t respond. Everyone did. Some wrote back that it was the most creative email they had ever received.
Category #2
Do Well by Doing Good . . .
[Proof, Recognition, Credibility]
See why Pepsico & Target use our employee-engagement platform
Category 1:
What You Get From Volunteering
Category 2:
Stop looking for volunteer opportunities
Category 3:
Who said volunteering had to be difficult?
2015 could be the year you make the best match of your life.
Category #3
Changing the world just got easier!
You need to look at your own email marketing! I was all set to take part till I read the T&C’s. I don’t live in the States or Canada, but in a beautiful small village in Scotland where my Husband and I run our Tourism Website Trossachs.co.uk. You really must check your database 1st before sending out mass emails to all and sundry!
Good luck with the competition.
Category 1
Subject Line:
Volunteering That Makes a Difference – VolunteerMatch
Category 3 – The easiest way to shine at your office
#3 – Does your company need a better way to communicate with volunteers? We have an app for that!
Category 2
Subject Line:
Volunteering Your Way – VolunteerMatch
Category 3
Subject Line:
Volunteering Made Easy – VolunteerMatch
I get lots of offshore offers for outsourcing that I immediately junk. But just now I did open one that had a subject of Need Your Help and I actually scanned the first paragraph to see what they needed. I think people like the idea of being needed.
#1 Need Your Help
#1
Help us helping you.
#2
We can help you helping others.
#3
Helping others is just a click away.
Category #1:
Transform [COMPANY NAME]’s super employees into community superheroes!
Subject Line #1:
Why does volunteering matter in the office?
Subject Line #2:
Want passionate employees in 2015?
Subject Line #3:
Save the world while you’re on the go
Category #3
[fname], Help get your company involved more in your community in 2015. Volunteermatch makes it easy make an impact.
#1: You have a Right to Lend a Hand so No One is Left Behind
#2: Doing Good Never Felt so Good
#2: Remember when Volunteering was as Easy as Raising Your Hand? Times Haven’t Changed.
#3: Looking to Volunteer? We have an App for that.
@Mariah Bliss
Subject line 1 – category 1, subject line 2, category 2, subject line 3, category 3
Category #1: We Appreciate You. They Need You.
Category #2: You Could Be Making a Difference Right Here in [respective local market]. Will You?
Category #3: Help Us Help You HELP- Volunteer Match is Easy
Category #2
Make a Difference in 2015 – Find Your Opportunity To Do Good
#1 – Proof, recognition, credibility
(Your Name Here) – The Office Hero
#2 – Better, more opportunities to choose from
Finally! The Volunteering Solutions We’ve All Been Looking For
#3 – Ease-of-Use
An EASY Way To Make An Impact?
Category 1:
Can they match your passion?
Category 2:
Hey Jon, your passion is showing…
Category 3:
Jon, we made it easier to share your passion
Cat #1 Quick Question about Volunteering at Your Company
Cat #2 Local Volunteering Opportunities for Your Company
Cat #3 Volunteer With Your Company This Year
Category #3
One click connects to YOUR way to make a difference
Category #2
One click. Thousands of ways to help. What are you waiting for?
Category 1 / 2
Put your hands where they matter – VolunteerMatch helps you with it
Category 3
Change the world with your own hands – VolunteerMatch makes it easy with new apps
#1 – Proof
Subject Line: Freud vs. Frankl; why it matters to your employees…
Category 2
How to find the best of you- Volunteer- Match and feel good about life.
I’m sorry, but I need to comment on the goal of this contest:
“…craft subject lines relevant to the B2C list that highlight the various benefits of the corporate solutions tool.”
Why does the subject line need to do that?
If you’re looking to get the best open rate, or the best click through rate, or the most valuable response (which may mean a lower CTR but a more valuable CTA), why would you limit yourself to “highlighting various benefits” in the subject line?
One of the best testing subject lines I’ve ever used (base on open rate) in a B2C list was: “Uh oh…”. And since the copy started in a way that justified “Uh oh…”, that was a high performing email, too.
Other that have tested well because the got OPENED, included: “Eeek… can you help me with a problem?” and “Can you do me a favor? (it’s an easy one)”
Similarly, you say you want to craft this email for the CLIENT… but then you give us information about the BRAND. If we want the best open rate and response rate, we need to know more abut the CLIENT. This contest is all “me me me” (about the brand) rather than WIIFM (what’s in it for me) about the RECIPIENT.
At the very least, restricting the subject line to benefits about the company rules out the possibility that other subject lines could have a much better open rate and/or be more effective (open rate is not necessarily the best metric for effectiveness).
For example, some subject lines I’ve used with great success (both open rate, CTR, and ROI) include, “Uh oh…”, and “Ummm… can you help me with something?” and “Quick favor to ask you (it’s simple).” Of course the first line in the emails justified the subject lines.
Do with that what you will, including deciding to take a contrarian route and test one of those 😉
Steven,
Thanks for your comment and your advice.
The reason the subject line has to tie into the various benefits of the corporate solutions tool is because this is a value proposition test. We are using the email subject line (and copy) essentially as a proxy for subscribers responses to what values of the product might be most compelling. This blog post explains the methodology more, if you’re interested — Value Proposition Optimization: 5 simple steps to discovering your value proposition using an email campaign
To your point, curiosity-driven subject lines can be effective for the sole goal of getting response for a specific email. Probably one of the most famous examples is the subject lines used in President Obama’s re-election campaign. One of the effective subject lines was simply “Hey.” I interviewed Amelia Showalter, Director of Digital Analytics, Obama for America about their testing, and you can watch that in Email Optimization: A discussion about how A/B testing generated $500 million in donations.
You also rightly call out that we should have more in there about the customer. The reason we include the brand information is to help entrants understand brand standards, as no brand would want to test a subject line that violated its brand standards.
In the case study we wrote about VolunteerMatch — Lead Management: How a B2B SaaS nonprofit decreased its sales cycle 99% — there is an entire section about the customer that you might find helpful.
If this new information gives you new ideas for subject lines, I’d love to see them. Thanks again for reading the MarketingExperiments blog Steven, and for sharing your advice.
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
• How to Make Your Company Work for You in 2015
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
• New Year, New You, New Opportunities
Category #3: Ease-of-use
• Volunteering is now as easy as 3.14159…
#1: The employee retention strategy you’re missing
#2: Done with bake sales? Volunteer with us your way.
#3: Volunteering? There’s an app for that.
Category #1
VolunteerMatch – How businesses do good
1. You Won’t Believe What We Can Prove
2. Would You Choose to Do This?
3. You Won’t Believe How Easy It Is…
Category 1: Spread your volunteering passion to your company
Category 2: Lend your co-workers a helping hand
Category 3: Find volunteering opportunities on the go
Category 3 – Make it easy for co-workers to make a difference in your community!
Category 2 – Introduce your co-workers to countless volunteer opportunities
category 1 subject line
“Help”
Help thousands more without volunteering more time
[Name], create more help and hope in 1 simple step
Help thousands more as a volunteer “clone” 🙂
Help thousands more by cloning yourself as a volunteer
Category #2
How will you make a difference in 2015?
Make a difference in 2015
#2
One click. Priceless opportunities.
Category #1
How to get your company to give you more time for volunteering
Slick way to get more time off from your company to volunteer
Category #2
The easiest way to find volunteer gigs that match your schedule
Have you ever considered volunteering here?
Some places at which you never considered volunteering…
Category #3
Why your company might call you ‘volunteer of the year’
Should your company reward your outside volunteer work?
If your company encourages and rewards volunteering…
#1 – Proof, recognition, credibility
Make a Difference: Pay It Forward by Helping Others
#2 – Better, more opportunities to choose from
Be a Hero: 2015 Ways to Help Others
#3 – Ease-of-Use
Connect with Your Community: Simple Ways to Help Others
Category#3 Ease -of-use
Subject line :
People want to improve their lives and communities through volunteering
Category: I’d like to suggest a new one.
If you want move these B2C volunteers to action, you could appeal to their egos (recognition), and you could appeal to their busy schedules (ease of use)…
But I would argue that true volunteers are motivated by something more profound from within: dedicated volunteers are passionate about a particular cause. In all likelihood, they have a personal connection to that cause because they or someone they love has been impacted by it. They don’t volunteer for the sake of volunteering; they volunteer because they care deeply about making a difference in a specific area, and as such, they’re prone to being evangelists for that cause.
Give them a platform to spread their passion, or to inspire others to become passionate about a cause that matters to them.
Subject Line: Spread the Only “Good” Office Virus
Suggested bolded line to match: spreading passion for worthy causes
(note: I understand how “more opportunities” is a benefit to B2B organizations, but based on my belief above, I’m not convinced it is one to an individual. So, since this is going to a B2C list, I didn’t address it. Thanks for your consideration!)
#3
See this yet?
Category #3: Ease-of-use
1) EASY! Tap, Track, and Make the World a Better Place
2) 1-2-3 and You Made a Difference
3) Must-See Ways to Improve Your Life and Others
Do good easily. Very easily.
1. Click here 2. Do good 3. Feel good
1. Click here now 2. Do good soon 3. Feel good forever
We know you’re a good person. But how about your coworkers?
We’re the match.com for do-gooders and good that needs doing
1) What Does Your Volunteering Spirit Say About You, (firstname)?
Category 2
Make 2015 you’re year to give back by volunteering – find your passion
1. Do you plan on volunteering as a group in 2015?
2. Let’s bring all our skills together to help a charity.
3. How would you get your friends to volunteer?
Category #1 – How does your company rank in volunteerism?
Category #1 – Are your coworkers into volunteering?
Let’s Match Needs & Bump Uglies
Category #1 Use Our Jobs to Boost Your Retention Rate
Category #2 We Have the Volunteer Jobs Your Employees Want
Category #3 App Connects Employees to Jobs of the Heart
Can I really make a difference in the world, or am I just going through the motions?
Catgeory1
You & your colleagues can use your superpowers for good
Category 2
More opportunities to make a difference
Category 3
Helping others is now pain free
Avoid That Awful Feeling of Regret
all three:
What’s Better – Something for Nothing, or Nothing for Something?
CAT #1: proof, recognition, credibility
What do you do when it’s your turn to be heard?
Your brain in someone else’s head?
Tired of convincing others to volunteer?
CAT #2: better, more opportunities to choose from
Waste not, give not?
How to unforget these forgotten
Annoyed to see money wasted by charities?
CAT #3: ease of use
A heart transplant for your smartphone?
You’re busy, so this is short
Can this app really save the world?
Catagory 1 – Here’s why Volunteering is Selfish
Category 2 – 1 brings 1 brings 2 brings 22 brings 87 more!
Category 3 – If decomposed dinasaurs fuel the world then you can make a difference
@Annika Lueth
Well done on the “hero” play, Annika.
Magnetic word.
Category #1 Do this. Tell co-workers. Feel good. Nuff said.
Category #1 Do this. Tell co-workers. Rinse. Repeat.
Category #3 Helping others is easy peasy
Category #3 The Lazy Volunteer
Category #2
Choose 1 and leave the other opportunities for others just like your mother taught you.
# 1 The proof is in the PUT IN
# 2 You have a Voice to make a Choice
# 3 Simply Elect to Connect
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Proof positive: volunteers in your company can make a difference
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
Find your passion: choose from thousands of ways to make a difference
Category #3: Ease-of-use
On the go? Choosing to volunteer is easier than ever.
Category #2
What is the person beside you doing when they’re not at work?
Are your colleagues being good?
Can you tell which employee is also a volunteer?
Corporate volunteerism – why its good for business
1: [FIRSTNAME], the proof’s inside, and inside you
2: [FIRSTNAME], volunteer your team, or the whole company
3: [FIRSTNAME], the Do Good App wants you
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
A Great Cause Deserves The Perfect Match … Volunteer Today!
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
The Perfect Match Is Waiting For You. Make A Difference and Volunteer
Category #3: Ease-of-use
What I learned From Being A Volunteer I’m Now Sharing With You
#1: You have a Right to Lend a Hand so No One is Left Behind
#2: Doing Good Never Felt so Good
#2: Remember when Volunteering was as Easy as Raising Your Hand? Times Haven’t Changed.
#3: Looking to Volunteer? We have an App for that.
(edited contact info)
1: [FIRSTNAME], the proof’s inside, and inside you
2: [FIRSTNAME], volunteer your team, or the whole company
3: [FIRSTNAME], the Do Good App wants you
Category 1: Attention Business Leaders: How to Increase your ROI by up to fourteen to one, through Employee Volunteer Initiatives
Category 2: Here’s One Gold Standard Technique to Get your Employees Volunteering in your Community…now
Category 3: Increase employee volunteerism by 22% with these three very simple steps.
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Subject Line: Today is Your Someday to Make a Difference!
#1 – Developing Lives with People who Care – VolunteerMatch
#2 – Drive Life’s Caring Opportunities – VolunteerMatch
#3 – VolunteerMatch – a Relaxing Way to Grow with People
Subject line for Category #1, but really could work for all.
Today’s your day! Put your stamp on 2015.
Subject Line Entry –
BLOWOUT SALE—up to 60% OFF
Category 1 Proof, recognition, credibility
Your passion + our technology = more volunteers
Category #2
Make a Difference in 2015 – Find Your Opportunity AND Do Good!
How to Get Your Boss to Support Your Charity
#3
Do good on the go! Find volunteer opportunities with our mobile app
Category 1:
Beyond Fluff: Proof that Volunteering Impacts Your Culture
Category 2:
Remove Guesswork and Anxiety Around Volunteering Efforts
Category 3:
Easily Track Employee Volunteering
Category 1:
Sourpuss? Eager beaver? Inspire every employee with the perfect cause.
Category #1 – A Community in Need + Employee Voluntarism gives your company a heart.
Category #2 – VolunteerMatch.org: Happy Employees + Grateful Causes = Socially Responsible Companies. This could be you!
Category #3 – VolunteerMatch.org – Technology to help you make a socially responsible difference. Easy Peezy!
What’s your “Rule of Law”
Category #1
Subject Line: 3 Ways People Like You are Making a Difference in 2015
Category # 3
[first], you will ♥ this APP
1. Does your volunteer work make a REAL difference? Here’s how to make certain.
2. Skyrocket the results of your volunteer work – discover where you can make the biggest difference.
3. An easy way to make a bigger impact with your volunteer work
What landing page will the email go to? What metric will be used to decide the winner (open, click, conversion (form submission), etc.)?
Scott,
Great questions. The email will go to the employee solutions overview page — http://solutions.volunteermatch.org/solutions/employee
Clicks is the key metric that will decide the winner.
#1- For People who want to volunteer (B2C)
“Looking for meaningful volunteer work?”
#2- Nonprofit organizations looking for volunteers (nonprofit)
“Seeking reliable volunteers?”
#3- Businesses looking for corporate volunteering solutions (B2B), to which it offers a Software-as-a-Service product through VolunteerMatch Solutions
“Need help managing volunteers? Here’s a solution.”
If you are itching to help a cause, we’ll link you with a nonprofit that can scratch it.
Category #1
Spread the feel-good in your organization: Give back.
” Once in a Lifetime or at least This Year Opportunity “
Question: Are these messages going to past volunteers, or both volunteers and proto-volunteers? The first SL for Category 1 is geared toward those who contributed time in the past year. While you state that the B2B audience is small, I believe that knowing this distinction can make a difference in how you speak to them.
Note: “PH”below refers to the pre-header text.
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
SL: Thank you for your support in 2014
PH: Let’s 10X last year – here’s how
SL: The best team building step to kick off 2015
PH: A team that volunteers is a team united
SL: Be the proactive leader who started it all in 2015
PH: Unite your company through volunteering
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
SL: We believe you are part of a dream team
PH: Start a volunteer movement at your company
SL: Everyone has a super power – what’s yours?
PH: Be the key to a meaningful movement at your company
SL: Everyone has a talent they can share
PH: But you have the super power to mobilize
Category #3: Ease-of-use
SL: No good deed goes… untracked?
PH: Track your team’s volunteering goals through our mobile app!
SL: Look who’s done something good!
PH: Our mobile app can track your team’s progress, and much more
SL: You are now free to move about the office
PH: With our mobile app, getting the team involved is easy
#1 – Making a real difference is just a click away
#2 – Changing the world is not as hard as you think
#1: What a difference a year can make
#2: There’s no end to what you can do
#3: Snap! And you’ve made a difference
Category #1:
Subject line: For people who understand the meaning of happiness.
Category #2:
Subject line: Did you know.. Changing others life make you happier, volunteer today.
1: Don’t just meet your social responsibilities – Exceed them with VolunteerMatch.
2: With VolunteerMatch there are so many ways YOU can make a difference to the world we live in
3: We can’t change the world alone, the world needs YOU too. Get the VolunteerMatch app today
Category #1 – Can your company make employee volunteering the real bottom line?
Category #2 – You’ve got tons of perfect matches. Find them all at VolunteerMatch.org
Category #3 – Almost as easy as swiping right. Connect to great causes with VolunteerMatch’s app
#1. and #2. (First_name), set 2015 ablaze. We’ll supply the matches.
#3. (First_name), our app finds your perfect match. But it’s not what you think.
This would work for all 3 categories.
Subject: Photo enclosed, do NOT bend.
Then add an appropriate photo to the email.
The catagory would be “Retirement”
“Retire in Chiang Mai, Thailand on $1,000 per Month”
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Subject line: You can make the difference in 2015
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
Subject line: Volunteer Opportunities To Choose
Category #3: Ease-of-use
Subject line: Easy-Of-Use Employee Engagement App
Category 2:
Don’t just work. Do your best work with more opportunities.
Alert: Make 2015 your year to make a difference!
Works for any category, assumption is “From” will clearly show it is from VolunteerMatch.org”
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
“Let us help you find your true calling”
#1 – You pitch in, inspire others to do the same
#2 – A plethora of possibilities, there are, with VolunteerMatch
#3 – Get help in a snap
Category 1 – Do volunteers make a difference?
Category 2 – More help than you can handle
Category 3 – Need a “help wanted” for those that want to help?
Category #3
Wish your company image was more Ashton Kutcher and less Justin Bieber?
Category #2
Looking for the perfect passion project to suit EVERYONE on your team?
Category #1
What do George, Ellen, and Angelina do better than your brand?
Category 3.
Jon—FREE employee volunteering mobile app . . .
1) Give Back: how to capture your Return on Volunteering
1) Employee volunteering is great for business. Do it right.
1) Change the World: one employee volunteer at a time
2) Great causes need your great people: but which ones?
3) Pay It Forward: An easy way to get your people volunteering
#2
Enjoy a volunteer environment at work.
Category 2:
Thousands of opportunities for your employees to say I DO
Category 3:
Best free app to track employee volunteering
subject line for VolunteerMatch:
Category 2: Better, more opportuities to choose from
Make a difference. Choose how you impact the world.
Category #1 Connect to your passions
Category #1 Connect your people and their passion
Category #2 You can make a world of difference
Category #3 Connecting you to the right volunteer opportunity
Category: Make your volunteering count! Easily find the best match for your skills and talents!
Category #1:
, We Need Your Help Making A Difference
You + Your Company = A Better 2015
, Share Your Volunteering Passion At Work
Category #2:
CC Your Boss: 1,000+ Ways To Make A Difference (Inside)
Category #3:
Volunteering Made Easy (For You & Your Company)
@Stephanie
the subject lines with commas at the beginning refer to First Name personalization
Category 1: For People who want to volunteer (B2C)
“Be recognized and credible by volunteering for your passions”.
Category 3: Businesses looking for corporate volunteering solutions (B2B), to which it offers a Software-as-a-Service product through VolunteerMatch Solutions
“Let your staff passion make them recognized, credible and drive success with free easy app”.
1. Topic: Better, More Opportunities
Volunteering shouldn’t feel involuntary. Agree?
2. Topic: Proof
What you do matters. We can prove it.
3. Topic: Ease-of-use
With volunteering, just [smart]phone it in.
Email subject line writing contest
“What are the major challenges you are facing?”
Fishing or Phishing? Recreation vs Identity Theft!
Spear Phishing: Latest Danger in International Hacking.
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Subject line: Follow your heart
Category #2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
Subject line: Follow your heart
Category #3: Ease-of-use
Subject line: Follow your heart
Category #1:
Can Your Company Be As Good a Volunteer As You Are?
Category 2:
Help big hearts meet great causes with VolunteerMatch.
Category 2 – Today, you could change the world!
Category 3 – Discover your cause, right from your phone!
Category #1: Increase your employees satisfaction without raising Salaries
Category #2: Live like you mean it – 1000’s of volunteer opportunities available
Category #3: We change the way to choose volunteering – We make it easy – check it out
Although using the “First Name” seems to convert higher most of the time, I recommend split testing with vs. without.
PROOF, RECOGNITION, CREDITABILITY
• [First Name], increase your personal bottom line…
• [First Name], this is how you make a difference
• [First Name], here’s your real recognition…
• [First Name], real recognition starts here…
• [First Name], increase your brands exposure by…
• [First Name], increase your company reputation by…
• [First Name], increase your company’s recognition by…
• [First Name], we need your help…
• [First Name], 70% of employees want this*…
*Stat pulled from JA Worldwide®- The Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs 2009 Summary Report. “70% of young workers believe employers should use volunteering as a development tool” (Sorry, couldn’t find anything more current.)
BETTER, MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO CHOOSE FROM
• [First Name], does employee retention equal opportunity?
• [First Name], a little secret to increase brand awareness
• [First Name], strengthen your brand immediately by…
• [First Name], increase employee retention by…
• [First Name], secret to increasing employee retention…
EASE OF USE
• [First Name], easy way to make a difference
• [First Name], easily improve your brand
• [First Name], easily increase employee engagement
• [First Name], easily improve customer satisfaction and revenue*
*Stat pulled from JA Worldwide®- The Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs 2009 Summary Report. “Employees demonstrate competency gains of between 14 to 17 percent as a direct result of volunteering. Improving employee attitudes by five points results in a 1.3% point improvement in customer satisfaction. Improving customer satisfaction by 1.3% points produces a 0.5% improvement in revenue.” (Sorry, couldn’t find anything more current.)
Category 1:
Increase Employee Engagement through Volunteering!
Category 2:
Thousands of Volunteer Opportunities for Employees
Category 3:
Use Your Mobile Device to Find and Track Volunteering Efforts
Category 1- One person-YOU can change the world
Category #2
Option 1 : For business owners wanting to affect greater change.
Option 2: Make a difference by helping to make countless connections.
Option 3: Affect change by creating more connections to causes.
@Daniel Burstein
Thanks for the additional information. Here are my entries
Category 2
Are your co-workers helpful?
Category 3
1,000s to help (and an app to help you)
Thousands to help (and an app to help you)
1,000s of opportunities (and an app to make it easy)
Thousands of opportunities (and an app to make it easy)
Category 2
By volunteering, you have changed lives. Help us find more volunteers like you.
Category 1:
Is your company as good as you are?
Category 2:
They won’t know unless you tell them
Category 3:
New, easy way to help hundreds. Please, will you?
#1 Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Even though I live in Scotland so am not eligible for free tickets here’s some lines.
“I really hate volunteering, but……………”
“I really hate volunteering, do you?”
“Hate volunteering? Then add your voice here”.
Whatever you do, DON’T open this email!
Don’t volunteer or or open this email.
For any of the three categories:
– Passionate volunteers’ opinions needed
– We need an honest volunteer’s opinion
– [Name], what do serious volunteers think about this?
Interchange these words as needed: passionate/serious/dedicated/real/honest
PS. The first line of current email would work well as a preheader.
Category #1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Subject Line: Shari, Volunteering I think you should know about
[Note: Part of your identity strategy is personalization. I would definitely find multiple ways to test it. I just picked your first name. Actually this subject line could be used in all 3 categories to test the call to action in each of the the emails inside.]
Subject Line Submital
Better Results with Student iPads using LanSchool
#1 You and I know it’s worth it. Do they?
#2 You’ve got passion, we’ve got options
#3 Love to volunteer? There’s an app for that
#1 [First Name], Your HR Dept Needs to See This
#2 Get Perks at Work for Volunteering
Category 1: Proof, recognition, credibility
SL: Will you help your coworkers give back?
Category 2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
SL: 90,000+ opportunities (yes, even dog cuddling)
Category 3: Ease-of-use
SL: Volunteering just got easier.
Category #1:
Want to feel good and help to?
Want to help others? Start here…
Feel good, help others…volunteer! it’s never been easier.
Category #2:
Make a difference…1000’s of opportunities.
Volunteering…great team builder. Get you’re team involved.
Category #3:
No more excuses…app makes volunteering easy.
Volunteering app? Makes volunteering a breeze.
Category #2
Love Volunteering? Access Thousands of Ways to Make a Difference in 2015
Category 3
Entice employee engagement and encourage community service — through an app.
Meet the app that brings out the very best in all of us.
Category 2
Less is not more. Just ask a homeless person. Let’s help fix that.
Category 1
Let’s partner in changing the world. Every day.
Cat 1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Does your company’s mission to “make a difference” stretch this far?
Cat 2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
Could opportunities like these turn your people into superheroes?
Cat 3: Ease of use
“Doing good is good for business” (This makes it so easy)
Category #1:
Want to feel good and help to?
Want help others? Start here…
Feel good, help others…volunteering – it’s never been easier.
Category #2:
Make a difference…1000’s of opportunities!
Volunteering – great team builder. Get you’re team involved.
Category #3:
No more excuses…app makes volunteering easy!
Volunteering…app makes it a breeze.
Have fun with colleagues and help others too!
Want to help others and have fun with colleagues too?
#1 – Will you lead and inspire your colleagues to do good deeds?
#2 – Volunteering opportunities to suit even the busiest CEOs and working parents
#3 – Smartphone app volunteering? This makes it so easy to do a good turn
Great idea! My submissions are below. I look forward to seeing the results.
Category #1
You know good people. We have good causes.
Category #2
Are you in good company?
Category #3
It’s easy. Do good, feel better.
Category 1:
Your colleagues will thank you
Category 2:
1000s of Opportunities to Volunteer
1000s of Opportunities to Volunteer (just choose 1)
Category 3:
App to Volunteer ? Count me in.
#1. It’s your time to volunteer
#2. Helping your community? There’s a charity for that
#3. Give-on-the-go! Search numerous charities on our mobile app
…
#4. Connect with your community… AND your colleagues
(Fourth category could be about the social connection that results from volunteering–in this case with the community as well as one’s colleagues. It seems like this is a primary reason why someone would want to volunteer)
#1 – Does your business have the best engagement tool?
#2 – Use this engagement tool and take your business to a different orbit all together.
#3 – 2000+ business owners downloaded VolunteerMatch App, have you?
Category 1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Let kindness be your super power today. Volunteer.
Be an office superhero. Spread the word. Make a difference.
Everyone can be a hero. Here is how.
Spread the good not the flu. Make a difference with your co-workers.
Category 2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
1000 heros for a better world.
You can’t make a difference without making a connection. 1000 ways to connect.
1000 ways to keep the good going in 2015.
One company, thousand ways to make a difference
Category 3: Ease-of-use
Volunteering just got easier with our mobile app
Volunteering is just a click away
The volunteer app your co-workers talk about.
Help is in your hands, we just make it easy.
Let’s connect to change the world.
#1 – Help your company help others
#2 – There’s a volunteer opportunity out there for everybody
#3 – Make it your business to help others…with one simple app.
Category #1
You Volunteer! Will they?
Category #1: Connect – Volunteer – Make a Difference Today
Category #1: Proof That Employee Volunteerism Matters
Category #1: Join us in the movement today!
Category #1: We could use a little help from our friends
Category #1: We could use a little help from your friends
Category #1: Make the world a better place today
Category #2: Oodles of opportunities to volunteer – Choose today!
Category #2: Excited to volunteer but not sure where to start?
Category #2: Volunteerism 2015 – Uniting you and your company today
Category #3: Volunteering has never been so easy!
Category #3: Change the world from your phone today
Category #3: Volunteering made easy peasy!
Category #3: Volunteering is easy peasy with this mobile app
#1 – What Are You Willing To Do To Make A Difference?
#2 – Find Out What Volunteer Opportunities Are Right For You
#3 – Volunteering On The Go, Its That Easy
category 1:
The difference you and your co-workers can make in 2015
How you and your company can better the world in 2015
category 2:
Thousands of opportunities for your company to make a difference
Thousands of opportunities to better the world in 2015
Category 3:
Change the world with one simple app
Make the world a better place with this free app
Changing the world is just one click away
Category 1:
You Matter – Explore Easy Ways for You to Make a Difference
Category 2:
Want to Make a Difference in Your Community? Find Your Perfect Opportunity.
Category 3:
Making a Difference is Easy – Find Opportunities Anytime, Anywhere
Category 1: Proof, recognition, credibility
Bring The App That’s Powered by Your Passion to Your Company
The App That’s Powered by the Passion of [FirstName] [LastName]
The App That’s Powered by Your Passion
Category 2: Better, more opportunities to choose from
Where Motiv(ation) Meets Opportunity – The Case for Employee Engagement With VolunteerMatch
Share thousands of volunteer opportunities with your colleagues
Category 3: Ease-of-use
It’s Simple: Your Volunteer Efforts X The Power of Your Colleagues = Good for All
Now it’s easy to measure the things that matter. Employee Engagement Solutions by VolunteerMatch.
Category #1
Ignite a Volunteer Revolution at Work. Start here…
Volunteer with Your Coworkers: Here’s How
Category #2
Your Choice: 1,000s of Volunteer Ops for Businesses
Category #3
On the go, like you: VolunteerMatch app for employees
Employee Volunteering Made Easy: Get the App