Email marketing is a crucial aspect of running successful EdTech startups. While there are multiple marketing channels available, email marketing in EdTech is one of the most effective and can be used both independently and in combination with other media channels.
Many EdTech startups primarily acquire customers by offering free trials, and then rely on other methods to engage and retain users throughout the entire sales funnel, regardless of the stage they are at.
Email marketing is a powerful tool that can help businesses in various industries reach their target audiences and achieve positive results. However, to truly harness the potential of this channel, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of CRM, Email Personalization tools and copywriting skills
In this post, we’ll delve deeper into the importance of optmising EdTech email marketing subject lines and provide tips on how to craft effective ones that will boost your open rates and drive engagement for EdTech Startups.
Key Principles for Crafting Effective EdTech Email Subject Lines
What do effective email subject lines have in common? N. Swami has published a list of factors that make a subject line compelling driving higher open rates (Source: Email Marketing Playbook) These can be applied to any type of industry and business size. However, I’d recommend you conduct A/B testing to discover what works best for your audience and startup.
Your subject line should be:
- Keep it short and concise, ideally 7-8 words or less.
- Setting Right Expectation
- Persuasive
- Personalisation
- Urgency
- Exclusivity
- Curiosity
- Special Offer
- Stories
- People
- Timeliness
- Emjoji Can Increase Open Rate
Now that we know the theoretical principles, let’s move on to the practical aspect. Here are 7 key points to take into account when crafting effective subject lines for your EdTech startups:
1. Create a connection with Email marketing in EdTech
In this section, I go through tactics for reaching out to new connections you may find on LinkedIn or follow-up with dormant acquiescence. In my own testing, I have found a very positive Open Rate and Meeting Booked by using a subject line: ‘Virtual Coffee’. This phrase is familiar and informal, which makes it more likely to be opened. The last two subject lines on the list below are more suitable for past customers if you want to incentivize others to purchase your service through referrals.
- Virtual Coffee?
- Let’s grab a coffee, {first_name}
- Meeting Friday?
- Impressed by what you’ve done
- Liked your latest post on LinkedIn
- Really like {company_name}’s SMM
- Greetings from a {school} alumni
- Question from a {school} alumni
2. Bringing Value First through Emails
3. Follow-up Emails
According to Hubspot, it is recommended to wait for at least one week before sending a follow-up message to a lead that hasn’t been responded to. It is suggested to send a maximum of three follow-up messages for an unresponsive email, with the intervals between messages increasing (e.g. 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks). Here are some subject line ideas to boost your open rate:
- Call recap
- Are you coming?
- Next steps 👊
- {first_name}, it’s been a while
- {first_name}, don’t miss the opportunity to {GainAdvantage}
- Here’s the info I promised you
- I was excited to meet you
4. Partnerships Email
Influencer marketing is a valuable investment for brands in any sector able to generate positive ROAS. Data shows that businesses are making $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, on average. The top 13% of businesses are seeing revenue of $20 or more per every $1 spent. (Influencer Hub, 2022).
Depending on the brand recognition of the influencer and your company, I would recommend crafting a different email to start off on the right foot.
- {influecer_name}, we’d love to work together
- Love your YT channel… I have an idea
- Love your Contents… {first_name}, have an idea
- Collaborate?
- Since we can’t all win the lottery…
5. Drive Fear of Missing Out
The fear of missing out is a powerful psychological principle. You can increase your open rates by incorporating elements of scarcity or urgency. Words like “urgent,” “breaking,” “important,” or “alert” have been shown to be particularly effective in increasing the chances of an email being opened.
Some subject lines ideas if we were an E-learning startup offering Machine Learning and AI courses.
- You’re missing out on a Software Engineering Career.
- {first_name}, wish to earn up to €150k per year?
- [LAST CHANCE] Get limited access to our course before it’s gone
6. Address Pain Points
By understanding your target audience’s pain points, you can tailor your email campaigns to address those issues and increase the likelihood of recipients opening your emails. For example, as an E-learning startup offering Data Analytics courses, you can target the specific pain points of your audience as follows:
- {first_name}, need to regain confidence in GA4?
- Stop wasting time on Excel
- Stop wasting time on mindless work
- Learn SQL in only 25 minutes per day
Conclusion
The EdTech market is experiencing significant growth, with the online education segment projected to generate revenues of $350 billion by 2025. According to Global Data estimates, the overall EdTech industry will see a compound annual growth rate of 16% between 2022 and 2026, reaching $410.2 billion by 2026 (Source: Research And Markets).
Email marketing is one of the oldest but still one of the most successful digital marketing techniques. It is particularly effective in the education industry and for EdTech companies looking to connect with potential students, boost sales, and evaluate the impact of their marketing efforts. To maximize results, email marketing campaigns should be tailored to highlight the pain points of future learners.
This can be achieved by segmenting email lists and delivering the right content to the right people. Automating email marketing through CRM like Pipedrive or Hubspot or advanced solutions like Lemlist, Active Campaigns, and Lusha can help with email creation and personalisation at scale.
Bibliography
Cialdini, R. B. (2021). Influence, new and expanded: The psychology of persuasion. HarperCollins.
GlobalData. (November 2023). Edtech Market Analysis.
Hubspot. (December 2021). Subject Line Stats: Open Rates [SlideShare].
Influencer Marketing Hub. (2022). Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report.
Lemlist. (2023). Cold Email Templates.
Swami, N. (2023, January). Email marketing playbook.
Pinnacle. (n.d.). Edtech Email Marketing Strategies to Boost Results.
Research and Markets (December 2019). Online Education Market and Global Forecast by End User, Learning Mode (Self-Paced, Instructor Led), Technology, Country, Company.
Smith, J. (2021, February 14). The Importance of Sleep for Students [Blog post]. The Learning Lab.
Trend. (n.d.). Influencer Outreach Email: How to Get Influencers to Respond to Your Emails.
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