How Do You Make Emoticons (Emojis) in Subject Lines and Is it a Good Idea?

Emojis – We all love to use them in text messages and social media posts, but did you know you can also dress up your subject lines with them?

Over the last few years, email marketers have begun incorporating emojis (or emoticons as they’re also called) into email campaigns with great results. Many companies attribute seeing increased open rates to adding these symbols to their emails. Why? Because they grab your attention much quicker than plain text, plus they convey a sense of fun or something special as you’re scrolling through your email.

Before deciding to use emojis in your subject lines, there are a few things to consider:

Don’t Overuse Them
Don’t use an emoji just for the sake of using it. Make sure it is relevant to your campaign. Adding a bunch of happy faces and hearts is probably not going to get you great results. More than likely your reader will be annoyed and delete your email before opening it. Especially if you do it frequently.  It can also convey a lack of professionalism if people are seeing cutesy symbols that have no relevance to your brand or message.

The example below shows three emails I recently received in my inbox. As I’m quickly scrolling through, of course I notice the red heart right away because it stands out in the sea of black and white text. The other thing to notice is that the sender uses it in the context of the sentence instead of spelling out the word love. Short, sweet and attention grabbing without being over the top.  

It Can Trigger Spam Filters
Although emojis are becoming more commonly accepted by most email clients, there’s always a small chance that they can trigger a spam filter which means your compelling message or great deal will never be seen. It’s always a good idea to test on multiple email platforms if you can (i.e. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc..).

Another good reason to test is that if an email client doesn’t support emojis, they will show up as this: □ which can be confusing, so make sure to double check so your hard work doesn’t go to waste and your reader will get your message as intended.  

How to Do It
Now that you have a basic understanding of how emojis can spice up your email campaign, you’re probably wondering how to get them in there in the first place. It’s simpler than you might think!

One way is to simply copy and paste. There are some great resources out there to find your emojis. Two of my favorites are: Facebook Symbols which has a nice selection of symbols and emoticons and Graphemica which has a huge selection of any symbol you can imagine. Graphemica also has a great search feature that allows you to find what you’re looking for quickly as illustrated below. Simply type what you’re looking for in the search and it will compile all of the symbols matching that keyword for you. I’ve used “heart” as an example here.

1. Type your keyword into the search bar.

2. Click the text link next to the symbol you want to use.

3. Highlight the symbol with your cursor and copy and paste into your subject line.

Another quick way to add emojis into your subject line if you’re creating your email with an IOS device is using your emoji keyboard to choose the emoji you want and add it in. Simple as that. Again, be sure to test before sending to your list to make sure your emoji shows up once the email is sent.

Using emojis in your email campaigns is quick, easy and worth a try to help boost your open rates and increase sales.

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