AI analysis unveils the most effective email subject lines for the holidays

AI分析揭示了最有效的假日电子邮件主题行

Retailers are already preparing for a 2021 holiday ecommerce season that mirrors last year. A recent survey by Radial found that 65% of consumers plan to spend the same as or even more than last year. Radial itself plans to hire 27,000 seasonal workers ahead of the shopping season to fulfill ecommerce orders. But to snag a share of that market, retailers will need to use the right email marketing language and tactics, according to a new report from AI-powered copywriting platform Phrasee.

零售商已在为2021年假日电商季做准备——预计该季将与去年情况类似。Radial公司近期的一项调查显示，65%的消费者计划在今年消费与去年持平或更多。Radial计划在购物季前招聘2.7万名季节性员工，以完成电商订单。但根据人工智能文案平台Phrasee发布的最新报告，零售商若想分得一杯羹，需要使用恰当的邮件营销语言和策略。

The report, “Prepping for the Peak,” uses some data from 2020 to predict what brand language will resonate with consumers. Phrasee analyzed millions of subject lines using AI for the report.

这份名为《备战销售高峰》的报告利用2020年的部分数据，预测哪些品牌语言能引起消费者共鸣。Phrasee利用人工智能分析了数百万条邮件主题行。

“This particular (algorithm) takes this huge amount of language data, deconstructs it into individual parameters, takes away beliefs and biases, turns it into ones and zeros, and looks at the patterns in the numerical data,” said Parry Malm, CEO of Phrasee. For the report, Phrasee used natural language processing (NLP) techniques to look at sentiment like directness and how offbeat the language was. Then, it tracked performance metrics like clicks, conversions, opens, and unsubscribes, he added.

Phrasee首席执行官帕里·马尔姆表示："这一特定算法会提取海量语言数据，将其分解为独立参数，剔除主观信念和偏见，转化为二进制代码，并分析数字数据中的模式。"他补充说，为了撰写报告，Phrasee采用自然语言处理技术，分析了语言中的"直接性"和"出格程度"等情感特征，随后追踪了点击率、转化率、打开率和退订率等表现指标。

Emojis won in 2020, but won’t this year

2020年表情符号胜出，但今年未必

Last year, the language that most resonated with consumers focused on convenience, like “curbside pickup” and “home delivery,” according to the report. Phrasee expects this trend to continue into the 2021 shopping season.

报告显示，去年最能引起消费者共鸣的语言聚焦于便利性，如"路边自提"和"送货上门"。Phrasee预计这一趋势将延续至2021年购物季。

However, marketers also went heavy on the emojis in email subject lines last year, both happy and urgent. The use of happy emojis may continue to grow, as marketers want to offer optimism, but Phrasee cautions against using urgency emojis this year. Consumers likely have emoji fatigue, according to the report.

不过，去年营销人员也在邮件主题行中大量使用表情符号，既有表达愉悦的，也有传递紧迫感的。表达愉悦的表情符号使用量可能继续增长，因为营销人员希望传递乐观情绪；但Phrasee提醒，今年应避免使用带有紧迫感的表情符号。报告指出，消费者可能已经对表情符号产生了审美疲劳。

Trade slang for empathy

用共情代替行话

“If any type of language gets overused, it ceases to be effective,” Malm said. The rush to get online meant that marketers started copying one another, using the emojis that seemed to work well at the time. But marketers need to be continually refreshing their messaging, “before ‘Bye, Felicia’ finally says, ‘Bye, Felicia,'” he added.

马尔姆表示："任何类型的语言如果过度使用，就会失去效果。"急于转向线上营销导致营销人员开始相互模仿，使用当时看似行之有效的表情符号。但他补充说，营销人员需要不断更新自己的文案，"在消费者最终说'再见'之前，主动做出改变"。

Before 2020, marketers tended to use offbeat, trendy language in their email subject lines, like “You’re gonna SLAY in these lewks!” But since the pandemic, email subject lines that are direct or evoke curiosity or friendliness are the most likely to get opened, according to the report.

报告显示，2020年之前，营销人员倾向于在邮件主题行中使用出格、潮流的语言，比如"穿上这身LOOK，你绝对够飒！"但自疫情以来，那些直接、能引发好奇或传递友好感的邮件主题行最有可能被打开。

Cream Chargers, a specialty whipped cream retailer based in Australia, plans to empathize with its customers in its messaging this year to launch discounts, as opposed to last year’s focus on brand image.

澳大利亚一家名为Cream Chargers的专用奶油发泡器零售商计划在今年的促销信息中向顾客传递共情，提供折扣优惠，而去年他们的重点则是品牌形象。

“People today are suffering from different crises including financial because of the pandemic. However, they are focused on not letting their weaknesses like discretionary spending take over,” said Jane Anders, CEO of Cream Chargers. “Including empathy in your messages for your customers helps you make them feel that you are on their side.”

Cream Chargers公司首席执行官简·安德斯表示：“如今，人们正因疫情面临包括财务危机在内的各种困境。然而，他们也努力不让自己的弱点——比如可自由支配的开支——占据上风。在信息中融入对客户的共情，有助于让他们感受到你是站在他们一边的。”

HVAC company Filter King plans to test more positive messaging this holiday season, without being overly cheerful. That might come across as insensitive, according to Rick Hoskins, founder of Filter King.

暖通空调公司Filter King计划在这个假日季尝试更积极的信息传递，但不会过于欢快。Filter King创始人里克·霍斯金斯表示，过于欢快可能会让人感觉缺乏同理心。

“My feeling is that people have been cooped up inside, scared and lonely, for over a year now. I think companies might be overplaying their hands by putting out messaging that’s overly morose,” Hoskins said. He expects consumers to prefer a more “getting back to normal” tone.

霍斯金斯说：“我的感觉是，人们已经被困在家里一年多，既害怕又孤独。我认为，如果企业传递过于消沉的信息，可能会适得其反。”他预计，消费者会更偏好一种更偏向“回归正常”的语调。

Trying something different is key

尝试新事物是关键

While some retailers may be planning to repurpose last year’s messaging, experimenting could boost email effectiveness, according to Phrasee’s Malm. “One of the points is to always be testing … because languages changes more quickly now than previously,” he said, noting that people in the U.S. have picked up British slang and vice versa.

Phrasee公司的马尔姆表示，虽然一些零售商可能计划沿用去年的营销文案，但尝试新鲜内容反而可能提升邮件营销效果。“关键一点是要持续测试……因为语言的变化比以往更快了，”他指出，如今美国人开始使用英式俚语，反之亦然。

However, the big takeaway from the report is that doing something different is hard. “Humans are less creative than we think we are, and being creative at scale is incredibly hard,” Malm said.

不过，该报告的主要结论是：做出改变并不容易。马尔姆说：“人类的创造力并没有我们想象的那么强，而大规模地创新更是难上加难。”

Companies don’t need to be different just for the sake of it, but instead should define their brand voices and experiment within those parameters, he said. While it’s easy to get customers to open emails with spammy subject lines, that’s a race to the bottom that rarely works.

他表示，公司不需要为了不同而不同，而是应该定义自己的品牌语言，并在这个框架内进行尝试。虽然用垃圾邮件式的主题行吸引客户打开邮件很容易，但那是低水平的恶性竞争，鲜少奏效。

Ultimately, there is no specific rule set for what will absolutely, definitely, one hundred percent resonate with consumers. “Language is fluid (and) whims of consumers change at the drop of a hat,” Malm said. Last year’s data may help shape messaging this year, but companies need to test, experiment, and keep current events in mind when sending out their emails this year.

归根结底，没有任何一套固定的规则能百分之百确保打动消费者。马尔姆说：“语言是流动的，消费者的心思说变就变。”去年的数据或许能帮助塑造今年的营销语言，但企业在今年发送邮件时，仍需要不断测试、尝试，并时刻关注时事动态。