'Clickbait' Doesn't Work With Email Marketing

If you want better returns on your email marketing efforts, pay close attention to your subject lines.

"Clickbait" subject lines that try to shock you into reading a message and those that promote prices and discounts are among the least effective, according to new research from data solutions provider Return Path.

While clickbait subject lines like "you won't believe this shocking secret" are very successful at garnering Web traffic, they don't provide the same results via email. Specifically, the use of the phrase "secret of" in a subject line results in an 8.69 percent decrease in read rates...