Should I Use Capital Letters In Subject Lines?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox

Episode: Should I Use Capital Letters In Subject Lines?
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Host: Liz Wilcox
Title: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox

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Introduction

In episode 128 of The Email Sound Booth, Liz Wilcox delves into the nuanced topic of capitalization in email subject lines. Targeted at online businesses aiming to refine their email marketing strategies, Liz explores whether using capital letters in subject lines can influence open rates and overall email effectiveness. The episode balances practical insights with personal experiences, offering listeners actionable advice backed by real-world examples.

The Impact of Capital Letters in Subject Lines

Liz begins by addressing the common debate surrounding the use of capital letters in email subject lines. She posits that while her personal stance leans against the heavy use of capitals, the decision ultimately hinges on the individual’s brand personality.

Notable Quote:

"Should my subject line, should I use capital letters? I think the answer is no, but it is really, what is your personality?"
— Liz Wilcox [02:30]

Analyzing Spam Characteristics

To illustrate her point, Liz shares her Outlook inbox screen, highlighting the prevalence of spam emails that heavily use capital letters—a typographic style known as type case, where the first letter of each word is capitalized (e.g., "Buy One, Get One"). She contrasts these with legitimate emails to demonstrate how capitalization affects perception.

Key Observations:

• Spam Indicators: Spam emails often feature type case, long subject lines, typos, and poor preview texts.
• Legitimate Emails: In contrast, genuine emails like those from Liz's own list and Pete McPherson of ListGadget.com utilize either minimal capitalization or strategic capitalization to stand out.

Notable Quote:

"You know, the black river camper forms due May 1, City of Fort Walton Beach, paperless registration, recurring payment reminder. Then you see Liz Wilcox and you see Pete McPherson... it's super, super short."
— Liz Wilcox [10:45]

Case Study: Liz Wilcox vs. Other Marketers

Liz showcases her own email subject lines, which predominantly use lowercase letters, such as "walking billboard." She contrasts this with competitors who use type case or include brackets, demonstrating how lowercased subject lines can stand out amidst a cluttered inbox.

Comparison Points:

• Lowercase Subject Lines: Easier to scan and differentiate from spam, enhancing visibility.
• Type Case Subject Lines: Blend into the spammy landscape, making them less noticeable.
• Brackets and Minimal Capitals: Effective when used sparingly, adding emphasis without overwhelming the reader.

Notable Quote:

"The only one that really stands out is Liz Wilcox's because there's no capital letters. So maybe if Carly had no capital letters, I would see hers faster. It's just the way the brain works."
— Liz Wilcox [14:20]

Encouraging Experimentation

While Liz advocates for minimal use of capital letters, she emphasizes the importance of aligning subject line styles with one’s brand personality. She encourages listeners to experiment with different capitalization techniques to determine what resonates best with their audience.

Recommendations:

• Align with Brand Personality: Whether it’s casual, formal, playful, or professional, the subject line style should reflect the brand's voice.
• A/B Testing: Conduct experiments to compare open rates between capitalized and non-capitalized subject lines.
• Monitor Results: Analyze the performance data to make informed decisions on subject line strategies.

Notable Quote:

"You just can't get over the lowercase thing. Go ahead. But do know that if you're willing to experiment, you might see some higher open rates."
— Liz Wilcox [16:50]

Practical Examples and Insights

Liz presents practical examples from her inbox to solidify her arguments. She points out how her own use of a single, lowercase word in subject lines outperforms more cluttered and capitalized alternatives from other senders like the United States Postal Service and Airbnb.

Examples Highlighted:

• Spam Emails: Often characterized by excessive type case and irrelevant content.
• Legitimate Emails: Short, concise, and strategically capitalized subject lines that attract attention without seeming spammy.

Notable Quote:

"That's why I don't use capital letters at all. But should you? I don't know, I would say experiment with it. Get... have some fun."
— Liz Wilcox [18:35]

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Liz wraps up the episode by reiterating that while her personal preference leans towards lowercase subject lines, the key takeaway is the importance of experimentation and alignment with brand identity. She underscores that there is no one-size-fits-all answer and encourages marketers to find what works best for their unique audiences.

Final Recommendations:

• Stay True to Your Brand: Ensure that subject line styles are consistent with your brand’s overall voice and image.
• Be Open to Change: Don’t hesitate to try new approaches and adjust based on feedback and performance metrics.
• Focus on Clarity and Relevance: Regardless of capitalization, subject lines should clearly convey the email’s purpose and value to the recipient.

Notable Quote:

"You just might be pleasantly surprised."
— Liz Wilcox [19:55]

Additional Resources

Liz invites listeners to join her Email Marketing Membership, a subscription service priced at $9 a month that offers weekly newsletters filled with valuable email marketing tips and exclusive content. She highlights the benefits of membership, including access to regularly updated subject line ideas and strategies to enhance email engagement.

Closing Quote:

"If you want to learn more about email marketing and get more fun little tips like this, I'd love for you to join Email Marketing Membership."
— Liz Wilcox [20:30]

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Final Thoughts

In this insightful episode, Liz Wilcox effectively demystifies the role of capitalization in email subject lines, providing listeners with a balanced perspective backed by personal experience and practical examples. By advocating for experimentation and alignment with brand personality, Liz empowers marketers to make informed decisions that can enhance their email marketing effectiveness.

For those looking to refine their email strategies, this episode serves as a valuable resource, offering both theoretical insights and actionable tips to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of email marketing.

Transcript

[Liz Wilcox]

What's up? What's up? Liz Wilcox, here you are listening to episode 128 of the email sound booth podcast. Lucky, lucky me. Thank you so much for listening. If you are one of our daily listeners, I'd love for you to leave a review. It would just make my day to hear from you and to know that you're listening. It doesn't have to be five stars because I don't, I don't know if this podcast is five stars. I think the content's good, but sometimes I ramble. I don't know. I would love your honest opinion. Anyway, speaking of rambling, let's get back, let's talk really quick. This should be a quick episode. And if you're not watching on YouTube, I highly recommend checking out the, the YouTube because I'm going to share my screen. But, you know, I'll walk you along through it if you don't have YouTube or whatever. So should my emails. Should my subject line, Should I use capital letters? I think the answer is no, but it is really, what is your personality? Okay, but I, I will share my screen and I want to show you why I think the answer is no. So this is my, I'm, I'm showing my personal email, my Outlook account right now, and I want to show you something. So the first two emails that you're seeing are, you know, no. Well, the first three are like some no replies and this renewal by Anderson, which we click on it. Oh, wow. This is spam, right? This is very clearly spam. Shout out Outlook. Microsoft used to be way better at filtering spam. Now you suck at it. And if we just kind of scroll through here, we can see that we, you know, we got a lot of spam here, right? We got a lot of spam. And look at what the spam does. They use type case. So type case is where they capitalize every first letter of the word, right? Buy one, get one. B, O, G, O are capitalized right. You can see payment confirmation for my lease. Right? That's all type case. My school bucks, low balance. So apparently Chelsea needs more lunch money. All type case. Then we see this something. It says Z. Quiet. The first anti snoring solution. The subject line uses some capital letters. There's a typo in there. The preview text sucks. Like that is. We can click on it. We don't even have to click on it to know that that's spam, right? But then like, look, if we scroll, scroll, scroll. Oh, here's Liz Wilcox. I'm using, you know, One subject, one word, subject line. And it's lowercase, right? Why? Because it stands out. In the inbox I see all this typecast or type case, all these long subject lines. You know, black river camper forms due May 1, City of Fort Walton beach, paperless registration, recurring payment around reminder. Then you see Liz Wilcox and you see Pete McPherson, the co owner of List gadget.com, by the way. Look it up if you haven't yet. Pete's Roundup. Now, he uses some brackets and he uses type case, but it's super, super short. I'm using lowercase. Just one word. Again, super, super short. So these subject lines stand out, right? So I see them kind of first where I'm like, oh, the. The rest. This is, you know, this is garbage, right? And then I can very easily sort through the garbage, right? I can just look at it and know like, oh, that's garbage. So should you use capital letters? You totally, totally can. If it's in your practice. If it's. Now I sound like a yoga teacher, right? If it's in your practice, if it's in your personality. You just can't get over the lowercase thing. Go ahead. But do know that if you're willing to experiment, you might see some higher open rates. For example, [e-mail]. that's my Ayurveda lady. I'm doing a detox with her. You can see she's using some, you know, just capital letter for the first word. She does it down here. You know, subject line. We can do anything for 10 days. She capitalizes we. But you see how. Let's look at. And let me again, if you're not watching on YouTube, I'm zooming in here. And we can see Carly's email. We can do anything for 10 days. Then you see Liz Wilcox's walking billboard. Again, no capital letters. Then you see something from the United States Postal Service. You know, your Daily Digest type case. You see Airbnb type case. Then you see some spam type case. You see, the only one that really stands out is Liz Wilcox's because there's no capital letters. So maybe if Carly had no capital letters, I would see hers faster. It's just the way the brain works. We're searching for something different. That's where our eyes want to land. And so that's why I don't use capital letters at all. But should you? I don't know, I would say experiment with it. Get, you know, have some fun. Don't be afraid to try something new. You just might be pleasantly surprised. All right. I'm Liz Wilcox. As always, you are awesome. If you want to learn more about email marketing and get more fun little tips like this, I'd love for you to join Email Marketing Membership. If you're not already there. It's $9 a month with where I write the weekly newsletters for you. So the content is good so that people want to open over and over and over again no matter how you use the subject lines. And of course, every week I give you three or four subject lines anyway so you can play around, see which one fits your audience. All right, I will see you on the next episode, my friend.