# Network-size subject lines vs passion: -12.5% click rate

- Outcome: Lost
- Page type: Email (SaaS)
- Elements: Subject line, Value proposition
- Date shared: 2015-02
- Test run by: [MECLABS Institute](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/meclabs-institute/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/saas-nonprofit-increased-clickthrough-on-landing-page
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/volunteermatch-subject-line-value-categories/

Subject lines about the size of VolunteerMatch's nonprofit network got a 12.5% lower click rate than passion-led subject lines. MECLABS Institute ran the test with VolunteerMatch, and it was published as a MarketingSherpa case study. Two other value themes, proof and ease of use, showed no significant difference from passion.

## Result

**-12.5% click rate**

- -12.5% click rate for the network-size pair versus the passion pair. This variant lost.
- Proof and ease-of-use subject lines showed no statistically significant difference from passion.
- Across all lines, those starting with the word volunteer or volunteering did better.
- The test went to VolunteerMatch's large B2C volunteer list, not the B2B buyers the product is sold to.

## Control

Passion-led subject lines with no product feature, such as 'Spread the Only "Good" Office Virus'. The same line was sent twice as a double control.

## Variant

Subject lines about network size, such as 'CC Your Boss: 1,000+ Ways To Make A Difference (Inside)' and 'Does your company care? Thousands of ways to prove it.'

## Why it likely lost (our reading)

- Network size was VolunteerMatch's favorite differentiator, but volunteers on the list cared more about volunteering itself.
- Numbers like '1,000+ ways' can read as generic marketing rather than something personal.
- Leading with a word the reader identifies with, such as volunteer, seems to grab attention faster.

## Caveats

The B2C list was used as a stand-in for a small B2B list, so the result may not carry over to business buyers. List sizes and click rates were not shared, and the data is from early 2015.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we lead subject lines with a theme our readers identify with instead of our product's scale, then more will click because the email feels personal rather than promotional.
- Primary metric: Click rate
- Guardrail: Open rate
- Guardrail: Unsubscribe rate
- Guardrail: Downstream conversions from clicks
- Who should test it: SaaS and mission-driven companies with an email list big enough to split into several groups. If your real buyer list is small, a proxy list like this one can point the way, but confirm on the real audience.

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Credit: MECLABS Institute ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/volunteermatch-subject-line-value-categories/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.