Subject lines are your best bet for a good first impression and getting noticed in a crowded inbox. One way to ensure they stand out is by choosing the right capitalization style. How you do email subject line capitalization can significantly impact whether your email gets noticed, opened or redirected to the spam folder. The availability of various types of email subject line capitalization might be confusing. In this article, we decode different capitalization styles and help you make the right decision.
Types of email subject line capitalization
Each capitalization style has its own set of rules and conveys a different tone and formality. Let's explore some of the most popular ones.
1. Title case
In the title case, the first letter of each major word in a sentence is capitalized. Major words include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions are typically not capitalized only if they are the first word in the title. For example: "The Sun Is Shining Brightly in New York City."
2. Sentence case
This is the most common capitalization style. In a sentence case, only the first letter of the first word in a sentence is capitalized, along with any proper nouns (names of specific people, places, or things). For example: "The Sun is shining brightly in New York city."
3. NY Times style
The New York Times style capitalizes the first letter of all words except articles, conjunctions, and prepositions, resulting in a clean and professional appearance.
4. AMA style
The American Medical Association style is used primarily in medical and scientific writing. It follows sentence case for titles, capitalizes the first word of the title, and proper nouns and adjectives. It uses lowercase for articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.
5. AP style
Associated Press style follows specific guidelines for capitalization, often used in journalism to ensure uniformity across articles. It capitalizes the first word of the title, proper nouns and adjectives, and major words. It does not capitalize articles, conjunctions, or prepositions unless they are the first or last word. It uses lowercase for coordinating conjunctions and common nouns.
6. APA style
American Psychological Association style maintains consistency in capitalization to improve readability and comprehension in academic writing.
7. Chicago style
Chicago style follows sentence case for titles and capitalizes the first word of the title, proper nouns, adjectives, and titles. It uses lowercase for articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.
8. Bluebook style
Bluebook style varies based on legal citations and generally uses sentence cases for titles. It capitalizes the first word of the title, proper nouns, and titles.
9. MLA style
MLA style follows sentence case for titles and capitalizes the first word of the titles, proper nouns, adjectives, and titles. It uses lowercase for articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.
10. Wikipedia style
Wikipedia's style guide focuses on clarity and consistency, capitalizing the first letter of the title and proper nouns.
Should email subject lines have capitalization?
Using capitalization in your email subject lines isn’t a compulsion. It is also very subjective and depends on various factors, like your audience, the context of the email, and your brand image.
However, it cannot be denied that it gives your emails and brand a good look. It also allows you to do more with your subject lines since it is the first impression of your email. For instance, you can use a word in all caps to draw immediate attention to it.
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Why is email subject line capitalization important?
While it may not sound like much, experienced marketers emphasise subject line capitalization. Let’s look at some reasons behind it.
1. It proves consistency and commitment
Maintaining a consistent capitalization style across your email subject lines reflects professionalism and attention to detail. It makes your emails look well-organized and thoughtfully composed.
2. It builds a brand identity
The capitalization style you choose should align with your brand's identity. For instance, a playful and informal brand might opt for a sentence case, while a corporate entity may prefer a title case for a more polished appearance.
3. It indicates the tone of your emails
Capitalization can also convey the tone and formality of your message. Adhering to a more traditional style like title case or Chicago style for important business correspondences can convey a sense of seriousness. In contrast, a casual and friendly email might employ sentence case or even NY Times style.
What are the different capitalization tools?
There are many tools that can help you capitalize your email subject lines instantly, like Capitalize My Title, Title Case Converter, and TextFixer.
OpenHigher AI, an AI subject Line Generator by Mailmodo, helps you pick your preferred email subject line capitalization style along with other specifics you’d like to define to get more accurate and usable AI-generated subject lines.
Final takeaway
Writing perfect subject lines and maintaining a consistent style of email subject lines is easier said than done. However, there is abundant availability of tools that can capitalize your subject lines in an instant. Using AI subject line generators like the one offered by Mailmodo is also a great idea. Even if the results are not readily usable, they provide enough inspiration to get your creative ball rolling.
