Are Emojis in Email Subject Lines Still a Good Idea?

Let’s wonder: emojis in subject lines—🎉 or 🚫? You bet, by using these small graphic symbols we mean: love it or leave it! 

First, let’s understand what emojis are. According to Oxford Languages by Google, an emoji is “a small digital image or icon used to express an idea, emotion, etc., in electronic communication.” The term comes from two Japanese words, “e” (picture) and “moji” (character). However, it is only by coincidence that “emoji” sounds like “emotion.” The first emoji sets were developed in Japan by portable electronic device companies back in the 1990s, at the dawn of the internet era!

According to Wired, the earliest emojis are attributed to Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita, who designed a set of 12-by-12 pixel drawings in 1999. These tiny and cute symbols were created for use on Japan’s leading mobile carrier, NTT DoCoMo, specifically on its mobile internet platform, i-mode. Kurita’s original 176 emojis are now part of the permanent collection at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The invention of emojis was a silent revolution in online communication, a new language, or Netspeak if you like. Later on, emojis spread across the world to the whole online universe, no longer limited to mobile phone communication among Japanese users. 

As you can see, emojis are clearly emotional symbols. Their primary function is filling in emotional cues otherwise missing from the typed conversation and replacing entire words.

By the 2010s, emojis had become widespread in digital communication around the world, including business. Interestingly enough, back in 2015, Oxford Dictionaries declared the Face with Tears of Joy emoji (😂) the word of the year.

Today, you can love emojis or roll your eyes at them, but these funny graphic symbols have become a pillar in modern communication. Emojis in email marketing are not an exception. However, changes in digital environments are happening pretty fast. Inboxes get more crowded, and filters get really sensitive, so you might wonder about emojis’ performance in email subject lines. The question is: Are emojis still an effective tool in subject lines, or are they hurting your open rates and deliverability?

To answer this question, let’s dive into the data and study the best practices and common mistakes to help you decide whether to keep those 😍 and 🔥 coming in your business activities—or leave them out of your next campaign.

Why Marketers Use Emojis in Subject Lines

Why have emojis become so popular around the world across various social and demographic groups, including business people? Simply, they add a splash of color, emotion, and personality to otherwise plain and probably even dull text. Let’s check out the major points why marketers love them:

• Visual appeal: Emojis help subject lines stand out in a crowded inbox. This subject line has a personalization field and a CTA but no emoji:

On the contrary, this variant has it all: a personalization field, a CTA, and an emoji to strengthen the communication:

• Emotional tone: Emojis communicate feelings instantly—like urgency (⏰), excitement (🎁), or celebration (🎉). Originating from the Japanese mindset, emojis work as true, but understandable to anyone, hieroglyphs! These subject line examples will give you an understanding of why emojis work:

Without emoji: 

With emoji:

As you can see, the first variant is standard, while the second one offers an eye-catching symbol for better engagement.

• Character-saving: Emojis are compact, saving space in mobile previews. By inserting (🤷) in your subject line, you can express a very strong emotion as briefly as possible! 

That one little icon can draw the eye and nudge open rates up, but please use them responsibly and thoughtfully. We advise you to be savvy in this case. Business communication is very different compared to informal messages, so nobody needs a sequence of emojis like this in the subject line: 

Do Emojis in Subject Lines Trigger Spam and Hurt Email Deliverability?

This truly is a million-dollar question! If you use emojis, can it send your carefully crafted email straight to the spam folder instead of the customer’s heart? So the short answer would be not necessarily, but there are considerable—and predictable—risks.

The thing is that spam filters consider plenty of factors—not just emojis—but overuse, irrelevant symbols, or misleading content can raise red flags. Also, emojis can render differently across devices or email clients, potentially hurting your brand perception.

It looks like emoji use alone doesn’t automatically flag spam filters. The problems arise with bad combinations of emojis and “sales” language use. So, your wise moderation is key.

What the Data Says About Emojis in Subject Lines

If we do some research on the topic, we can come to the conclusion that studies show mixed results:

• According to the Emerald Insight research of 2022, emojis increase the probability of opening the email, the number of times the email gets opened, and clicks to access additional content.
• However, the same year’s Litmus study cautioned that emoji effectiveness is highly context-dependent—some audiences respond well, others not so much.

To make a long story short, emojis can help—when used in the right context and with the right audience. However, the key to your success emoji story is to understand the context properly. This is why we’ll check out best practices for using emojis in subject lines in the next section. 

Best Practices for Using Emojis in Email Subject Lines

Let’s learn how to use emojis the right way. Here are five golden rules—and examples. We will use ✔️ and ❌ symbols for the corresponding cases. 

Rule #1: Use emojis to complement, not replace, words

Please don’t rely on emojis to communicate your entire message. While it can be appropriate in some online communities, it just doesn’t fit the business language and ethics. So be serious. Emojis must enhance your subject line, not carry it. Nobody would care to decipher your enigmatic code!

Example:
✔️      Hurry up to grab our cruise offer! 🚢
❌      👉 🚢 🏝️ 🏖️ 🏃 ✨

Rule #2: Test before you send

Here’s the deal: not every emoji works for every brand or audience. We recommend A/B testing to see what resonates. Also, tools like subject line testers can help—check out this guide from Sendigram for the five best tools.

Rule #3: Stick to only one emoji—or two max!

Don’t overload your subject line message (or any part of an email) with a sequence of emojis. Going overboard can look very unprofessional. Filters would also likely stop such a spammy email from getting to the recipient’s inbox.

Example:
✔️      New arrivals just dropped 👟
❌      🔥💯😍 New deals inside 💥🎯💰

Rule #4: Place the emoji strategically

Consider this: placing the emoji at the beginning or end tends to grab the most attention, depending on the layout.

Example:
✔️      🔥 Hot tip: Open rates up 20%
✔️      Boost your clicks today! ⬆️

Rule #5: Check cross-device compatibility

You should also be aware that emojis don’t render the same way everywhere. What looks fine on iOS might show up as a blank box on Android or Outlook. Use common emojis that are widely supported.

Pro tip: If you are wondering how to insert an emoji in a Gmail subject line in a proper way, you can check how they render using tools like those mentioned in this Litmus article. 

When NOT to Use Emojis

Think of it this way: emojis for email marketing campaigns are not always a good idea. They can backfire in certain situations. Let’s look at three situations you might want to avoid them.

❌ Situation 1: In serious or sensitive topics

Example 1:

Example 2: 

As you can see, such subject lines look unprofessional or even offensive. In the worst-case scenario, you could face legal issues regarding some unlucky email subject line. So don’t make these stupid mistakes, and stay on alert!

❌ Situation 2: When targeting formal B2B audiences

Unless your brand is somewhat playful by its nature or your audience welcomes such an approach, skip the emojis in certain professional settings, like banking, finance, or law. What is great for communication with a surfboard store might not work for Bank of America or Wells Fargo. You don’t want to confuse people from Wall Street with some weird emoji, do you?

Instead of: Let’s talk business 📈
Try: Schedule your Q2 strategy call

❌ Situation 3: If you’re not sure what the emoji means

It may sound weird, but such a situation is not hypothetical, it can be a real-life case. If you have any doubts, always double-check meanings—especially for symbols that may have, well, double meanings (like 🙃 or 🔴).

Final Verdict: To Emoji or Not to Emoji?

Yes, we’re brave enough to rephrase the Bard’s famous line!😉

Emojis are a tool you can benefit from—or make your email marketing campaign go bust. They can improve open rates, add a personal touch, and make your emails pop—but only if they fit your message, brand, and target audience. Emojis are not a silver bullet; in the wrong context, they can annoy or even turn off your customers. 

Tip: Visit Emojipedia to check out their extensive collections and new arrivals. You can also check out emojis developed by various platforms, such as Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Samsung, TikTok, X, and so on. 

If you’re experimenting with emojis, start small, devote time to testing, and measure the results. If things go wrong, simply forget about it. After all, plenty of successful email marketing campaigns do not use emojis. If your research shows that emojis help your business grow, include them in your digital marketing toolbox. 

👉 By the way, do you want to take your subject line game to the next level? We strongly advise you to check out a couple of helpful Sendigram resources. The first could be your guide for using the best subject lines for cold emails. Another is a magic box of recommendations on how to make your email stand out in a crowded inbox. 

We hope you shape a wise emoji-use approach to write many email subject-line success stories! 😊