We’ve examined what makes catchy subject lines, well, catchy. Or should we say wicked? Or rather, hella good?

After all, with today’s access to email data, marketers can examine peoples’ preferences in copywriting and vocabulary. This means that Backstroke can determine your subscribers’ content preferences by their geographical region. 

Crafting regional-specific subject lines presents a unique challenge, as the United States has several cultural regions. The definitions of these vary greatly, in terms of size and populations, depending on whom you ask.

With today’s access to data—and powerful AI tools that can analyze and understand it to a very specific degree—we can understand exactly what type of content people across several regions in the U.S. are most likely to engage with. Backstroke’s email subject line generator is fine-tuned on over 15,000 email marketing programs, and its Audience filters allow users to select which U.S. region they wish to generate catchy subject lines for. 

In this blog series, we’ll examine four regions that Backstroke generates custom, clickable email content for: the East, South, Midwest, and West. In this first blog, we’ll dive into what makes great AI subject lines for audiences in the Midwest and South, specifically.

Here, we’ll show you how to apply these Audience filters, then deliver tips on which other Tone and Promotion filters to apply, so your audiences—wherever they are—feel compelled to click. 

How to Add a Regional Audience in Backstroke’s Email Subject Line Generator

Simply visit Backstroke.com to get started. You’ll be presented with our email subject line generator right away. Click the Add Audience button on the right and the Audience filters will appear.

At the bottom of the Audience filters panel, you can select the region for whom you want to generate email subject lines. Make your selection, click, apply, and your settings are saved.

Now, onto the fun stuff!

Catchy Email Subject Lines for the Midwest

Midwesterners are generally mild-mannered, but still have strong opinions and preferences! In fact, Midwestern values center people who are hard-working, humble, gracious, friendly, and frugal. Today’s American Midwest is the result of generations of people from blue collar and rural working class backgrounds, influencing the culture’s general frugal nature and hyper-regional, somewhat silly sounding slang. 

After selecting “Midwest” in your Add Audience Regional filter, pop over to the Attributes filter. From there, the settings we suggest to include are:

• Select a Seasonal Tone: We Midwesterners experience all four seasons and we love to talk about the weather. Reference both in your subject lines!
• Play it safe with Riskiness: Midwesterners tend to have a traditional bend, so play it safe and keep it simple, when it comes to adding a bit of risk to your tone.
• Midwesterners Love a Sale: It's tradition that, after we receive a compliment on a piece of clothing, we explain how cheap that item was. As mentioned before, frugality is in Midwestern DNA. So why not toy around with the various sales in the email subject line generator, when sending emails to the middle America crowd?

Catchy Email Subject Lines for the South

Everyone knows that the American South is renowned for its friendliness, tradition, and a somewhat slower pace of life. They don’t call it southern charm—or southern hospitality—for nothin’! We suggest that you lean into their friendliness and amp it up in your AI subject lines!

After selecting “South” in your Add Audience Regional filter, pop over to the Attributes filter. From there, the settings we suggest to include are:

• Select “Yep!” in the Slang drop-down. The American South is known for its accents, idioms, drawls, and dialects. This region is so famously rich for the diversity in how people speak! So why not speak their language and throw in a little slang for fun?
• Toggle toward “Safe” on the risk slider. The South has a distinct cultural heritage, and people value their history, community, and respect for tradition. While you’ll want to keep your copy friendly, also keep it somewhat prim and proper as a nod to this.
• Your Brand Voice can edge to emotional. While good manners are a must, that doesn’t mean you can’t show some excitement in your Southern-focused AI subject lines! After all, some of the most famous parties in the world take place in the South.

If you’re ready to generate your own catchy email subject lines, get started here for free. With hundreds of customization options, Backstroke’s email subject line generator will create engaging content for whomever—or wherever—you’re sending!