16
Craft a Compelling Subject Line

As straightforward as an e-mail subject line seems, it can serve a variety of purposes. A well-written subject line can inform readers, entice them to take action, inspire them to buy, or engage their curiosity.

There is no doubt that how you brand your e-mail to customers, clients, coworkers, and vendors has an impact on whether they decide to open or delete your e-mail. Here are just a few things to consider when crafting your subject line.

Make it compelling, not cute. Read through your e-mail and identify the most valuable content. What topic would capture the receivers’ interest and make them want to read on? Make that your subject line.

Compelling: I want your valuable input at Tuesday’s sales meeting.

Cute: Don’t miss out on having your say-so.

Avoid sounding like spam. Keep your readers from being skeptical by steering clear of a subject line that sounds as though it’s promoting a product or service they didn’t ask for, and probably don’t want. For example, consider these spam-sounding subject lines:

Proven Program—Enlarge Your Brain

Well-Made Replica Watches

Work From Home—Earn Thousands

Say Goodbye to Debt Forever

Keep them short and to the point. As a general rule of thumb, the shorter your e-mail subject line, the better. Because the average subject line displays about 35 to 50 characters, make those first few words really count, and grab the reader right upfront. For example, change the average-sounding subject line 5 great Bay Area Picnic Spots into the more compelling Hot Picnic Spots—Bay Area’s 5 Best.

Make it immediate. If your e-mail is time sensitive and you want to encourage the reader to open it immediately, have the subject line reflect this. For example:

Celebrity Signed Picnic Baskets—Today Only.

Emphasize benefit over offer. What does your subject line say about the specific benefit the reader will receive by opening your e-mail? Instead of just listing your offer or a feature, make the value proposition clear. For example:

Offer only: New Study On Exercise

Benefit: Live Five Years Longer With Exercise

Use the newspaper rule. If you want a quick lesson in how to write attention-grabbing, to the point, information-packed subject lines, just pick up any major newspaper. Headlines are the newspaper equivalent of e-mail subject lines. Ask yourself: If this e-mail were a story in a newspaper and needed a headline, what would it be?

Use 10 Tips. Some research suggests that subject lines containing a specific number of tips are opened more frequently. For example:

10 Tips For A Better Golf Swing

Five Ways To Lose Weight

Match the e-mail content. Have you ever received an e-mail on which the subject line was from a previous topic and has nothing to do with the current message? As the content of your e-mails change, change the subject lines accordingly.

Avoid saying too little. Consider the following subject headings:

Following Up

About Allison

Invoices

Although you might have a vague idea of what these cryptic subject lines refer to, they really provide no information and no reason to open them for the recipient—at least not with any urgency. Instead, by adding just a bit more specific information you encourage the reader to open. For example:

Following Up becomes New Sales Proposal—Did You Read Yet?

About Allison becomes Allison Anderson Just Promoted to V.P.

Invoices becomes Invoice From Washington Trip Due by Thursday

Exercise

Open your e-mail inbox and read through the first 10 subject lines you see. How good a job did they do in the following areas?

• Left no confusion as to what exactly the e-mail was about.

• Were pithy and to the point.

• Made you want to open them and read further.

• Were on track and on target with the content of the e-mail.

Now, open your sent box and read through the first 10 subject lines of the e-mails you see. How good a job did you do in each of those areas? How could you have improved your subject lines? Use the space following to rewrite any if necessary.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________