Ride the Storm: Navigating Through Unstable Periods / Katerina Rudko (Belka G...
does your subject line do the job
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It's proven that the FROM field of your emails is the MOST important factor in getting your
messages opened. But after that, it's surely the subject line.
Many ezine (email newsletter) publishers seem to consider their subject lines as afterthoughts,
which is a bad idea.
Example: Suppose you get an e-mail with the subject line, "Get Rid of Your Debt Today."
I don't know about you, but my right pinkie is already poised over the delete key!
However, this could be an ezine I've subscribed to that just isn't announcing itself properly.
Now, what if the subject line instead read:
"[Frank's Financial Tips] Get Rid of Your Debt Today"
See the difference? By listing the title of your ezine, it reinforces your brand, it allows your readers
to filter your ezine into a separate folder in their e-mail inbox, and most important, it lets your
recipient know your message is NOT spam.
Now I do see some ezines that ONLY list the ezine name. For the example above it could just say,
"Frank's Financial Tips." That's okay, but it doesn't tell me what's in the issue or why I should open
it. Remember you're competing with dozens of other e-mail subject lines in your readers' inboxes,
so give them a reason to open yours.
Studies show that also using the reader's NAME in the subject line can dramatically increase open
rates, but I reserve this tactic for special promotions I send out that are time-sensitive and I want
great response to (such as announcing an upcoming teleseminar). Example: "Jennifer, join me
next Tuesday?"
This helps get the reader's attention and builds curiosity so she opens it right away. If you want to
use this tactic, you'll need a list service that supports "personalization."
No matter what subject line you write, keep it short and sweet, because many e-mail programs cut
off long subject lines. Here are the maximum subject line lengths (including spaces) in some
popular e-mail programs (last time I checked):
AOL: 52 characters