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Crafting Effective Email Subject Lines

© Dianna Huff

Crafting Subject Lines that get your e-newsletters opened is important, but writing Subject Lines for routine email marketing is equally so, especially if your customers are like mine. One day I walked into my client's office and she said, "Hold on. I'm going through my email." She then proceeded to delete everything in her box, turned to me and said, "I know I'm deleting legitimate mail, but I don't have time to go through it all."

These days, with shady email marketers using Subject Lines that sound almost legitimate, it's important your Subject Lines are precise and carry the information your prospects need to differentiate yours from the pack.

However, like many people, you may not pay too much attention to Subject Lines for email that falls under more routine types of email marketing, such as following up with a long-term prospect or sending a prospect you just met your newest report or article. To keep your messages from being getting lost - and more importantly - from being deleted without even being opened, use the following tips for writing Subject Lines:

• Use your full name. This works well for prospects with whom you communicate infrequently or for those who won't automatically recognize your email address in the From Line. When checking in with long-term prospects, I will often use something like, "Dianna Huff checking on status of search engine optimization analysis." (Or whatever it is the prospect has indicated he may need.) Stay away from common sounding Subject Lines such as, "Following up to last email" or "Our telecon last week." Not only are these vague, they're also easy prey for Spam filters.
• Use an event name or meeting date. A sales guy I know, who schedules frequent demos and sales presentations, says he has learned to be very specific when sending emails confirming these types of meetings. "People are busy and don't read their email unless it's important. I make it important by stating my company's name and the meeting date and place. This way they can insert it right into their calendar without having to wade through a bunch of text." When following up with prospects I've met at networking events, I'll write to the person the next day, using a Subject Line which reads, "I enjoyed meeting you at the BMA meeting last night." (I also ask the person if he/she wants to be added to my e-newsletter list. This is a good way of adding high-quality, targeted leads - the ones that eventually turn into customers.)
• Use the referee's name. No one likes getting personal sounding email from people they don't know, so when someone suggests I call his or her colleague about a possible project, I'll email the prospect with, "John Smith recommended I call you about your XYZ project." Known as the "warm" call in telemarketing lingo (versus a cold call where the person doesn't know you from Adam), this is a good way of easing people's suspicions and allows you to quickly move the conversation to what the prospect needs.
• Use humor with hard to reach prospects. My colleague has a special email he sends to prospects he's been trying to reach by phone. In the Subject Line he states, "I know you're busy, that's why I'm worried about becoming a pest." He then asks in the body of the email when is a good time to call. He says it works well for him. Try your version of it and see!