What's In a Subject Line?
Welcome to your first issue of "Good Thinking: Tips for Better E-Relations." I developed this newsletter for busy marketing and communications professionals like you who are using e-mail every single day to build better relationships with your target audiences.
The bottom line is, I want to help you succeed. "Good Thinking" provides quick, easy-to-read tips or a short article that will help you stay on top of your game when it comes to e-mail marketing strategies, best practices and using the technology. If you have a topic suggestion or a success story or struggle from your own experience, please let me know so that I can share your ideas and questions with the rest of our subscribers (anonymously, if requested). That way, we can all learn from each other.
Okay, read on to learn how a carefully crafted subject line can boost your open rates!
What's In a Subject Line?
It's easy when we get in a hurry to fire off a subject line and hit "send" without giving it a lot of thought. But I'm here to tell you that your subject line is the single most crucial string of words you will put together in your e-newsletter. Why? Because they way you craft your subject line will determine whether your e-mail even gets opened.
Remember, you are competing for attention in that inbox. Think about it: When you check your e-mail, what do you do first? Read through the list of subject lines and delete the ones that are not important to you, right? So how do you make sure your message breaks through that clutter?
Vary your subject line and use it to tease readers into opening your e-mail.
You can draw readers in by using your subject line to let them know right away that you are providing something they either really need or really want.
Example: When Communications Director Kathie Woehrmann of Cooperating School Districts used the subject line "A Look Ahead to 2004-2005," she achieved a 10% higher open rate than when she used the more generic subject line, "IMPACT E-news from Cooperating School Districts."
Example: Here are a couple of sample subject lines from artist Mary Engelbreit's "From ME to You" monthly e-newsletter. Marketing Coordinator Beth Lauver typically highlights two or three topics (concisely!) in each subject line:
Quick Poll | Inside Mary's Home
Meet Mary | Win an Autographed Book
Online Coloring Activity | Vote for MEHC Cover
Beth knows Mary's fans love to participate in polls and surveys, and they are always dying to get any kind of scoop on Mary's life, home and current inspiration, so she teases those topics in the prime real estate of the inbox - the subject line. And she has learned from experience that mentioning anything that fans can download, win or vote on is a definite "opener."
Shouldn't I use the name of my newsletter as my subject line?
Well, good thinking on your part. But remember, you can set up your e-marketing account so that the name of your newsletter appears in the "From" field of your messages or as part of the name of your "From" e-mail address. You'll notice, for example, that the "From" e-mail address in this very e-mail is:
Katey Charles Communications [goodthinking@kateycharles.com]
So that takes care of my company name and my newsletter name right up top. That leaves me with an opportunity to use the subject line for something else - providing additional, intriguing information that entices readers into opening the message.
Okay, we've said enough. We'd like to know what you think! Send your feedback and suggestions to me at goodthinking@kateycharles.com.
