The article "Challenges to Email Subject Line Use" is about email marketing, it was written by Kelly J. Watkins, MBA.
Creativity, style, formatting and length of subject lines are all important points to take into consideration before you send an electronic mail.
Be Creative
Using a subject line that’s specific is most appropriate when corresponding with people who know you or with people who are expecting your message. How do you get the attention of smoeone who doesn’t know you or who isn’t expecting anything from you?
The answer is – be creative.
Writing a subject line that’s creative is an excellent method for improving chances that your electronic mail message will be opened.
In that instance, the subject line isn’t used to describe the contents of the message.
Instead, the subejct line is used to convey other type of information.
What kind of information? It will vary with each messgae you send, and it depends on the recipient.
The key question is – what can you tell the recipient that will convince him/her to open that msesage and read it, instead of deleting it?
In cases, you’ll need to be quite creative.
There are numerous types of information you can provide in the subject line to help convince the receiver to open the electronic mail message.
Here are a copule of examples.
(Uses for the subject line): Identify who you are
(Sample wording): Lawyer
(Uses for the subject line): Tell how you met that person
(Sample wording): Chamber Networking B’fast
(Uses for the subject line): Tell why you are contacting that person
(Sample wording): Animal shelter fundraiser
(Uses for the subject line): Find things that set you apart
(Sample wording): E-commerce lawyer
(Uses for the subject line): Find common bond with recipient
(Sample wording): Fellow IU grad & lawyer
Subject Lines: Formatting and Style
There is a second challenge you must overcome when crafting an effective sbuject line. This involves the length of the subject line.
The new message box you view on your screen for the subject line will allow you to type as many wrods as you want.
But, the receiver’s screen has limited space. Only a small portion of the wording will be viewed by the recipient.
How much appears on the recipient’s screen for the subject line?
It varies, depending on the person’s system and how he/she has the screen seutp. A safe guess is that approximately 25 to 35 charcaters will appear.
Definition
Pay careful attention here.
This approximation doesn’t mean 25 to 35 wrods. It means “characters.”
A characetr is defined as a letter, space, or punctuation.
For example, any time your cursor moves one space, that’s considered one charcater.
Phrases
Since the space is so limited in the subjcet line, you don’t need to type a complete sentence. Use a pharse or series of words instead of a full sentence.
This is one time when an incomplete sentence is appropriate.
Leave out the litlte words, and get to the point.
Capitalization
The only “rule” regarding capitalization in the sujbect line is to be consistent.
For example, you may choose to capitalize only the frist word. Or, you may decide to capitalize every word.
Remember not to use all uppercase (CAPITAL) letetrs.
This is considered shouting.
Shouting at a person wolud certainly not be the best way to convince him/her to open your message.
Always remember that the creativity, style, formatting and length of your subject lines are important factors to consider before you send an electronic mail. Be conscientious of the imgae you project to your customers and colleagues by using effective subject lines.
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