With so many e-mails flooding our inboxes each day, it takes something special to get a busy person to click on your communication. Some marketers get so sidetracked by writing the perfect body text that they forget about how important the subject line of an e-mail is. You can write the most compelling and fascinating content in the world, but if your subject line is “blah” then you won’t get clicks. When you’re crafting your next e-mail—whether it’s to your team or to a customer—keep these tips in mind:
Make it informative
You want to make it easy for your readers to know what they’ll get by opening your e-mail. You also want to make it easy for them to go back into their stuffed inboxes and find your e-mail later on should they need to reread the information. No matter what kind of e-mail you’re creating, a descriptive subject line is important. Instead of just titling the e-mail “Discounts,” you should shift that to “30 percent off this weekend!” Though it technically conveys the same message, option 2 is far more eye-catching than option 1.
Explain exactly what needs to happen
In a pinch, your reader should be able to scan the e-mail’s subject line and understand what needs to happen without even reading the body of your e-mail. While you want people to read the whole e-mail, the subject line must give a snapshot of what’s to come in the rest of the text. Consider adding a call-to-action in your e-mail in order to quickly grab a person’s attention and encourage them to follow your instructions.
Don’t abuse the privileges
Though tools such as the “Urgent” marker can make communicating via e-mail easier, it’s possible to become The Boy Who Cried Wolf. If you mark every single e-mail that you send as “Urgent,” then this label will lose its potency. Only use this marker when it’s absolutely necessary, otherwise it’ll quickly stop being effective.
Understand the lingo
There are a few abbreviations that you should learn in order to communicate via e-mail more effectively. One such abbreviation is NRN, or “No Reply Needed.” Use this when you need to get a message across, but don’t require every single person who is looped in to reply. For example: “Running 15 minutes late. NRN.” Instead of having 30 people reply all saying, “Okay,” the message is received and the thread is over. Another important piece of lingo to know is EOM. Instead of forcing the reader to keep scrolling and scrolling, wondering if they’re missing anything, make it easy for them to know when they can move on to the next thing. For example: “The meeting has been moved to 4pm. EOM.”
Regardless of whether you’re trying to make contact with clients or are hoping to communicate clearly with your team, knowing the fine art of crafting a catchy subject line is an important step.
The team at Grammar Chic specializes in a variety of professional writing and editing services. For more information about how we can help you, visit www.grammarchic.net or call 803-831-7444. We also invite you to follow us on Twitter @GrammarChicInc for the latest in writing and editing tips and to give a “like” to our Facebook page. Text GRAMMARCHIC to 22828 for a special offer.
The Red Ink 