Comments on: New Standards for Email Subject Lines

By: Rick @ United States Paper Money

Rick @ United States Paper Money — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:08:09 +0000

This really helps a lot!!!! Thank you!!!

By: Loris Fusco

Loris Fusco — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:37:28 +0000

As a travel agent, I communicate via email with new and excising clients.
I have always thought of email as a conversation. And I try to keep them business like.
Recently a new customer complained about the email I sent her.
So, I am interested to know there are any standards for business email.
I thought my email was acceptable, but my client did not.

I look foreword to your advise, Loris

By: Kristie

Kristie — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:15:35 +0000

Great tips and enjoyed reading the comments too. In a world proliferated by SPAM, the challenge to avoid “spammy” subject lines is ever apparent, whether that be technically spammy or “human perceived spammy”.

By: Karlyn

Karlyn — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:13:17 +0000

@adhs – you’re not in favor of something that produces higher ROI than pretty much any other form of marketing out there? If you’re sending emails to cusomters, aren’t you DOING email marketing?

By: adhs

adhs — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:54:42 +0000

It might be weird but I am not in the favor of email marketing so I have no concerns with that. In general I always like to write a descriptive and meaningful subject because it always tell the story. I have to send email often to my customers so most of time, I send them email with more detailed subject fields.

By: Heidi Cool

Heidi Cool — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:32:17 +0000

It seems quite logical when you think about it.

The subject line is the one place you have to educate your readers regarding what comes next. An informed reader would be far more likely to click through if the material is relevant. In that respect it doesn’t matter whether the line is long or short as long as it communicates the intent. If it is vague I’m far more likely to assume it is spam.

As Wrye mentions this applies as much to individual emails as it does to bulk e-mails. I’m far more likely to ignore a blank or obtuse subject line than one that gives me some insight. If I could train my clients to write something more descriptive than “the Web site” (which one?) I’d be thrilled.

By: Melissa Cheater

Melissa Cheater — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:01:02 +0000

My first thought was that people are probably opening the longer subject lines actually because they can’t see the full line (i.e. hotmail ran out of room to display the whole line or something). I side on caution when deleting, and like to make sure I know the full story before i hit the red x…

I love your conclusion that longer subject lines get higher click to open rates because they allow users to make a more informed decision about whether the email will actually apply to them … and if it’s true, it’s kind of proof of your next point – that you have to be relevant. Crap mail, crap websites, crap blogs, can get all the hits money can buy – but if they’re crap they won’t be successful. 1,000 hits just equals 1,000 people who now know you were crap (and maybe didn’t know until now).

By: Wrye Sententia

Wrye Sententia — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:27:27 +0000

Karlyn,
Thanks for the rapid response. I was speaking from the angle of a university writing instructor, not a marketeer. If we can get university students to understand the value of ‘tailoring’–that is–crafting–a subject line to their professors beyond the woefully inadequate SU lines that I see, I’d guess their “success” rates go up. Sorry if this isn’t the right forum for that sort of comment, I was following Debra’s comment; my first foray at eduGuru…

By: Karlyn

Karlyn — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:11:34 +0000

@Nick – you’re absolutely right that testing is always a good idea. You have to be careful when you’re testing for non-recurring pieces though, as the results may not apply.

@Debra – I always use to think shorter was better too. That’s why I found this research so fascinating.

@Wrye – I’m not really talking about tailored communications here. I’m talking about using a descriptive subject live, regardless of how much you have segmented you lists. No doubt, segmentation is always good….but its certainly not the ball game.

By: Wrye Sententia

Wrye Sententia — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:05:43 +0000

It’s no surprise that tailoring what you say, with concision and precision pays off. I recommend a good book on navigating the world of email: *Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and Email Overload* by Mark Hurst is a good place to start. The importance of good writing strategies is an under-rated need for 21st century communications.

By: Debra

Debra — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:38:54 +0000

Great ideas to ponder. I regularly use email with 400 students and have used short/sweet subject lines to appeal to the 18-21 set. Considering reframing the message and subject line.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:27:02 +0000

It’s important to remember, too, that you don’t have to do this blindly.

Split-testing your email with a sample of the audience first will give you an opportunity to see what is working with your particular audience.