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Market Your Small
Business With E-Mail
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Article 2: The Subject Field
The
most important words in your e-mail are in the
subject field.
Many e-mail recipients decide whether to read or
to delete their e-mail entirely based on what’s
in the subject field. Learn to summarize, tease
and motivate with these few words, and your
e-mail will be read. Otherwise, your e-mail is
just one more in the long queue of uninteresting
verbiage competing for attention, but destined
to be deleted.
The subject field is equivalent to an
advertisement’s headline. It’s the grabber. Fail
to grab the reader and you’re one click from
oblivion.
The subject line must express in unambiguous
terms the benefit your e-mail contains for the
reader. Such as, “This is your 50% off
confirmation …”
Don’t waste this precious space with pointless
or even the slightly off-point messages. Use no
extraneous words. Home in on why recipients
should bother to open your e-mail. Answer their
overriding question: “What is in it for me?”
You do not have time to soft-peddle the subject.
Use power words like “now” and “act” and
“hurry.” Use “beautiful” rather than
“attractive.” And “free” rather than “no cost.”
Be direct. Don’t hint unless your hint drips
with seductive mystery, such as, “Have you
wondered why your profits are down this year?”
One effective technique is to use an interesting
or provocative phrase, but don’t complete the
entire sentence, such as: “To get the most out
of your widgets all you do is …”
The trick is to leave the reader hungering for
more information. That’s what gets your e-mail
opened and read.
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