Workplace communication is dominated by email. In 2019, working professionals received 121 emails on average each day in the United States. As email communication continues to grow, how will you write subject lines that stand out amid the noise?
To get a few quick points out of the way, it is important to send emails from an account attached to your name rather than a generic company address. People would rather receive an email from [email protected] than [email protected]. Additionally, be careful using ALL CAPS, excessive exclamation points and question marks. These are often caught in spam filters or received negatively by recipients.
Below I have summarized five key takeaways from Olivia Allen’s 2019 subject-line blog post on HubSpot.
Begin the subject line with an action-oriented verb
Think of the subject line as a call to action. It should make clear what the recipient is supposed to get from the rest of the email. Action-oriented verbs and an active voice will clearly convey to the recipient the action they should take.
Do: Register today for industry webinar
Don’t: Industry webinar has opened registration
Pose a question
The subject line can also act as a hook to bring your reader into the email body. How can you best draw them in? One way to do this is to pose a question. This should be something relevant to your audience that you know is important to them.
Do: How can a PR strategy improve your sales in 2021?
Don’t: Communiqué PR has increased sales for their clients
Preview information inside the email
The good stuff in any email is in the body. To entice the recipient to open the email, give them a preview of the information to come. Offer a breadcrumb of the most engaging or interesting information that you can utilize to lead into the body of your email.
Keep it concise
The key to a good subject line is to keep it short and sweet. The main idea should be communicated in fewer than 50 characters to fit within a notification preview. Remove details that will be made available in the email body, use simple words which are easy to digest in a quick scan, and add numbers to the subject line to quickly quantify the impact of the email in a straightforward manner.
Whenever possible, add a personal touch
If you can make your recipient feel special, they will be more excited to read your email. When sending emails, address the recipient by name, reference a personal detail you remember or wish them well.
These recommendations will help to give your emails a competitive advantage in the email inbox marketplace. Writing the perfect subject line is a learned art that will come with time and practice. The importance of a well-written subject line may be the difference between having your message read or deleted as spam. Taking care to write a strong subject line will lead to better communications for yourself and your organization.