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17TipsForWritingAnExcellentEmailSubjectLineBusinessInsider

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17 Tips For Writing An Excellent Email Subject Line

JENNA GOUDREAU (HTTP://WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.SG/AUTHOR/JENNA-GOUDREAU/) CAREERS (HTTP://WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.SG/CAREERS/)
(/HOW-TO-WRITE-AN-EMAIL-SUBJECT-LINE-2015-1/#COMMENT-) JAN. 9, 2015, 1:30 AM

PabloBlazquezDominguez/GettyImages
Outofthebillions(http://mashable.com/2012/11/27/emailstatsinfographic/)ofemailsthat
aresenteveryday,howcanyoumakesurethatyoursstandsout?
Weaskedcareer,email,andmarketingexpertstooffertheirbesttipsforcraftingtheperfect
emailsubjectline.Findoutwhattheysaid,plusexamplesofgreatsubjectlines,below.

How to write an excellent email subject line:

1.Alwayswriteasubjectline.
Notincludingasubjectlineisoneofthebiggestmistakesyoucanmake.Thesubjectlineoften
determineswhetheranemailisopenedandhowtherecipientresponds.Anemailwithablank
subjectlinewilllikelygetdeleted,lost,orimmediatelyirritatetherecipient,whoisforcedto
opentheemailtofigureoutwhatitsabout.
2.Writethesubjectlinefirst.

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Formanyprofessionals,thesubjectlineisanafterthoughtthatyouaddjustbeforeyouhitsend.
ButAmandaAugustine,careerexpertatprofessionaljobmatchingserviceTheLadders
(http://www.theladders.com/),stressesthatitcanbethemostimportantpartofthe
email.Writethesubjectlinefirst,sothatitsetsthetoneandyoudontforget.
3.Keepitshort.
Atypicalinboxrevealsabout60charactersofanemailssubjectline,whileamobilephone
showsjust25to30characters,saysAugustine.Getrighttothepointinaboutsixtoeightwords.
4.Placethemostimportantwordsatthebeginning.
Awhopping50%ofemailsarereadonmobilephones,saysDmitriLeonov,aVPatemail
managementserviceSaneBox(https://www.sanebox.com/).Sinceyoudontknowhowmuchof
thesubjectlinewillbeviewablefromasmartphone,itsimportanttoputthemostimportant
informationatthebeginning.Otherwise,compellingdetailscouldgetcutoff.
5.Eliminatefillerwords.
Withsuchpreciousspace,dontwasteitwithunnecessarywordslikehello,nicetomeetyou,
andthanks,whichcaneasilybeincludedintheemailsbody.
6.Beclearandspecificaboutthetopicoftheemail.
Thesubjectlineshouldcommunicateexactlywhattheemailisaboutsothattherecipientcan
prioritizetheemailsimportancewithouthavingtoopenit.Forexample,writingDoyouhavea
sec?isvague,saysAugustine,sincethereaderwillhavetoopentheemailorreplytofigureout
whatyouwant.Ifitsajobapplication(http://www.businessinsider.com/theperfectemail
subjectlineforjobhunting20143),shesuggestsincludingyournameandtheposition,andif
itstoanothercoworker(http://www.businessinsider.com/whattoputinsubjectlineofwork
emails20143),youshouldidentifytheprojectthattheemailrefersto.
7.Keepitsimpleandfocused.
Especiallyifyouresendingamarketingemail(http://www.businessinsider.com/writeperfect
emailsubjectlineformarketingcompany20143),KippBodnar,aVPatmarketingsoftware
platformHubSpot(http://www.hubspot.com/),saysitshouldbefocusedononeaction,which
shouldbecommunicatedinthesubjectline.Offeronetakeaway,indicatehowthereadercan
makeuseofit,andspecifyhowyouwilldeliverit.
8.Uselogicalkeywordsforsearchandfiltering.
Mostprofessionalshavefiltersandfolderssetuptomanagetheiremailandprobablywont
focusonyourmessagewhentheyfirstseeit,saysLeonov.Thatswhyitsimportanttoinclude
keywordsrelatedtothetopicoftheemailthatwillmakeitsearchablelater.
9.Indicateifyouneedaresponse.
Peoplewanttoknowwhethertheyreallyneedtoreadthisnowandiftheyhavetorespond,
saysAugustine.Ifyouneedaresponse,makeitclearinthesubjectlinebysayingpleasereply
orthoughtsneededonXtopic.Ifnot,simplystartthelinewithPleaseread,ortackonno
responseneededorFYItotheend.

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10.Setadeadlineinthesubjectline.
Especiallyifyouhavealotofinformationtoconveyintheemailitself,includingadeadlineright
inthesubjectlineexponentiallyincreasestheoddsthatreaderswillrespond.Forexample,after
theemailstopic,youcouldsay:PleasereplybyEODFriday.
11.Ifsomeonereferredyou,besuretousetheirname.
Ifyouvebeenreferredbyamutualacquaintance,donotsavethatforthebodyoftheemail,says
Augustine.Putitinthesubjectlinetograbthereadersattentionrightaway.Moreover,she
suggestsbeginningthesubjectlinewiththefullnameofthepersonwhoreferredyou.
12.Highlightthevalueyouhavetooffer.
Ifsendingacoldemailtosomeoneyoudontknow,youneedasubjectlinethatindicatesvalue
andcommunicateswhattheyregoingtoget,saysBodnar.Piquethereadersinterestby
offeringthemsomethingthatshelpful.Whetheryoureprovidingaspeakingopportunity,a
discount,oraservice,makeitclearinthesubjectlinewhatsinitforthem.
13.Personalizeitwiththerecipientsnameorcompanyname.
Youhavetoknowwhoyouresendingtheemailto,andtheyhavetorecognizethatitsabout
themorasubjectinterestingtothem,Bodnarsays.Usingtheirnameorcompanynameisoneof
thebestwaystodothat,hesays,andmakestherecipientmuchmorelikelytoopentheemail.
Forexample,youmightwrite,IncreaseCompanyssalesby25%,orJohn,seehowyou
comparetocompetitors.
14.Createurgencybylimitingthetimeframe.
Tograbsomeonesattentionandpersuadethemtoreply,considercreatingadeadlineforyour
proposition.Commonwaysofcreatingurgencyincluderespondnow,registertoday,and
limitedspaceavailablereplysoon.
15.Dontstartasentencethatyoufinishintheemailsbody.
Ifyoubeginathoughtorquestionthatendsintheemail,thenthereaderisforcedtoopenthe
email.Itsannoying,andsinceclarityandbeingrespectfuloftherecipientstimeisthegoal,its
notveryhelpful,saysAugustine.Considerwhetherinstantmessage,acall,oraninpersonchat
mightbeabettermediumforyourquestion.
16.Makesureyourereadthesubjectline.
Augustinealsowarnsagainstcopyandpasteerrors.Sometimeswhenpeoplearesendinga
similaremailtomultiplepeople,theyforgettotailorittoeachreaderandendupwiththewrong
nameortitleinthesubjectline.Theeasiestwaytoavoidthisistorereadthesubjectlinebefore
youhitsend.
17.DontputwordsinALLCAPS.
Usingallcapsmaygetsomeonesattention,butinthewrongway.Itsthedigitalequivalentof
yelling,andyourjobistomaketheemailaseasyaspossiblefortherecipienttoreadratherthan
givingthemanxiety,saysLeonov.Instead,usedashesorcolonstoseparatethoughts,andavoid
specialcharacterslikeexclamationpoints.

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Examples of excellent email subject lines:

Forajobapplication(http://www.businessinsider.com/theperfectemailsubject
lineforjobhunting20143):
ReferredbyJaneBrownforTechnicalWriterposition
HumanResourcesAssistantApplicationJohnSmith
Foraninterviewfollowup:
JohnSmithFollowingUponSalesPosition
MarketingManagerinterviewfollowup
Foraworkrequest(http://www.businessinsider.com/whattoputinsubjectline
ofworkemails20143):
RequestingProjectXideasubmissionsDueJan15
EmployeeSurvey:PleasetakebyEODFriday
Forameetinginvitation:
MeetaboutsocialmediastrategyTuesday?
Freetocatchupovercoffeenextweek?
Foranintroduction:
AnIntroduction:JaneBrownMeetJohnSmith
PotentialcollaborationonTVmarketingplan
Foramarketingpitch(http://www.businessinsider.com/writeperfectemail
subjectlineformarketingcompany20143):
MasteringDigitalMediaWebinarRegisterToday
John,seehowyoucomparetocompetitors
Forrequestinginformation:
Inquiringaboutyourdesignservices
RequestforinformationonNYvenue

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