Best and Worst Subject Lines for E-mail Opens

The goal of an e-mail subject line is straightforward: Get the recipient to notice and open your communication. But crafting a good subject line is trickier. With the wrong subject line, your e-mail gets ignored, deleted or, worse, declared spam. A recent Target Marketing magazine article by Jeff Molander, a digital sales trainer and author, provides helpful guidelines for effective subject lines. Basically, to get recipients to open an e-mail from someone they don't know, the subject line needs to do one of three things--indicate an anticipated message, scare/worry, or spark curiosity. But there are definitely right and wrong ways to achieve those goals. So Molander starts with subject line copy to avoid: a yes/no question (since half are likely to say no and delete); overly specific (why open when you know what's inside); too vague (interest disconnects lead to deletes); asks for a meeting or time (people don't waste limited time on a stranger); sounds like a newsletter (unsolicited newsletters get dumped); sounds unbelievable (spammy claims get trashed); sounds too familiar (familiarity breeds deletes, too). So much for subject line don'ts; what are the subject line dos? The best subject lines are appealing and relevant, useful and goal-oriented, specific yet not too specific, believable, provocative yet credible, and, most of all, short, per Molander. Translating that into actual copy, he shares the three most effective subject lines based on his years of consulting with sales reps: "Know this about X?" (and make X something the prospect wants to know); "Advantages of X" (where X is not your product but something unexpected or negative that your product addresses); and "Is this a fit for X?" (where X can be personalized to "you, John" to spark curiosity). For more tips, read http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/post/death-subject-line/