Email Subjectlines Redux
April 25th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comI recently published an article on how to make subjectlines work to get your emails opened. That article was based on popular opinion - what the experts say. You can research email marketing and find a laundry list of tips that dictate “what you’re supposed to do.”
If the “experts” say it works, then it must, right?
I have to confess something here. I was never a big fan of “conventional wisdom.” People need to start thinking for themselves more. Learn to trust your own judgment.
That said, I’m going to be a rebel. For my own marketing, I’m not do anything that I suggested as a means of getting emails opened. However, if my clients want to follow popular opinion instead of *my* opinion, I’m amenable to that, which is why I published the article for them.
So here’s the thing. My email inbox is highly active. I subscribe to many online publications. Some are from my clients (to help me get insight into their marketing). Others are from experts like the ones I mentioned. Still others are topics of interest to me, like The Dog Whisperer’s newsletter and Cool Running.
Let me give you a sample of things my email inbox has said to me this month…
“New Media PR Boot Camp - Final Notice” - from someone named “Alida Ararxian.” I’m pretty sure I never signed up for this. Into the trash it goes.
“Spring Clean Your Pantry” - nice. This is from Real Living Nutrition. I will save this for later when I can really slow down and enjoy the tips.
“Start a Conversation With Your Customers!” Hmm. Now here’s something different and exciting. (Not really. I will most likely never read this, even though I know the person who sent the mail and think she’s done a good job of marketing herself).
“Monday Afternoon - Up for 19 Hours and Counting.” If you’ve really been up for that long, maybe you shouldn’t be sending emails. I may click this one later, skim and toss.
“The 4 Quickest Ways to Lose Friends Online.” Intriguing. I plan to read this. Maybe I can learn something!
“If I were gone, would you miss me?” Here’s the thing, I’ve read articles from the coach who sends this publication and she’s really talented and full of heart. But most of the time, I don’t read her emails because the subjectlines don’t appeal to me. “…would you miss me?” Well, no. You seem nice enough, but I don’t even know you. I think I left a comment on your blog once but I don’t recall getting a response. So, trash bin.
“DavisVA Digest: F is For Failure.” I opened this because it’s Lori Davis’s newsletter, and I know Lori personally and like her. I also appreciate that the subjectline tells me what this is: the next issue of her company newsletter. I like that. One thing that rubs me the wrong way a bit, is the F is for Failure. Sounds like I’m about to get yelled at, maybe?
“I Can Guarantee You Ge^t Pai’d…” Okay, here’s what I’m thinking. If you have to insert little junky symbols to keep your email from being spam-filtered, maybe you should try a less offensive subjectline. This was sent by another marketer who I know! And I also know that she is a really nice person. She’s bailed me out of a few technical jams on more than one occasion. But if I didn’t know her… I’d look at this and think “Oh God, another person who’s trying to scam me!”
I’ve noticed that less people have been using my name in the subjectline lately. That’s definitely a good thing! (I know, in my last article we discussed that names in email subjeclines catch attention. But if everyone is shouting your name, what’s the point?)
I think the idea is to 1. either tell it like it is in the subjectline, or 2. catch people off guard with something that nobody else is doing.
What are your personal reactions to email newsletters and autoresponders? Do you have a preference for the subjecline delivery? Does seeing your name uttered by a stranger turn you off, or draw you in? What about if you know the marketer… does it make a difference then?
If you’re a marketer yourself… do you think it’s wiser to assume that not everyone on your list *knows* you, and tailor your messages according to that? (I do.)
Feel free to share your thoughts here in the Comments section.
Happy Friday, all!
Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing.
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Email Dina@Wordfeeder.com for a copywriting or website marketing quote today.
April 25th, 2008 at 10:21 am
[…] at Copywriting on the Fly has a new post about this very topic; Email Subjects. In it she gives some great examples of what she is receiving in her email inbox and her reactions […]
April 25th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I’m getting pretty brutal about junking e-mail nowadays!
I’ve gotten really familiar with the “guru” come-ons - click, into the trash
FWD - click (and I really punch hard here), into the trash
You’ve won - click, into the trash after I’ve set it virtually on fire!
Maybe we could just be honest in our subject lines?
April 26th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Terri, I’m snickering. You “punch hard” for email forwards? Too funny.
I have to admit though, sometimes I wonder what is wrong with my friends who can’t send a quick “Hey, how have you been” but they forward stupid emails like it’s their job.
Or, I love it when you write back to, say, a forward that your aunt send… and instead of replying, she forwards another email.
I know what the forwards mean. They’re saying “You’re still my friend but I’m too lazy to actually talk to you.”
April 26th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Dina - that’s exactly what I think of “forward” e-mails!
To me it says “you’re not important enough to actually take 2 seconds to type something personal but let me pretend I think you are”
BTW, Pixel is a Yorkipoo who has her own email address and My Space (www.myspace.com/thepixelator)!