Your email subject line is your email’s first impression.
So it must be good.
Calling something “FYI” is not a good first impression! Which means people are less likely to open it.
Instead, to make your subject lines more engaging…
…use an engaging word!
For example, in people’s busy lives, it engages them to see that something will be “QUICK”. So, “quick” can be a good word to include in your title.
Example: if yours was going to be called “Project 12” (boring title), you could transform your first impression by changing it to “Project 12 – A Quick Question to Ask…”
This is now engaging. People will open the email. They know it’ll be quick. And they want to see what your question is.
Other email titles that work well include:
- Project 12 – A Favour? (People will open the email – they want to know what favour you want. Also, it’s nice to be asked to do someone a favour)
- Project 12 – Some Advice? (Again, ’advice’ triggers curiosity. And, again, it’s nice to be asked for advice)
- Project 12 – A New idea… (This is impossible not to open! They want to know what your new idea is)
- Project 12 – Good News… (Again, it’s impossible not to open!)
- Project 12 – We Have a Problem… (Similar to the previous point – but negative, not positive)…
…and all these are a LOT better than the bog-standard “Project 12”.
Occasionally, when people hear this technique, they wonder if it’s manipulative clickbait.
But it isn’t.
If your email contains a quick question, telling the reader upfront that it’s a quick question is helpful, truthful and entirely appropriate. In fact, it’s better for them to know it, than if you just called it “Project 12”.
All of this means that people will open your emails more quickly -- because all you have to do is…
…Action Point
In your next email, put two things in the subject line:
- What you would have called it (“Project 12”), followed by
- An engaging word (- A Quick Question to Ask…)