Get More emails Opened

I finally took the time to consolidate various notes I had regarding email subject lines do’s and dont’s. I have been collecting expert suggestions about creating good emails subject lines for a long time. These notes were in all kind of places; in notebooks, random notepad entries, even post-it notes. Since I have this consolidated now, I thought I would share it and see what others thought of these little nuggets of knowledge.

Do’s and Dont’s for email Subject Lines

• Don’t use ALL CAPS – this can trigger spam filters which will send your emails to the spam folder
• Do keep your subject line between 50 and 65 characters - definitely no more than 71 characters. Sometime shorter subjects can be effective but you should test these.
• Do review your subject on a mobile phone – A mobile phone can cut off a subject line and leave awkward or inappropriate phrases. Send yourself a test email and review it on your phone.
• Don’t mislead – you might be tempted to say something wild or even irrelevant in the subject – don’t do it. More people may open the email but more are likely to mark
• your email as spam.

Try these techniques to increase your open rates

• Ask a question – use a question that people are asking about your content. This does require a little research
• Mention pain points – use difficulties or problems common to your target audience or subscribers. Again a little research may be neede4d.
• Talk about benefits – write about the benefits related to your content instead of features
• Create curiosity – one way to do this is to hint at the content in the email. For example, “The answer to [________] is inside this email”.
• Include first name – this is only for subscribers of course.

Also, I have another note that says you should repeat your subject line at the beginning of your email. I wasn't sure where to put that piece of information.

I hope you find this collection of information useful. Please leave me a comment on any tips you have to increase open rates.

Thank you in advance for your comments,
Bob Caine

PS - The Angry Crab surfing badges were available again today. I am at 5 of the 10 1000 site surfing days with the Angry Crab surfing badges I need. Crabs will probably disappear tomorrow. But there is always hope.