NFIB

Getting Their Attention
04/ 02/ 2002

How to write e-mail subject lines that sell

In the world of direct mail, the only thing that matters is the envelope. The envelope has two reasons for being. One is branding, and the other is to make the recipient want to open it.

With e-mail, your envelope is the subject line. That's how people determine whether to open the e-mail or put it directly in the trash.

Here's what NOT to include in a subject line:

1. Exclamation points.
   
2. Dollar signs.
   
3. The word "free".
   
4. ALL UPPERCASE.
   
5. More than 25 characters.
   
6. Subterfuge -- pretending to be someone you're not.
   

A subject line is most effective when it:

1. Solves a problem;
   
2. does so quickly;
   
3. does so for what appears a small or reasonable amount of money; and
   
4. creates intrigue.
   

From E-mail Marketing: Using E-mail to Reach Your Target Audience and Build Customer Relationships, by Jim Sterne and Anthony Priore (Wiley Computer Publishing, $29.99)

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Check-out Sticker Shock
46 percent of shoppers are "extremely dissatisfied "with the shipping and handling costs of online stores and believe that e-merchants charge more per delivery than catalog-based retailers.

Source: Boston Consulting Group and http://shop.org survey

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This article originally appeared in the May/June 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

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