How to Write a Better Email Subject Line

A friend of mine just asked me, "How can I increase my open rates?" Well I’ve talked about not "Putting all of your eggs in the open-rate basket". Unfortunately the subject line is "usually" the last thing many people think about when they put together an email marketing campaign. I know, it happens to us too.

Three things to think about when writing a subject line for your email marketing campaign:

•     You need to write it so that it gets through filters
•     You need to write it so that it’s compelling enough to get your email opened
•     You need to keep to the expectations you set – If you are living up to the expectations you set in the beginning of your e-relationship, chances are you’ve got a good shot at getting your email opened with a good subject line.

What to think about when you’re writing your subject line:

•     Avoid too much punctuation – A lot of filters pick this up as spam since it’s a spammer technique. Putting an exclamation point after the word FREE! is not advisable. It’s ok to use some punctuation, just don’t overdo it.
•     Avoid using the word FREE in all caps – Some say it’s ok to use the word "Free", others say it isn’t. If you have to use it don’t abuse it.
•     Put the most valuable information up front - Many of your recipients show 40-50 characters as the default unless your recipients widen their subject line area.
•     Don’t repeat your "From" label – You’ve already told your recipient who you are, tell them why they’d want to open it. You’ve only got a small amount of space, don’t waste it.
•     Give your recipient a "reason" to open your email – Don’t generalize if you can, hit them where it counts. If there is an interesting article in your newsletter call it out. If you’ve told them you would send them discounts, just do it.

Source: http://www.verticalresponse.com