Meryl's Notes Blog

Yvonne Russell rustles up a great discussion about email subject lines. Though email has become a standard tool in our communications box, I still see subject lines (or lack thereof) that could easily send a person’s email into the spam or junk folder. So here’s a list of bad subject lines (or good if you don’t want the person to read the email):

1. [blank]: Many people scan their inbox by reviewing the subject lines. Seeing nothing in the subject line doesn’t make always them more curious. Instead, they skip it because they figure it’s not important or it’s spam. Sure, they might recognize the sender’s name, but they might not look in that column first.
2. Hi, Hey, Hello, How are you?: Spammy spammy spammy. Even a catch up email needs a better subject line. Capture the main subject of the email. If it’s small talk and catch up, then use “Catch up” or “Checking in.”
3. Today: But I might not see the email until tomorrow and then I’ll be confused. This applies to “tomorrow,” “Tuesday,” “Next week.”
4. [First line of message]: Some people start their email in the subject line and finish it in the first line of the email. It doesn’t work well because they still have to look at the body of the email. Put the main point of the email for later scanning. People save emails and scan them by looking at the subject line. Who wants to open every email until finding the right one?
5. [Name of newsletter or company]: Actually, it’s good to start a newsletter or company email with the name because many people set filters to send such emails into the right folders. Don’t stop there, though. Add the topic of the email after the name (you can filter by the first part) so if someone recalls an email covering ABC and wants to find it — it’ll be in the subject line.
6. FW: Re: [Old subject line]: After a couple of back and forths about one topic, an email conversation can easily take on a new direction. I’m guilty of this when I get absorbed in the discussion, but then I catch myself and change the subject line. I don’t think it’s necessary to write “Re: [New topic] Was [old topic].”
7. Check this out, I think you’ll like this or some variation: I had to break this habit. When I find a web site to share with someone, I would put this in. But now, it’s turned into a spammy line. Instead, put the topic of the resource.

Anything else? Add yours.