How To Write The Right Email Subject Line
Etiquette aside, first and foremost you should be writing subject lines in your emails to do certain things. Write too little and your email might get lost in your recipient’s clutter, write too much and you defeat the purpose of the subject line.
Cranking Widgets has a few tips; probably the most important being that you actually write a subject for every email.
Basically, use a keyword from one of these 4 categories to immediately identify what type of message it is. Personally, I like “Question“,”Response“,”FYI” and “Spam“. This makes it very easy to quickly skim the inbox (or, better yet, sort it) and pick out which stuff needs to be acted upon. Very GTD-ish, eh?
Have your own tips? Please share.
How to Construct the Perfect Email Subject Line – [CrankingWidgetsBlog]
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Comments
Dude says on June 5th, 2007 at 11:08 am
I’m a mail-nazi. Regarding the subject, always make sure you first type the mail and then type the subject. The subject should summarize the email and the best time to do that is after typing the entire mail :-)
AG4 says on June 5th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
I always put a keyword in caps at the start of a subject line which highlights what project/item the e-mail relates to, then follow with a brief description of what the e-mail is about.
For example, sending new brief for a poster for lightbulb stress balls would run like:
LIGHT BULB STRESS BALLS: New brief for A1 poster
I’ve had great responses to this, as it makes it easier to manage e-mails at the receiving end.
I find it’s also particularly useful internally where people are working on multiple projects and this form of subject line gets them thinking on the right project before they start reading.
Winston says on June 5th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
This is my approach: I write the email subject that will best remind me of the content when the other party replies. It’s easier to think of it that way then to imagine what will work best for someone else, which can lead to much second-guessing.
Rob McIntosh says on June 6th, 2007 at 8:56 am
If you come across individuals in your email travels that suffer from SERS (Selective Email Response Syndrome), I have found that sometimes you need to use more of a guerilla warfare type approach to wake them from their slumber.
Example subject line: “I am resigning”.
Once they open the email I of course explain that it was a cheap ploy to get their attention and read my email which required a response.
I have personally used this as a subject line twice and never been taken up on the offer. More importantly, it drove the point home to the recipient and they did respond to the original mail with an additional apology for having SERS.