Am I the only one who waits until the last minute to write in the subject line for an email? Even when I know what the email is about, I stress about finding the perfect way to write a subject line that sounds interesting enough that the recipient will open the email. Since graduating, I’ve contacted many professionals via email for internships/jobs, advice, informational interviews, etc. and I’ll be the first to tell you that the subject line life is rough.
Thanks to the world wide web I’ve found the tips below to be pretty helpful.
Subject line should say why you’re sending the email. (Cenedella)
“Over-achieving Operating Executive – John Smith” is much more effective than “Responding to job post”.
This may sound obvious, but please, do not send e-mails to the HR department at, say, Amazon with the subject line, or document name, “Application for Amazon job”. They know you’re applying to Amazon, and this makes it easy for your email to get lost or ignored.
Putting your name in your subject line will help the hiring manager, who’s already strapped for time, stay organized. And providing a theme – with just a tiny bit of self-promotion, will remind them why it’s important to read your email.
Keep it short. (Business Insider)
A typical inbox reveals about 60 characters of an email’s subject line, while a mobile phone shows just 25 to 30 characters. With such limited space, eliminate any unnecessary words like “hello” and “thanks,” and get right to the point in about six to eight words.
Avoid CAPITAL letters (AWAI)
Wherever you use them, writing in all caps is usually considered shouting. Plus, they make the text harder to read.
Avoid misleading the recipient (PRDaily)
Want to lose the trust of your recipients immediately and permanently? Lie to them. Your subject line should always match the content of the email. If you’re misleading in your subject line, your recipients will feel duped, killing any chances of them responding to your offer or pitch. Be clear and honest.
If an email subject line doesn’t sound remotely appealing, you may end up sending follow up emails for a few weeks or so. I’m sure no one wants to be the annoying emailer, so hopefully these tips will help you get fast responses.
Do you have any tips for writing a subject line? Leave them in the comments below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
(photo credit: Inbox Marketer)
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