Six Suggestions For Attention-Getting Email Subject Lines

The true goal of every email is to close a sale, but first you have to gain the attention of your audience. You have a good start with your opt in list. You know what your leads are interested in and that you have a product for them. You also know that the market is fickle and ready to turn on a dime. It is also always looking for something more interesting and has a short attention span.

Your job is to get, and keep, the attention of your chosen market. This will not be easy and, in fact, it will require a lot of careful thought and some luck to strike the right tone and create the interest that sets your email apart from the ever-increasing SPAM that daily bombards its way through even the most meticulous filters.

Following are six suggestions for remaining in the eye of the email reader:

Suggestion No. 1 - Do not use excessive punctuation

This is so important that it is worth repeating several times: do not use excessive punctuation in your subject line.

Excessive punctuation is a common SPAM practice used to sneak past SPAM filters and is no longer effective. It is also extremely annoying and completely unnecessary. All of the contacts you will have on your personal opt-in list can read very well. They also all know proper punctuation rules and that a subject line is usually a good indicator of the content of an email. In other words, bad punctuation there translates to bad punctuation in the body of the email, and careless or uncaring information.

So please, leave off the double exclamation marks and asterisks.

Suggestion No. 2 - Do not misspell words

A misspelled word in the subject line, like excessive punctuation, is a good indicator of the writing ability of the person sending the email. Unless you happen to recognize the sender, all emails you receive that break either of these first two suggestions go in the delete box. Like most people today, you will want to be entertained and informed by your email. You will not want to spend valuable time trying to filter out and decipher email that is probably highly lacking in content in the first place.

Some may feel that this is overly strict part, however, many people feel this way, so it is worth understanding.

Suggestion No. 3 - Make sure your subject line is relevant to the content of the email

A catchy phrase can create interest and get people to look at your email - once. Maybe twice if you have a really forgiving opt-in group, but unless the subject matches the content this will not work more than that. This kind of irresponsible email will end up costing you many leads on your opt in list.

On the other hand, a series of emails with of creative email subject lines followed by relevant information can make your email an eagerly awaited addition to the inbox. "Gremlin crosses finish line in Daytona - see photo below"� should have a photo of the Gremlin crossing the finish line in Daytona along with an interesting article about that particular race.

Suggestion No. 4 - Be sure your subject is relevant to the group receiving it

It requires skill to develop an email that will actually hold the interest of your prime prospects. This is where defining your target audience is important. It does no good to get large numbers of opt-ins if none of them are interested in your product or message. Don't send an email about car racing to a cooking club. Every email you send to the cooking club shouldn't say "Cooking Club News"�, but it should clearly embrace a subject that will appeal to members of the cooking club.

Suggestion No. 5 - Include seasonal or holiday words when appropriate

"Here it is, The Merry Christmas Issue from Best Homes"�

"Favorite Easter recipes compliments of The Chocolate Shop"�

To everything there is a season so be creative.

Suggestion No. 6 - Put a realistic offer in the subject line

Your merchandise will determine what a realistic offer is but "FREE"� looks like SPAM.

"Online automotive information at the touch of your finger"� is realistic.