Getting the Subject Line Right

This article was written by Gail F. Goodman of Entrepreneur.com. Gail is the "Email Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com CEO of Constant Contact, a Web-based email marketing service for small businesses.

One of the most important elements of your email communications is the subject line. Next to the "from" address -- which should be a recognizable company name -- the subject line will determine whether your email gets opened. Writing a great subject line is no small challenge. You only have a few words to make it compelling, urgent and specific -- without sounding too sales-like or misleading your readers. Here are some tips for writing subject lines that'll get great results.

1. Keep it short and sweet. Do your best to keep your subject lines under 50 characters, including spaces, as most email clients display 50 characters or less. A recent study done by email monitoring company Return Path showed that subject lines with 49 or fewer characters had open rates 12.5% higher than those with 50 or more characters.

The study also found that click-through rates for subject lines with 49 or fewer characters were 75% higher than for those with 50 or more characters. Want to increase your open and click-through rates? Keep your subject line short and sweet.

2. Be specific. A vague subject line is a waste of prime real estate. A great example of this that I see often is monthly newsletters with subject lines like "The Green Thumb Newsletter: June 2007." This tells the receiver nothing about what they'll find when they open the email and gives them very little reason to do so. A better approach for a newsletter like this is, "The Green Thumb: 3 Tips for Summer Gardening."

3. Write it last. Many email marketing services (including Constant Contact) prompt you to write your subject line first as you're building your email. I encourage you to come back to it when you're done with your email content. It's important to determine all the elements of your email first, then look for the most compelling topic to highlight in the subject line.

When you're done with the body of your email, read it over and pick the nugget that'll entice your readers to learn more by opening your message.