There are lots of discussions about subject lines, generally in the category of “how do I write more effective ones?” The person posing the question is interested in getting a greater response from their email marketing campaign: better open rates, more clickthroughs, increased conversions. All fine and good things… for YOU the email marketer. But what about your readers?

What they're interested in as consumers may be very different than what you're interested in as a marketer.  

Yes, your subject line should accurately convey what the content is: “Weekly Newsletter” or “Monthly Update” or “Action Alert.”  If there’s something time-sensitive in the content, that should be noted. And of course, it should be compelling, so that the reader will open it right away and hopefully take whatever action it is the message is promoting.

However, what isn’t much considered it seems is many people’s habit of archiving messages when it has content they may want to reference later. They may or may not read the email immediately and they may or may not act upon it. But that’s just one part of the equation. Because many people save emails, it might make sense to make the subject line meaningful for finding the message later.

Case in point: I get an email from a site that sends daily emails for the hot dining, shopping, and events in my city. The email’s subject line is branded with the company name, then they write something witty—and ambiguous—about the content. Presumably this is to get you to open it. After I have read the email, I sometimes save it so that I can go back and find the name of the shop or restaurant later when I have a chance to actually go. Trouble is, the subject line doesn’t help me to find the email later because, in their attempts to be witty and mysterious, it doesn’t provide much of a clue about what’s inside.

Want to find that email about the French restaurant on Union Street? No mention of “French” or “Union” in the subject lines. Travel tips for Budapest? Don’t even bother looking for a subject line containing “Budapest”—that would be too easy! While the subject lines do have a passing connection to the content (an email about a Greek wine bar arrives with the subject “The Gods are Smiling”), the connection isn’t enough to help you find the content quickly and easily later.

What can you do instead? Well, taking the example above, one change could be to categorize the email—as another newsletter I subscribe to does—into Shopping, Dining, Events, etc.  Another idea would be to compromise between the current subject lines which are mysterious but ambiguous, and something a little more informative. Subject lines can take a certain amount of creativity to write. Being a little more clear about the content isn’t necessarily any more difficult, it’s just a different mandate.

Another idea is this: the site provides an archive of all their past daily emails. Perhaps in the archive, the subject could be made explicit for the purposes of searching. Then, I don’t have to save the emails, but could simply go to the archive and find what I’m looking for easily, because they’ve added the restaurant name, for example.

Ultimately, you should know your customers and readers best and how they use and act upon your email marketing messages. Your job is to make it as easy for them as possible to act on your messages. Getting them to open them is just the first step.

Food for thought. Or a morsel for your cerebellum.

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