Effective E-Mail Subject Lines

The subject line of an e-mail is undoubtedly the most important aspect of the message. It's the first thing that people see when your message enters their inbox, and it's likely competing with dozens of other e-mails at a time. When writing e-mails, many people don't pay much attention to the subject line. Some people don't even write a subject. Others might write something as ambiguous as "hi". In personal e-mails "hi" or "hello" is the most commonly used subject.

To follow are some basic guidelines for crafting effective e-mail subject lines that will help your friends, co-workers and business associates quickly "get" what you have to say.

Keep It Brief
The subject line should not exceed 6-7 words. I've seen many business emails where the entire message is contained in the subject line and the body of the e-mail is actually empty. For example "I need 5 copies of the Acme proposal shipped to the Boston office." How difficult would it have been for that person to hit the tab key or click the mouse into the "body" field? Subject lines that are too long demand too much attention and could be perceived as rude or sloppy. A better title would be "Shipping the Acme Proposals."

Be Specific
As I mentioned above, many people neglect the subject line of an e-mail entirely. Without a subject line, the recipient has to open the email to see what it says without having the opportunity to decide how time sensitive it is. Similarly, a subject line that is too broad or too short creates the same effect. Using the Acme proposal example, an ineffective subject line would be "Proposal". The recipient has no idea what proposal the sender is referring to, or why it's important. The key is to be as specific as possible while keeping the subject short.

Be Polite
One of the rudest emails I have ever received read something like this: "Need product sheet for software". And of course, the body of the email was completely empty. The subject line should indicate the tone of your message. If it's a personal e-mail, you could say something witty, or an exclamation mark for excitement. If it's a business e-mail, the tone should professional and intelligent.

Convey Urgency When Necessary
When an e-mail is urgent, be sure to indicate a sense of urgency and importance in the subject line. In Outlook, you can add the red exclamation mark, as well. If you need your recipient to take some kind of action in the very near future, indicate that in the subject line. For example, "Acme Proposal: Please Review Today". And then the body would explain the urgency of the situation and why it needs to be reviewed so quickly. Do not, however, over-use this sense of urgency. If everything you sent is always marked as "high priority" or urgent, then you will not be taken seriously during the times when your e-mails truly are urgent.

Here are some examples of bad e-mail subject lines and suggested revisions:

Bad subject line: Send me the file you have on the Smith account.
Revision: The Smith account file

Bad subject line: Party
Revision: Party tonight at my house

Bad subject line: Barker doc
Revision: The Barker document: approval needed today

It's understandable that people are busy during the work day and they don't have time to craft perfect e-mail subject lines, but it only takes a few extra seconds to be polite and to write a descriptive message in the body with an effective subject. E-mail is probably one of your primary means of communication, so it's important that you send the right message.