12 Ways to Get Customers to Open Your Email FIRST

April 30, 2008 5:03 PM

Want to know the secret to email follow up?

TWO WORDS: Subject line.

Because that’s the only thing customers see.
Because that’s the only thing customers have the time to read.
Because that’s the only thing customers will use to decide whether or not to open it.
Because that’s the only way you can immediately differentiate yourself in their inbox.

So, it has to be engaging, interesting, curious and funny.

It has to appeal to their ego and emotions. Capture the interest. Make their head tilt to the side like a curious dog.

And you only have about 50 characters to do that.

The good news is, most of your competitors are titling their email with unremarkable, unengaging and uncreative titles like:

o Hi! (This sounds like spam.)
o Hey there… (This sounds like pornography.)
o What’s up? (Come on, you can do better than that!)
o Check this out… (Yep, more spam.)
o (No subject) (This is lazy and annoying.)

So, here’s your chance! Check out this list of 12 enticing subject lines for unforgettable follow up, along with a reason for why each of them work:

YOU WRITE: Have you seen this article about your company yet?
THEY THINK: Wait … there was an article about my company? Sweet! I hope it was positive!

YOU WRITE: I saw something that made me think of you…
THEY THINK: Really? Hmm … I wonder what makes other people think of ME?

YOU WRITE: Man, I sure hope you’ve already seen this…
THEY THINK: Eep! Did I miss something important?

YOU WRITE: I thought of you when I read this…
THEY THINK: I wonder if I’ve already seen it…?

YOU WRITE: I thought of you when I saw this…
THEY THINK: I wonder what this is…?

YOU WRITE: I was thinking about you the other day.
THEY THINK: Really? Cool! Tell me more. I like being thought about…

YOU WRITE: I was thinking about your business the other day.
THEY THINK: Ooh! This could be good…

YOU WRITE: Someone paid you a compliment yesterday.
THEY THINK: Hooray! Let’s see who loves me…

YOU WRITE: I blogged about you the other day…
THEY THINK: Link love? Awesome! Let’s have a look-see…

YOU WRITE: When I saw this, I immediately thought of you!
THEY THINK: Gotta love mindshare…

YOU WRITE: Your ears should be ringing…
THEY THINK: Yes! My evil plan for market domination is totally working!

YOU WRITE: Your name came up in a conversation recently…
THEY THINK: Sweet! I’d like to hear more about this…

– – –

OK. One final note about email follow up…

Don’t bait and switch people.

Give customers a valid reason for your persistence. Make sure your subject line ACTUALLY has something to do with your message, and isn’t just some trick to get them to open your email. People hate being duped like that.

Ultimately, it’s all about engagement, curiosity and emotion.

It’s about making the subject lines of your email fun, creative, memorable and attractive.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
If your customers receive hundreds of emails a day, what’s going to make them want to open YOURS first?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
What are your Top Five Best Email Subject Lines? Share them here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Who’s telling their friends about YOU?