How many e-mail messages do you receive in a week? How much of it is spam?
The great spamming tide has made us “quick delete” creatures. People immediately delete any message that is suspect – without reading it. That’s why your subject line is crucial. You need a great one to ensure your e-mails are opened and read rather than deleted.
A great subject line is even more important when you consider the increasingly popular rule-based e-mail filters that use very unforgiving software to classify incoming messages as spam or not-spam.
Here are eight simple tips to help you ensure that your e-mail will not be mistaken for spam:
1.Don’t use dollar $igns in the subject line. Many of your readers will have spam filters that kill off anything with a dollar sign in the subject line.
2. Don’t include advertising words like best selling, cash, free, guaranteed, make money, opportunity, order, satisfied, saving or special offer. Such words are frequently used in spam subject lines. Keep in mind that these sorts of words easily and often find their way into your everyday business writing. For example, “Can we free up some money from the budget?” is something you might legitimately write. The spam filters, however, would love to kick it out.
3. Don’t leave the subject line blank. Not only are you failing to capture your reader’s attention and inspire them to action, but this is a common spammer technique to trick you into opening the message.
4. Don’t send work-related messages from your home e-mail if your address ends in yahoo.com, hotmail.com, or aol.com. Huge volumes of spam come from such addresses and many businesses will not accept any mail from them.
5. Don’t send unsolicited attachments. People have become very wary of them as many of these attachments are infected with viruses or contain other malicious software. And, just maybe, if you stop sending them to others, they’ll stop sending them to you.
6. Don’t SHOUT. Don’t send a message written in all capitals. This is a common sign of spam. Besides, in the land of the Internet it’s considered yelling.
7. Don’t use words that might be interpreted as having an adults-only meaning. Enough said. You can figure it out for yourself.
8. Make sure the date on your computer is set correctly. An incorrect or missing date is a common sign of forged e-mail headers, another common spammer trick.
Just think of all the extra time you’ll have and how productive you’ll be when you know that your e-mail messages are delivered, opened, read, and acted on!
Kathleen Rake, author of the e-course, No More Gobbledegook, is a professional plain-language practitioner who writes and edits for business, promotions, advertising, and the web. Kathleen, recognized by her peers as the Queen of Clear, Clean, and Clever, is client-focused and delivers on-time affordable copy. Do you need a killer headline that reaches out and grabs your audience? Call her at 604.556.6459 or visit her at www.TheWriteWay.ca to find out about her popular Five Headlines for 50 Bucks promotion.
