We all get hundreds of emails each day between our work and personal inboxes, so what does that mean?

Competition for your readers’ attention is fierce. So why do so many emails in our inbox suck? I have a few thoughts on this…

Subject Lines That Say Nothing
Check out these subject lines that recently appeared in my inbox:

• CB2 news volume 1: The summer edition.
• Car Detail
• Newsletter

Seriously? These subject lines are yawn-inducing bores and there’s nothing specific to let me know what to expect when I open the email. Needless to say in these examples, they landed promptly in the trash.

Tip: Make sure your subject lines get to the point of the exciting news or offers in your email and it’ll get opened ten-fold over generic subject lines like the ones above.

Subject Lines In Poor Taste
I am dedicating this category to Spirit Airlines – just look at some of the recent subject lines I received:

• Have you seen our Weiner? (Making fun of the Congressman, they had a Weiner Sale with fares too HARD to resist)
• We’re no Virgin! We’ve been cheap and easy for years
• Spirit Check out the oil on our beaches. (post the Gulf Oil spill)

Tip: If you’re going for shock value, don’t walk the line of poor taste; you run the risk of turning your readers off and having them unsubscribe. The subject lines above also garnered a lot of negative sentiment for Spirit on social media networks, so be careful if you go this route. The negative can outweigh the shock value.

No Call-to-Action
I get lots of emails with no call-to-action links or buttons leaving me wondering WTH do they want me to do?

Tip: A good call-to-action should tell your reader exactly what you want them to do, such as “Find Out More,” “Sign Up Now,” “Buy Today,” you get it. If you want cool (and free) buttons for your email or your website, check out the VerticalResponse Button Builder,  it takes less than 10 seconds to create an eye-catching button!Boring or Irrelevant Content
Along the same lines as no call-to-action is boring or irrelevant content. The kind of stuff that your readers delete – and worse yet – leads them to unsubscribe from your list. We know not all content can be super exciting, so make it as easy on your readers as possible!

Tips for not putting your recipients to sleep:

• Write like you speak – people expect that in email. It’s more relaxed and personal.
• Write about a customer whose problem you solved.
• Upload pictures from a customer event.
• Come up with your own Holiday and have a sale around it.
• Write something personal about you, one of your employees or the company dog. Customers love to know the people behind the company they do business with.

These are just a few highlights of reasons why some emails suck. Make yours rock by trying a few of these tips and you’ll see the difference in your open and click throughs!

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