Writing a Compelling Subject Line: Inform the Reader—Don't Trick Them

If a subject line reads "THIS IS NOT SPAM," it probably is.
"You have to treat the subject line like a newspaper headline in that it needs to inform and it can't trick," says Wallace. Just because your customer may recognize your e-mail address, it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to want to open the e-mail, especially if you send them e-mails often.

Wallace sees the subject line on three levels:
1. It has to be seen and understood—keep it between four to five words, or under 45 characters.
2. It has to inform. Just like a newspaper headline, a reader has to go in to the body of the e-mail knowing what they're about to learn.
3. It has to be persuasive without 'crossing the line.'

Crossing the line is one of the worst things you can do, Wallace explains. "It's a double-edged sword," he says. You want the subject line to be provocative, but you don't want to give misinformation. For example, "'Win a free trip to Hawaii' in a subject line is fine," he says, "but if in the details you have to do this and do that, what you've done is left a lot of people feeling tricked, and I think you've closed the door on people." Once the door is closed, he says, people may never read your e-mail again, or they may mark you as spam. "Don't be clever," he warns. "As marketers, we get our kick on this, but the subject line is not a place to be clever. I think marketers are foolish to do that."
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Another tactic that's often misinterpreted is asking a question in a subject line, like "Want to save money?" Such approaches are often labeled as spam, and useless for a marketer. "You're screaming, I am going to sell you now," says Wallace. "We don't want that. I think the Internet and e-mail is moving us in the direction of not wanting to be sold to."

Some e-mail providers are also very strict about what types of e-mails get labeled as spam, says Dave A. Young. In addition to blast e-mails, you need to be careful with certain words like 'free 'or 'sells.' "Don't use words that will get caught," he says.