What’s In a Title?

Why should you be concerned with the title you use when you send out emails? What effect does it have on whether your emails get opened?

We’re in the Information Age, a knowledge-based society. We can learn about anything at any time and we want to know it all. Or do we? Do we even need to in order to live a happy, productive life?

If you’re like me, you’ve finally realized that you need to be selective about what emails, blogs and newsletters you open. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to read them all.

Titles Are the First Impression People Have of You

So what makes you open an email? What makes you decide to open up one email or blog post yet pass up another one?

It may not even be a conscious thing. It may be an “in-the-moment” decision. Do you ever notice when something peaks your curiosity that all of a sudden that topic appears everywhere?

How to Write a Good Title

1. Keep it short and sweet – use subject lines with fewer than 50 characters
2. Communicate urgency and scarcity
3. Use action oriented words, such as Act Now!
4. Use numbers – 10 reasons why, 7 ways to…
5. Ask a question
6. Create a sense of curiosity
7. Make it clear and concise – people scan their email by looking at titles, make yours stand out
8. Deliver what your title says you will deliver
9. Don’t use all cap – in the internet world, that’s the equivalent of shouting

The bottom line is you want to inspire people to open your email. If it looks like all the others in their inbox, they will pass on through without opening the one that you sent.

There are countless studies out there that track what inspires someone to open an email. But I’m curious to know what inspires YOU?