Tip #4: To Get Your Email Read, Start with a Strong Subject Line

Email is opened and read immediately based on two criteria: (1) who sent it; or (2) what it’s about. There may not be much you and I can do about being who we are, rather than the boss, the most important client, or the head of the company, but we can create a subject line strong enough to move your email up in the reader’s priorities. Simple and short: 50 characters at most. Respect the reader’s time. Consider the corporate culture. Build a positive relationship over time. Consistently deliver what you promise.

by Gail Tycer

Take a moment to consider: What is it that makes you open an email immediately? For most email readers, it’s either (1) who sent it; or (2) what it’s about.

There may not be much you and I can do about being who we are, rather than our boss, our most important client, or the head of the company, but there is a great deal we can do about the subject — specifically about the subject line. Here are some ways your subject line can help get your email read:

• Always use a subject line. Simple, to-the-point, and short: 50 characters or fewer. Not only does this bring your reader up to speed quickly, but it helps to move you up in your reader’s priority list. Your email may be competing with hundreds of others to be read at all, let alone promptly. A good subject line helps your email say, "read me now." If you are asking for action, or on a deadline, it may be helpful to include that in your subject line.

• Use additional communication tools. Occasional phone calls, in-person conversations — can also help to move you up in your reader’s priority list. All things being equal, we’ll open the email from someone we have a friendly relationship with sooner than someone we don’t know. That human relationship, the personal touch, can supplement what might otherwise be a virtually anonymous medium.

• Limit your emails to those who really need the information. Resist the temptation to send that email to everyone on the list, even though it’s so much easier just to hit the group send. And then ask yourself not only whether each person on the list needs to have this information, but overall, "Does this information need to be passed along at all?" If not, don’t. Respect others’ time.

• Think about the corporate culture. Many readers feel that being "cc’d" means this email is more of an "fyi," and not that important for them to read. They may either not read it at all, or put off reading it until later. List the reader as a primary recipient if you want him or her to read your email. Also, keep in mind that a "Re:" will seem more important, and garner better readership than a "Fwd:".

• Many email writers like to include (brief) content in the subject line: "Marketing meeting 2 p.m. Tuesday 4/20" and then provide additional details in the body of the email. The theory is similar to the old direct mail "hook" — give them the information quickly, the details in the supporting copy.

And then, make sure that your email delivers what the subject line promised. Make it short and concise. Help the reader "get it" at a glance — in the first three to five lines. Make it easy for your reader to do what you are asking him or her to do. Check your email frequently, and be easy to get back to.

Tip #2: Selecting Content – How much is enough? How much is too much?

To determine what to say; what not to say; how much to say; and when to say it, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Why does my reader need this information?
2. How will my reader use this information?
3. How will this information support my purpose for writing?

If you can’t come up with good answers, leave it out.

by Gail Tycer

Here is yet another way to save time as you write less — and say more: (1) Edit before you write; and (2) understand the appropriate level, and depth of information needed before you write. Easier than it sounds, and here’s how:

1. Gather your information. Gather ALL the information you may need, based on your reader’s need for the information, your reader’s use of the information, and your purpose for writing. And NOTHING ELSE!

Make a list (section IV if you are using my Strategic Business Writing Blueprint) — just a word or two — of all the things you might want to say, using these criteria. Then be ruthless. Cross out anything, and everything, you do not need. As you are crossing out, other information you do need will probably occur to you. Add these items to your list. Review your list of content one final time, eliminating everything you do not need, adding those things you do.

You have now defined your broad general topics (what you are going to talk about) – and edited your content — before you have written a word!

2. Consider what level, and how much detail to include. Consider your reader, and how much he or she will need to know, based on his or her need for, and use of your information. Let me tell you a story:

One day, my neighbor stopped by and asked whether she could bring me anything from the grocery store. I asked her to bring me some carrots, so she returned with a can of carrots. Had I given her sufficient information for her use of, and her need for the information? Had she done what I had asked her to do? Of course she had, based on the level of detail I had given her. I thanked her, but what I had really wanted was some raw carrots, so I could have carrot sticks for dinner! So, was my purpose served? No, because I had not given her sufficient detail to get the results I wanted.

So I then gave her more detail, and asked her to go back to the store and get me some raw carrots so I could have raw carrot sticks for dinner. Being a terrific neighbor, she made a second trip, perhaps grumbling a little, to get some raw carrots for me. But when she returned this time, she brought me raw carrots without the tops that I had wanted to feed the rabbit! Had she done what I asked her to do this time? Of course she had, based on the level of detail I had given her the second time. Was my purpose served this second time? No.

My choice at this point was either to let the rabbit do without his treat, go to the store myself, get someone else to go to the store for me, or (oh no!) ask her to go back again.

Does this sound like some of the instructions you may have read on the job? Or (ouch!) some of the results you may have gotten from your co-workers or employees at some point?

So when you think about what level of information is enough, and how much is too much, remember the story of my good neighbor. And remember that the level of detail you select is also based on those three criteria:

• the reader’s need for the information (to know I did need something from the grocery store);
• the reader’s use of the information (to bring me exactly what I needed – in this case, carrots with the tops still on); and
• my (the writer’s) purpose (to get raw carrots for carrot sticks, with the tops so I could treat the bunny).

Now, let’s take a second look at the story I just told you.

Do you need to know (for your need and use, as the story’s reader) anything more about my neighbor? Probably not, if your need for the information was only to consider the point of the story, and your use of the story was to improve your business writing skills.

If, on the other hand, you were a police officer to whom I was reporting my neighbor’s theft of the money I had given her to buy my groceries, you would, obviously, need a whole different set of detail to use in catching the criminal, although the broad general categories could likely be quite similar. At that point, the detailed information about the carrots becomes quite unnecessary, and my purpose (to get my money back) would be better served with detailed information about my neighbor.

Similarly, as the story’s reader, would you have needed to know why the neighbor offered to buy groceries for me? (Was I ill? Was my car broken down?) Or how much money I had given her? In advance, or when she brought the carrots back? Or what kind of a rabbit I had? Of course not! Interesting, maybe, but totally useless, given your need for, and use of, the information.

That’s exactly what can happen in the business writing situation. The writer may become too immersed in what he or she knows. The result? The writer can easily bury the reader in unimportant and unnecessary (to the reader) information, frequently at the expense of getting the reader the information he or she needs to get the job done!

Tailor your choice of information — what to include and what to leave out – and the level of detail to include, to the three criteria: (1) Your reader’s need for the information; (2) your reader’s use of the information; and (3) your purpose for writing.

© 2006 Gail Tycer