Every so often, I'll open an email from an online marketer that gets my blood boiling.
It's not the contents of the message that rile me, but the deception of the subject line:
- "A personal message from Joe Marketer"
Similar subject lines would be
- "Personal Email From Joe Marketer"
- "Karl, personal from Joe"
- "Karl: A personal invitation..."
- "(PERSONAL) from Joe Marketer"
- "(Personal & Urgent) From Joe Marketer"
- "A Personal Message From Joe. Please Open Karl"
- "Karl, Personal From Joe... About XX"
- "Joe Marketer Is Sending You A Personal Invitation"
I'd open the message and immediately find that it is a not a unique and personal message written by Joe solely to me. Rather, it's a mass mailing to a large part of Joe's list.
And that pisses me off!
Sure, Joe might tell a "personal" story in the message before he launches into his sales pitch, but that doesn't justify his deceptive subject line.
My response to a message like this?
Unsubscribe! Usually with no small amount of swearing and a nasty "personal" note to Joe, too, for wasting my time.
Am I overreacting?
Well, let's ask the truly important question: What did Joe gain?
OK, he probably had a higher-than-normal open rate, which many marketers will applaud. But at what cost?
In my opinion, he burned his list -- lied to them. And that hurts the relationship established between list owner and subscriber.
What's one little harmless lie, you might ask?
For some subscribers, it's a breach of trust. And people like me will unsubscribe immediately.
Others may stay subscribed, but they'll be less likely to open your messages in the future or to trust what you say if they do open them (Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice...).
If you want more examples of email deception, take a peek at your spam folder. There you'll find plenty of examples of messages engineered to fool you into opening them. Do you really want to operate at the same level as a spammer peddling enhancement pills?
Keep that in mind next time you craft your subject line.
Remember, your message contents should always deliver on the promise you make in the subject line. Otherwise, you risk confusing, alienating, or even angering your reader.
And, while open rates are important, you need to consider the long-term benefits of having a list that trusts and responds to you.
Sure, crafting compelling, yet honest, subject lines takes some effort and creativity, but the results are worth it.
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