RE: Email Subject Lines Are Important

I used to just ignore the subject line when I wrote emails. Figured nobody reads them anyways, so why bother?

But then I started noticing my own email reading behavior. And I discovered that the first thing I did when I got an email was read the subject line.  

I also discovered that the subject line shaped my entire attitude towards the email:

• Whether I would open it or not
• If I would be interested
• What action I would take after reading the email
  

Ivan Levison suggests that we think of the subject line as as if it were an envelope:

When you're creating a paper direct mail package, you know you have to come up with a  killer envelope. If the envelope doesn't get opened, the letter doesn't get read and you don't make the sale. Same thing with the subject line. It determines whether the prospect will  read your message or trash it.  (The Levison Letter, Vol.22, No.2)

The subject line needs to motivate the reader to act. Make sure that yours are working in your favor!