Do you often feel rejected because your email messages are ignored? Do you envision a black hole where your outgoing email is swallowed up, never to be read by human eyes? Well, that’s exactly what happens to thousands of email messages each year. And it’s mainly because of what the sender put (or neglected to put) in the Subject Line.

What’s the big deal about the subject line? Right up there with the “to” and the “from,” the subject line is the most important aspect of any email. Why? This is what causes the recipient to open it or discard it. Think about how you determine which email messages to open and which to delete.

You will open email from someone you know, with information or words that are familiar to you or that relate to something you’re involved in. I’m the president of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). When I receive an email with “SPAWN” in the subject line, I will probably open it. If the subject line reads, “I’m confused,” “Waiting to hear from you,” “Books,” “My Book,” or another generic phrase, and the return address is not familiar, I may delete that email message.

Folks, think before you click “send.” If you want your email to be read and, especially if you want a response, pay attention to what you type in the subject line. Maybe you are approaching a publisher with a query letter. Instead of typing the title of your book, “Question,” “Best Seller” or “You must look at this,” type “Query for YA Fantasy Novel.” When emailing an editor for the first time, rather than saying, “Look at this, please” or “Question,” try “Requiring your editorial services.” If you want to receive submission guidelines from a publisher, state so in your subject line. If you are approaching someone for a book review, say this in the subject line. Don’t simply use the word “Review,” make it clear that you are seeking a review for your book. How about this? “4-book author seeking book review for new thriller.”

Avoid using terms that you see in your spam email, such as, “proposal,” “you must see this,” “Hi,” “Hello from a friend,” and so forth.

It is also important to keep your subject line message brief. The approximate number of characters visible in most email subject line displays is 61. If you try to say too much in the subject line, you could actually confuse or mislead the recipient. Here’s an example of a subject line message that could cause the recipient to delete the email before reading it:

“STANA: Tourism Association of North America Research and Marketing Conference May 22-25 in Philadelphia.”

The recipient, in many cases, will see only this much of the message:

“STANA: Tourism Association of North America Research & Marketing”

If you want to use an oversized message in the subject line, be sure that the “payload” of the subject (or the most important part) is within the first 61 characters. Here’s how this message should have been presented:

“STANA Conference May 22-25 in Philadelphia, Tourism Association of North America Research and Marketing.”

Likewise, I urge you to pay close attention to each email you receive before deleting. Do not delete an email simply because it lands in your bulk/spam email box or just because it has an unfamiliar email address. You can reach me at SPAWN via Patricia@spawn.org. However, I will respond to you using an email address that doesn’t look familiar to your email program. These messages will probably go into your bulk/spam email box.

Look at the name. Read the subject line. Is it familiar? Does it refer to a topic you wrote to the individual or company about? Check closely before deleting, because it may just be the response you are waiting for.

We’re all guilty of deleting legitimate email. But recipients will be much less likely to delete the email they receive from us if we make sure to have an appropriate message in the subject line. And if we take a little more time reviewing the messages in our email and spam mail boxes, we will receive the information we have requested and the messages we wish to receive.

Patricia Fry is the president of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) www.spawn.org. She is also a fulltime freelance writer, editorial consultant, workshop leader and the author of 27 books. Ten of her books relate to writing/publishing. This includes, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book” www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html. Check out the companion “Author’s Workbook” at www.matilijapress.com/workbook.html. Visit Patricia Fry’s blog often: www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog.

Last 5 posts by Patrica Fry

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