During the past two weeks, I have been deluged with emails about Mother's day – retail, floral, charity. And each one has a great idea for my mother. I don't use a preview pane in outlook, so the 'from' address and the subject line are all I have to go on in my evaluation process. Here's a sampling of the subject lines and my train of thought as the recipient:
'Mother's Day – Free Gift Wrap Offer'
From ChimpFeet Pet Lover Gifts. Are they going to gift wrap the entire holiday, a pair of chimpfeet, what? I'm on this newsletter because I bought a toy for my dogs. I may be a pet lover, but the company has made a bold leap to assume that my mother is a pet lover also. Buying a gift for my lovely mother from a place called chimpfeet is...well... smelly.
'MADD E-newsletter April 2007'
From MADD. This subject line baffled me. Here is a group that is founded by mothers with the word “Mothers” in their name. Yet their subject line for this May 2 email told me it was the April newsletter. There is no mention of mother's day in the subject line and only a small mention at the bottom of the email.
'Celebrating the World's Mothers'
From Global Impact. How are we celebrating the world's mothers? Champagne? Will the email contain information on an award or event? This vague subject line has no call to action and nothing to tell me what's in the actual email. The content of the email didn't make much sense to me. However, this email was really an invitation to send an e-card. The cards themselves are lovely – beautiful photography and famous quotes. I would have preferred that the subject line tell me more and that an example of the cards be included in the email.
'One-of-a-kind gifts for a one-of-a-kind mom. Plus, free shipping!'
From a women's apparel line. They've told me that my mom is unique, which is true. I know that the product line is relevant. AND there is free shipping. Now, that's an offer I actually clicked through to.
'Honor Mom and help children in need - Give her a gift donation'
From Save the Children. This subject line appeals to ME. I am on this list because I support international community development. And I have a mother. So, from my perspective as a reader, this is the best of both worlds for me – honor my mom and do some good. There were several options on how to honor my mom and help Save the Children, but the language for each offer tied these same two concepts together. Save the Children's message was very audience focused, making it most applicable to the reader.
Subject lines and from addresses are vital. They should not be the last thing you think about as you push the send button. Here's one last example to drive the point home. Two weeks ago I received the same email to both my work and home addresses.
'Is 1 in 5 good enough for you?'
At my work address, this email was from 'Doug Ullman.' I immediately deleted the message, assuming it was spam – you can imagine what kind of spam. Later that day, I checked my home address and the same subject line came up, but this time it was from 'Lance Armstrong.' I instantly understood the subject line contained a cancer statistic. Within this new context, the subject line is intriguing.
Both messages were sent by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, who was clearly doing a test of 'from' names. I just happened to get both versions. As it turns out, Doug Ullman is the president of the foundation.
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