How to Write Attention-Grabbing Subject Lines

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Freelance writing clients and all clients in general could be approached from a fishing perspective. Clients are the fish and subject lines are the lure. It takes one line, one hook to catch their attention. Do this and you’ll have no problem reeling in BIG catches every day.

A great headline is hard to resist — a subject line is no different. It opens the doorway to communication. It’s short, sweet, and to the point. Use five to eight words and no more than 40 characters to entice readers to click on your email campaign.

How to write attention-grabbing subject lines

1. Write your subject line and then rewrite it. Do this until you’re completely satisfied.

2. Test email campaigns with various subject lines and analyze which ones offer the best return.

Tip #1: Write your message first, write your subject line last.

3. Consider personalizing the subject line. If you use an email provider such as Constant Contact, you should be able to customer email blasts.

4. Let’s face it; a deadline-driven subject line could do the trick. If your offer is very tempting, clients and potential clients will feel an urgency to respond.

Tip #2: Avoid exclamation points and other symbols because they’re linked to spam email.

5. Is it really Urgent? How much will clients Save? Can this be true? A Free offer? These call-to-action terms are overused. Do they still work? They do; however, savvy clients and customers will chuckle at them because they ‘spammy’ terms when they read them. Your email blast has a good chance of being  flagged as spam. Or, it could go straight to trash!

Format email campaigns in a clean, clear, and concise manner. Focus on providing solid information instead of overwhelming clients and potential clients with a bunch puffn’ fluff. It’s tempting to fill email campaigns with graphics and videos but your email will mostly end up in the spam or trash folder. To ensure your message is received loud and clear, provide useful content and avoid all the fluff.

6. Read magazine and newspaper headlines and think like a ‘seasoned’ magazine or newspaper writer. These folks know how to write headlines that make readers stop and read the article.

7. Get to the point. Keep a subject line between five and eight words.

Tip #3: Know your target audience and email list. Sending an email blast to everyone on your list isn’t a good idea. Tailor email blasts and campaigns accordingly.

Gain Thousands of Web Visitors Overnight … Offer Ends at Midnight … are examples of calls-to-action to motivate clients and potential clients. Your call-to-action could motivate clients and potential clients to visit your website, “like” your Facebook fan page, follow you on Twitter, connect with you on LinkedIn, review your video tutorials, etc. Your call-to-action will set you apart from the competition.

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