Here’s an interesting bit of trivia that was in a marketing email I just received:

Did you know that in the original Star Trek series 59 crew members were killed in action and 73% of them were wearing red shirts?

Might want to avoid wearing red shirts — or standing next to someone else who is wearing a red shirt.

I didn't know that, but the most important point is: This email came from a sender I recognize, someone who sends a high volume of marketing emails. I know he’s going to be trying to sell me something in almost every email, and while I do occasionally buy his products, most of the time I just delete his messages without opening them.

But I opened this one. The subject line was: “Avoid wearing red shirts”

I wanted to know why.

I also respond to simple headlines that offer information I want, such as

  • 10 tips about this
  • 5 ways to avoid that

While I have been curious when I see “and you won’t believe what happened” or “what happened will shock you,” I’ve stopped opening those emails because they generally tick me off. But that’s an issue for another blog. The question for today is:

Do your subject lines intrigue your audience enough to make them click on your email?

If your open rates aren’t where you’d like them to be and your content has value, you may need to work on your subject lines.

Jacquelyn Lynn
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