If you know how to get your emails read, then you will be a step ahead of the majority of your competition because most of them haven’t a clue. The vast majority of emails are never opened, let alone read, and there is a technique that must be used to make sure that your emails are read.

If you are involved in internet marketing, you will know how many emails you get each day – even those that get past the spam blocker.  Nobody ever opens them all, and most simply scan down either the sender or the subject columns.  Some people manage to scan both at once, but you have to assume that the subject line is the most important visible part of the email because there is little you can do about the sender.

This is not quite true, because you can change your email address to include a sexy looking sender’s name, but it is generally the subject line that gets the email opened.  You must design a compelling subject line, and there are some tricks you can do to improve the chances of your email being opened.

First use the recipient’s name. At one time this was guaranteed to get it opened because the recipient believed that the sender must know them personally, but it is just an autoresponder trick using the name provided in the opt-in form.  Most people are used to seeing their name in the subject line these days, but it won’t hurt for you to include it. They might take offense if it is not there!

Your subject line must include a believable benefit or offer to the person receiving the email.  The important word here is ‘believable’.  There is no point have a subject something like:
“John:  Make $10,000 in 24 Hours with this Great New System!”

Nobody will believe you.  Everybody is used to this type of email now, and all they want is your money up front before you are sent an PLR eBook that has been regurgitated a dozen times. The offer must be believable.  Nor can you use spam words such as ‘Free’, ‘Cheap’ or sometimes even ‘Offer’. The ‘$’ or ‘£’ sign is also taboo.  Your email will never be seen, let alone opened.

So what kind of benefit would get past the spam blockers yet still seem compelling enough to get it opened?  How about:
“Ten New Devious Money-Making Tips to Download”

That is OK, and might get the email opened.  It is offering something free without actually using the word, and also possiby slightly ‘illegal’. However, to really get it opened it helps if you know a bit about the recipient’s business. You won’t really know this, but if you have a list of people that have signed up for your SEO newsletter or Ezine, then you are pretty safe using that as your theme.  You might have more success with something along the lines of:
“New Breakthrough SEO Info in Your Mailbox Now”

The important aspect of a subject line is that it should tell the recipient what is in the email, not try to sell them it. Even a simple “ April, 2008 Newsletter” is better than “Make $1000s with this Great Newsletter”.  Studies have indicated a far higher opening rate from the former than the latter type of subject.

So be honest with your subject line and state clearly what is inside it.  If you are offering an ezine or newsletter it helps if you can include a URL in the ‘Sender’ line that tells the receiver ‘who’ is sending the email, and a line in the ‘Subject’ telling them ‘what’ is inside.  Don’t try to sell the contents of the email, just state what is inside, but try to make it a benefit rather than a bland statement.  However, the bland statement has been shown to be more effective that an outrageous offer of high earnings.

So, your email has been opened. Your next task is to get it read, since just as the vast majority of mailings are never opened, so the majority of those opened are closed almost immediately. You have to catch their eye right away with a good headline. Let’s take the “New Breakthrough Seo Info” as an example. Keep in mind that this is an email sent to an SEO list.  If you want your email read, you will need a better headline than:

“Hello John,
I have included some SEO tips in this email that you might be able to use on your website . . . “
That doesn’t do a lot for me, and I am sure it does even less for you.  You have only a couple of seconds after the email has been opened to grab the reader’s attention, so you need a proper headline, not a “Dear John” letter.   How about:

BEAT GOOGLE with FREE BREAKTHROUGH TIPS

That is more likely to catch the eye of somebody interested in SEO.  The fact that you will never beat Google is irrelevant.  It stops them just for that all important second to keep the email open. They are then more likely to read the second line:

LEARN about the BLACK HAT Methods That Bring SUCCESS

You can then ask them to register for your course. This type of approach does not always work because it depends a great deal on the type of readership you have.  However, those interested in SEO want to know the secrets the big dogs are using, and they associate these with black hat methods. Hence the term BLACK HAT is liable to attract immediate attention.

That’s the secret:  grab immediate attention just long enough to stop them closing the email and you have succeeded. Some emails are so well designed that even people paid to open emails and keep them open for 30 seconds have read them and even acted on them.

So the next time you are writing an email,  be truthful with the subject line and use it to tell the recipient what’s inside, then use a catchy or compelling headline in the email itself to keep it open for that all-important first second or two.  The nature of that headline will depend on the topic of the email, and will be specific to each individual mailing. That’s how to get your emails read, not by making impossible offers and writing boring introductions.