Communication is an art. As real estate professionals, we have to tow the line between maintaining a presence and getting lost in all the noise, being too aggressive and not doing enough. Would you be surprised to know that effective email communication begins before someone even opens your email?
Before you send email marketing flyers chock full of relevant content and incredible listings, consider the subject line. Statistically, the subject line is the most important line in the whole email. Without a carefully chosen subject line, you risk an email not being opened or worse, identified as spam.
Here are some of the most common mistakes we see in email subject lines:
Too! Much! Punctuation!!
When crafting a subject line, avoid exclamation points, dollar signs, percent signs, question marks, slashes, dashes and commas.
Ever see an email with lots of CAPITAL LETTERS in the subject line?
Do you feel like you’re being YELLED AT? Yes, capital letters tend to add irritation, not emphasis. Steer clear of this technique.
Do not include misleading information in the subject line.
If it’s not true, don’t say it. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 specifically prohibits misleading information in subject lines. That means, it’s against the law.
A subject line that’s too long
This greatly decreases the odds a that the recipient will take the time to read it, because, after all, who is going to spend that much time reading a subject line in an email from a person they may not even know?
Try to keep subject lines to 50 characters or less.
More than that and it may get truncated upon delivery.
Avoid spam trigger words.
Spam trigger words include those that are psychological triggers as well as actual technological triggers. Even if your email gets through the filter (the technology part), the person who gets it is likely going to delete it (the psychological part).
So, what does a good subject line look like?
A good subject line should, briefly, tell your client what’s in the email, not try to sell your email. Be sure to include:
- A short, friendly sentence explaining why they may be interested in a listing. Include one specific piece of information or a key feature. Remember, you don’t have to say everything in your subject line.
- Include your company name. Emails from nebulous senders look suspicious. Make sure it is included, at least, in the “From” or “Display” field.
Following these simple suggestions, you will greatly increase the odds that your email will be opened. Keep it simple, succinct and to the point and let your email do the rest.