What your spam folder can teach you about writing email subject lines
There’s no shortage of content on how to write email subject lines.
But imagine learning how to dunk and not watching Vince Carter, learning how to throw and not watching Tom Brady, or learning how to punch and not watching Mike Tyson.
That’s sort of what’s going on here.
Because none of that content on writing email subject lines involves the reigning champ of cheap, the gold medalist in misery, the dreaded . . .
Spam folder.
And what a loss it is.
Here’s why.
It’s the ultimate lesson in what not to do.
Here’s a screenshot of some top-notch content in my spam folder.
Everything about it screams, “If you open one of these, you’ll have more viruses than a CDC laboratory.”
But what about them screams it?
1. All caps
Sounds like a mascot, doesn’t it?
The Spam All Caps. Rolls off the tongue.
Using all caps in your subject line does the opposite of what you’re trying to do, which is to attract and convince the reader to open the email.
But when you go over the top, you draw suspicion.
That’s because your reader can spot a scam a mile away.
And writing “CONGRATS!” or “YOUR ORDER HAS ARRIVED!” or “CHECK THIS OUT!” reeks worse than a door-to-door Rolex salesman.
2. Poor (and/or confusing) punctuation
Good punctuation — in subject lines or otherwise — reinforces confidence in your brand, product, and service, because it shows that you care about the little things, even the lowly comma.
So when you see punctuation used willy-nilly, such as the example below taken from the screenshot above, your confidence in that brand, product, and service plummets.
That’s because poor and/or confusing punctuation isn’t what your reader expects, especially if they’ve worked with you before.
But the email in the screenshot above is an extreme example. I can’t see anyone actually doing that in a legitimate email, so I won’t spend time on it.
Check this one out.
‘We have a surprise for Fedex Customer’
You’re looking at three punctuation errors there.
And I don’t know where you’re from, but where I’m from, that’s reason enough to avoid it like American Pie on movie night with your parents.
That subject line uses apostrophes instead of quotations (and you wouldn’t even use quotations to begin with), Fedex instead of FedEx, and “Customer” instead of “customer.”
I’d even count the lack of a period as a fourth error, since it’s a complete sentence.
Point being, if the punctuation in your subject line sucks or seems suspect, good luck with your open rate, much less your entire campaign.
3. Italics
There’s generally no reason to use italics in a subject line.
It’s for the same reason that you don’t use all caps.
When you go over the top, you draw suspicion. Period.
There’s no good reason for using all caps, and there’s no good reason for using italics.
Both make you squint, and wonder who’s trying to pull a fast one on you.
The lesson here
Your spam folder is a great (and free) place to learn how not to write an email subject line.
But more broadly, it’s a way to start finding inspiration or new practices in unexpected places.
It’s a way to start thinking outside the box, down the stairs, and into the dark, moldy dungeon that we call the spam folder.
