Page 37 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

12 SUBJECT LINES

Do you use emails as part of your promotional mix? If you do, I bet
you spend a long time working on the message: lots of nice short
sentences (balanced with longer ones, of course); plenty of benefits;
calls to action top and bottom; hot buttons. But let me ask you
a question . . .

How much time do you spend on the subject line? This is the
critical part of the package; yet it’s often overlooked. It can galvanize
your reader into opening the email or it can have them stabbing the
Trash button.

The idea

From a company promoting car care products via email
A while back, I had a classic car: a beautiful, two-tone silver/burgundy
1973 Rover V8 Coupé. I probably spent more time polishing it than
driving it. (Maybe because it always seemed to be breaking down.)
Classic car nuts love lavishing TLC on their vehicles so they’re a
natural market for any kind of product that promises a superior
shine. Here’s the subject line from an American company that
makes a range of car (and boat) care products:

Andy, Give Your Cherished Classic a Showroom Shine in Minutes!

We’ve got my first name (which they’d captured online). People tend
to scan their inbox downwards, not left to right like normal reading.
So your hot words need to be upfront where they’ll get picked up.
But right after the name—whammo!—the benefit. In fact it’s two
benefits. First you can get that wet-look shine that makes you want

28 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS