New York–Did this headline get your attention? It should have, considering it uses four of the nine words that currently work in e-mail marketing, according to print and Web catalog copy guru Hershell Gordon Lewis in a May 22 session at the DMD Conference, held here May 21-24. Not that Lewis advocates using these words (along with the other five: attention, flash, hot, inside, and SOS) together. Rather, including just one or two words in the subject line can increase the likelihood that your e-mail will be read.
In his session entitled 25 Tips to Double E-mail Response, Lewis’s advice ranged from basic e-mail construction tips (no paragraph should exceed seven lines) to market-specific guidelines (emphasize comparative price—not just price—when selling to seniors) as well as “did you know” fast facts (“I” is superior to “we” in e-mail messages).
Lewis also encouraged business-to-business marketers not to be afraid of using some of the provocative words and techniques in e-mail campaigns. Typically in b-to-b marketing, he added, “too many of us put on spats and monocles and don’t communicate one to one because we’re afraid to lose our dignity.”