I’m a big fan of subscribing to other’s email lists. It gives me an opportunity to watch my own actions as a “consumer” of information. Which emails do I open? Which do I auto-delete? Worse, which cause me to unsubscribe?
At the top of the “unsubscribe” list are those most annoying “Fooled ya!” Re: lines. They go something like this:
re: Thank you for subscribing to our premium service! You can bet I open those fast, heart pounding. I quickly scroll through the email, sure that I’ve been the victim of identity theft – because I sure as hell didn’t subscribe to a premium service… I barely opened the other emails you sent me. Then truth outs – I (or someone pretending to be me) did not subscribe. Rather, I’ve been tricked into reading through a sales pitch that extols the virtues of the premium service.
Guess what? I just became an unsubscriber. Any organization that feels the need to trick me to get me to open their emails is not an organization from which I wish to receive further communication.
I understand the difficulty. I empathize with you and your crappy re lines that no one wants to open. Maybe you even have a good idea or two – but guess what? You have to learn how to hook me – not trick me.
There is a technology to writing decent hooks – and good copy. Fooling people plays no part in it, “Mad men” to the contrary. Enthusiasm. Reality. Interest. Without these things, your emails are little digital fliers that have been tossed to the winds of overfilled inboxes.