E-mail subject lines

Writing Example

 

Recipients : sarah@falibo.com Subject : meeting next week. Re: Meeting next weekDear Sarah, I hope that you’re well and that you enjoyed your Easter break. A couple of things: Your suggestion regarding the agenda for the meeting sounds fine. So, if it’s all right with you, we’ll meet at 4 pm in your offices next Friday. Let me know if this suits you. One thing, could you send back those sales figures from last year, please? I can”t find them.I look forward to seeing you next week.Best regards, Adil Sunarto

 

Learning Points

An e-mail subject line can make all the difference between someone opening your email, deleting it or marking it as spam. Here are some top tips on writing e-mail subject lines.

The perfect e-mail subject line must respect some details :

Length : keep it short! A recent study by MailChimp found that e-mail subject lines with an average of 35 characters had the highest open rate.

Clarity : state clearly what”s inside the e-mail.

Simplicity : keep the message very clear and avoid trying to be too clever or crea tive. Say what you want to say in simple. basic language.

Here are some examples of e-mail subject lines :

Topic

– Re: Next week’s meeting.
– Re: the latest sales figures.

Starting the e-mail

– Dear Sir/ Madam, [formal for someone you don’t know]
– Dear (Ms Smith), [formal]
– Hi (Jennier) . [informal]
– Hi, [informal]

Opening the e-mail

– I hope you’re well and that you enjoyed your holiday.
– I hope that everything is going well.
– How’s it going? [informal]

Attachments

– I’ve attached a summary of the products.
– The attached file contains the information you were looking for. I’m attaching the information you requested.

Requests

– Could you send that back to me by tomorrow night, please?
– Could you paste it in and send it, please?
– Can you let Hannah know that I’ll only be in from 4-6 pm today?

Future actions

– I’ll look at the spreadsheet as soon as I can.
– We’ll send you a copy when it’s printed.
– You’ll have it by Friday, without fail.

Scheduling / timetabling information

– I’m afraid I won’t be able to make tomorrow’s meeting.
– I’ll only be in the office on Thursday and Friday this week.
– I was just wondering whether we could meet at 7 pm instead of 6 pm.

Confirming something

– I received the report you sent, thanks.
– The file you sent arrived last night.
– I received the documents, thanks.

Questions

– Have you got a copy of the brochure in English?
– When do you need them by?
– Is there anything I can do to help?

Apologising

– I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you last week.
– Apologies for the misunderstanding last week.
– I’m really sorry that we didn’t get to see each other at the conference.

Updates I situation reports

– The meeting has been postponed until next week.
– I’ve got a few ideas to put to you. I’ll send them over asap.
– I’m putting together a response right now. I’ll send it later today.

Closing / signing off

– I look forward to seeing you next week.
– I look forward to hearing from you soon.
– Speak soon. [informal]

Saying goodbye

– Yours sincerely,  [formal – if you know the person, or have used the person’s name]
– Yours faithfully, [formal- if you don’t know the person, or haven’t used the person s name]
– Kind regards, / Best regards, / Regards. [formal]
– Best wishes, / All the best, / Yours, [semi-formal]
– Bye, / Cheers, [informal]