OPEN SESAME: WHY GOOD EMAIL SUBJECT LINES ARE A BIG DEAL FOR FOOD ORGANIZERS
SURPRISE!! THERE’S A DEEPER SECRET THAN TIRED WRITING!!
Novelists and movie screenwriters know how to entice you into a story. Economists, sociologists, food policy wonks, and food campaigners do not.
One result of that difference is that the open rate for non-profit emails is worse than half the open rate for all emails — 20 percent versus 47 percent.
To be blunt, we must be more open-minded! Not getting your emails opened, event after people have signed up to receive your emails, is a prime example of a self-inflicted, skills-based problem.
What not double down, work up to the open rate of 47 percent, and then carry on to do way better than the average?
It’s hard to find a better example of what skills training could do for productivity and impact in the food sector.
HOW CAN WE BE MORE OPEN-MINDED?
I’ve come to the conclusion that the problem with getting Good Food emails opened and read has little to do with writing skills, and even less to do with the subject matter of the emails — the tantalizing world of food.
Nor will the problem get better by people learning to write in more interesting and engaging ways, or by asking Good Food people to act in more colorful ways — not that either would cause any harm.
Good food-related copywriting that gets opened and read isn’t necessarily well-written, in the novelist sense of the word. Nor is it exciting or suspenseful in the way a novel is.
The power of good copyrighting in emails comes from being practical, understandable, clear and persuasive — down to earth, much like yummy home-cooked food.
These virtues are a byproduct of sound strategic thinking about what’s on the reader’s mind, and what it takes to lead the reader to decide and act.
Good emails and email subject lines about food issues are humble. But they get to the heart of why people come to see themselves in a food-related way and make a food-related decision.
The penny only recently dropped for me on that — after some 50 years of trying to make a living partially on the strength of my ability to write about why I promoted certain forms of action. I called myself an organizer who writes.
Let me save you from my 50 years of learning the hard way.
Like most people who are anxious and fearful about writing, I used to think that writing had to be clever in its own right. I imagined that people would only enjoy and read my writing if I met a certain quota of wordplay or entertainment.
I didn’t understand that non-fiction readers of articles about everyday life want someone to explain a problem to them, outline some possible solutions, and present some thoughts on how we might get to the promised land of solutions. The clearer, the better. The sooner, the better. No suspense, no diversions asked for or needed.
As simple as possible, but no simpler — as Einstein brilliantly put it.
KEEP IT BORING, STUPID!
As soon (50 years later!!) as I grasped that, I quickly settled into a sense of ease as a writer. The quality of my writing took a huge leap. And people started asking me how come I got to write so easily and quickly.
Like other overnight successes, it was only 50 years in the making.
A few months ago, I read a book that caused the penny to drop, and then led me to write this editorial. It’s Jim Edwards’ book called Copywriting Secrets. I read 74 pages without stopping to look away. Then I stopped abruptly. His writing is really plain and mediocre, I said to myself. And then the penny dropped.
His secret about copywriting, like my deep secret about email subject lines, is based on a strategy. You need to understand the problem faced by your readers, the obstacles and frustration faced by your readers as a result of the problem, and the measures that the reader can be persuaded to take that will lead toward a solution.
Once you figure that out, you can be as plain and boring as you want.
This is a tough nut to crack for people in Good Food movements and organizations. We work to solve problems for other people. We’re used to being empathic about other people. We’re not particularly empathic about ourselves. When we ask for money, we don’t ask for money so our organizations can function better and smarter and we don’t have to work 60-hour weeks. We only ask for more money so we can serve others more, not because we have needs too.
Anything else would be considered self-serving, which would be very bad.
We have to break that habit. Because the essence of a good email, and of a good email subject line that leads people to read the email, is that it solves a problem that people otherwise didn’t know how to solve. That’s the insight we need to gain in order to increase our relevance and our ability to serve.
Once you accept that, the rest is technical details and skills. The same insight will also help you with headlines. And with the leads to your stories and with your elevator pitches and speeches. As my communications mentor Barry Martin puts it, the insight is generative.
I hope the eight helpings below provide you with the technical details and mindful skills that go along with this trade secret.
8 ITEMS FOR YOUR E-MAIL SUBJECT LINE TO-DO LIST
Digital Marketer provides an A-list of 2019’s top e-mail subject lines (also here). The best one-liners feature 8 themes: self-interest; curiosity; free offer; urgency/scarcity (only 8 seats left!!); humanity; news; social proof (endorsements); a storyline. Word on the street has it: “Put the benefit and impact early,” as in “how to ace your job interview.”
Here is Red Website Design’s do’s and don’ts for strong opening lines.
Because so many people check to see if the email is from someone they trust, develop a good email reputation by using these tips to email like a boss.
This post helps with what I always find the hardest skill of subject lines: how to sum up a topic in one short line.
An exec coach gives great advice, esp. on questions to ask yourself before drafting the email.
Do you have a clear picture of who you’re pitching to and what they like and need, as this writer advises? For example, solutionaries are high on my list of who I’m writing for, and that audience will see itself in my subject line.
If you want a checklist, here are 19 points to check off. I like Number 9: Be punchy when spelling out the benefit to the reader. As in “Increase your open rates by 50% today,” not “How to increase open rates.”
For a shorter but still useful checklist, try this.
Open up to get more of your emails opened!!
LET’S GET CREATIVE!!! This Eatatorial is adapted from my 10th newsletter featuring everyday skills needed if Good Food movements are to take on the Bad Food behemoth. The newsletter is on me! Why not check it out at http://bit.ly/OpportunCity.
