I decided to take a weekend off over Thanksgiving and not turn on my computer. I knew however on my return that my inbox would cause me to second guess that decision. On opening my Outlook I found over 200 messages. At least I have categories and rules in place to keep it manageable when I decide to do something crazy like this. So I wanted to share some tips with you that get emails opened and responded to before others. It has everything to do with the subject line.

First rule of thumb, always include a subject line. If an email does not include one most time these go to my junk folder and stay there until I get to them which could be hours if not days.

Second, indicate if you need an action. Now please take note here that just because you mark it as a high priority I do not necessarily take that into consideration. An example of a good subject line for an action item is “New Marketing Plan – Response requested within two days”. When I look at this item I know exactly what you are including and that you need my opinion or input immediately.

Third, be specific. If you are sending me meeting notes a great subject line would be “Action Plan Meeting Notes, 10/15/2009”. These will get my attention because I know what is included in the email. It is also helpful because I use the drag and drop method to add items to my to-do list and calendar and this saves me time when reviewing my scheduling options for the week.

And finally, include action verbs for items that need attention but are not necessarily high priority. A good example here would be “Join me for an important webinar on social media”. These are items that I look at and then drag and drop to my schedule or to-do list.

Another good rule of thumb when adding attachments is to be specific in the file name. I use the search and save as features for my attachments so when you name a file “Notes” it will get lost in the shuffle as opposed to “Conference Call 10/15/2009 Notes”.

I hope these simple tips will help you get your emails noticed and responded to in a timely manner. It is also helpful because if your contacts see the system you have and the results that you get they are more likely to employ the same practices.

Do you use effective subject lines?

All the best,

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