Subject Lines Of Business E-Mail
What is important to include in a business e-mail 'subject line'?
The subject line is critical to a business e-mail for many reasons. First of all, it's going to set the receiver to engage in the business e-mail. It's a lot like a newspaper as the newspaper doesn't just produce a newspaper that says, interesting article, fun stuff at the top, they give you a title that engages you, and that's what a subject line should do. Some people recommend using a descriptive word, "action!", in the subject line. This lets the receiver know that you're going to ask them to do something or request them to do something. The subject e-mail sort of sets up the business e-mail for the receiver, to give them a bit of context of what the business e-mail is going to say. A clear descriptive subject line also helps with crafting out the body of the business e-mail for the sender, but it also helps the receiver then file the business e-mail, because most of us file our e-mails. So if the subject line of you business e-mail is clear and descriptive, it will aid in retrieval of that e-mail and that information later.
How do I write a subject line if I want someone to do something for me?
If you want someone to do something for you, you could use a descriptive word in the subject line of your business e-mail. In other words, you should use the word "Action:" in the subject line and then be descriptive. For example, "Action : Please submit your business plan to me by 5pm, Tuesday May 15th" is very clear, very descriptive and you're giving a word up front in your subject line to signal to the receiver of the business e-mail that you need them to do something. The word "Action" is a great way to do this.
How do I write a subject line if I just want to pass on information?
If you just want to pass on information within your business e-mail, as indeed a lot of business communication is just passing information, then you should address your subject line specifically. You could say "I've found an interesting article" in your subject line, but that doesn't say to the receiver what's interesting about it, or that it's even information that you're passing along. So the best way to pass information along in big corporations within business e-mails, is to use a word up front in the subject line. Use words such as "info" or "information:", and even "Interesting article on XYZ". You're giving them a little bit more description that it's not an action but information that you're passing along to them in this business e-mail.
How do I write a subject line if I just want to ask my receiver a question?
If you wanted to ask someone a question in a business e-mail, such as if they will be able to make a meeting or so forth, again, with the subject line sometimes you can be very descriptive by using the word "request" up front in the business e-mail subject line. Type in that word, followed by a colon, and then your question, such as "Can you make next Tuesday's marketing meeting?" You're signalling to the receiver of the business e-mail that you are asking something, not requesting an action or directing them to do something, or passing along information. By doing this in the subject line you're requesting something of them within your business e-mail, you are asking would they, or could they be able to do this.
How do I write a subject line if I want to tell the receiver I have completed a task?
If you need to confirm something in a business email back to someone, telling them you have completed a task, often times you can use the word “confirm” right in the subject line, followed by a colon and then a statement such as “contract sent to company XYZ on this date”. In other words, you're confirming back to the receiver, the original sender, that you've done something, compared to just typing the word “yes”. Indeed they often don't know what the word “yes” refers to within the business e-mail, but by putting “confirmed: contract sent to company XYZ on this date” in the subject line you are specifying what it is you have done.
How do I write a subject line in an e-mail that delivers requested information?
The best way to deliver information when someone has asked requested information in a business email, and you're about to send them this information in the email, is to use the word "delivery" in the subject line. For example, by writing "delivery: Email Slide Deck", you're telling the receiver, that they asked for something and you are delivering it to them. Include the word "Delivery" in the subject line of your business e-mail, and then be descriptive of what you're delivering.
How do I write a subject line if all I want to say can be conveyed in the subject heading?
Sometimes when a message is so short, such as "Don't forget next Tuesday's meeting", people will only need to type that in the subject line of the business e-mail. Therefore when you open the e-mail as a receiver, the same message will be in the text of the business e-mail when you open it, "Don't forget next Tuesday's meeting". Indeed if the message is that short and all you need to say can fit in the subject line of the business e-mail, just use the subject line as the message. But you should signal to the receiver that that is all the message by typing "eom", also known as "end of message", at the end of the subject line of your business e-mail.
