Dear friends, today I decided to write about a sore point - about how to write letters 😉 . I think many specialists in various fields receive many letters daily with questions and requests for help.

Your obedient servant is no exception 🙂. The number of letters with questions and requests for help averages 40-50 per day and sometimes exceeds my physical ability to answer them.

In the correspondence, a significant part is made up of letters in which questions and descriptions of problems are not quite correctly formulated, which is why they require additional clarification letters, which takes extra time both the sender and the recipient.

In this post, I want to talk about how to correctly write letters with questions to specialists so that obtaining the information you need takes a minimum of time and does not require unnecessary correspondence.

The main rule, in my opinion, is that in a letter it is very important to make it clear that you value the recipient's time. Everything should be short and clear.

1. Greeting

I believe that any letter must begin with a greeting. “Hello”, “Hello”, “Good afternoon” - writing these words is not difficult and takes seconds. I personally don't like letters that don't say hello. Nothing is valued so dearly or given so cheaply as courtesy.

2. Address by name

On all pages of the blog site where there is a feedback form (for example, the page ""), I always write "My name is Mikhail", so I don't see a problem not to address in letters by name. Subconsciously, any person loves to be called by name.

And although I love “Mike” more than “Mikhail” 😉 , any appeal by name will do 🙂 .

3. Google your question first

How many times in correspondence have I had to give links to materials that I found by simply typing a question asked of me in a search engine! I don't even have enough fingers and toes!

Seriously, I sincerely advise you to first google the question you are interested in various options(including in English, you can translate through Google Translate) and take the time to study the materials found.

In most cases, you can easily find answers to your questions in search engines or on forums (many people come there to communicate, discuss specific problems on various topics and answer questions). Why waste another person's time when in many cases you yourself can easily find everything you need?

🔥 By the way! I plan to release a paid course on promoting English-language sites. If you are interested, you can apply for an early list through this form to be the first to know when the course is released and receive a special discount.

I invite you to subscribe to my channels in Telegram:

I wish you a successful increase in traffic to your sites!

Dessert for today - a video about how a guy pulls himself up on a horizontal bar on one finger. I want that too :)

Permanent correspondence and emails have become everyday means of communicating with friends today, but writing a letter is more traditional, effective way, which is able to bring a smile to your friend's face. If you're writing an email the old fashioned way, the format is still the same: a letter to a friend should include a greeting, questions to a friend, news from your life, and an appropriate ending.

Steps

Beginning of a letter

Main part

Start with nice things. The first part of a friendly letter is usually warm and cheerful. This can set the tone for the entire email, letting the recipient know what's next and making the email sound more serious or businesslike. Write a greeting in a few lines, tell a joke, or write about the weather.

• "How are you?" or "How are you?" - the most common ways to start a letter. Ask a question so that the letter seems to be part of a long conversation. If you want to receive a response to the letter, fill it with questions.
• You can use the first paragraph of the letter to ask the recipient in more detail about his life. For example: “I hope that little Yulenka likes kindergarten. I can't believe she's grown so much!"
• The beginning of the letter often refers to the time of year. Think about how to start a small conversation that develops into a deep conversation. For example: “I hope autumn does not darken your mood. The trees in the area have become so beautiful. I still think the winter will be cold.”

1. Share news and details from your life. Now it's time for the body of the letter and the purpose of writing it. Why did you start this correspondence? Do you want to reconnect with an old friend, express how much you miss them, or thank them for their help? Be honest, open and try to clearly convey your thoughts on paper.

   • Write about what is happening in your life. Despite the nature of the letter, your letter will be appreciated, but stories about your life will bring your addressee and you closer. Thus, the letter will be more effective and open. Tell us what happened, what emotions did you experience, and what plans do you have for the future.
   • Do not describe your life in too much detail, otherwise the purpose of a friendly letter will be lost. Avoid the newspaper holiday template - your friend will immediately start reading the letter from the end if you list all your merits. No need to dive into the pool of your own problems, but be realistic when talking about yourself.

2. Choose topics that directly relate to your friend. What was your friend doing the last time you met him? Maybe he broke up with his soulmate? Perhaps he had a hard time on the football team? Tune in by referring to familiar topics and ask questions to show your interest in a friend's business.

   • You can discuss topics that interest both of you. State your views on art, politics, recent events, or other areas of life that you would like to discuss with a friend.
   • You can offer to watch movies or read books that you think your friend might like. The exchange of valuable information is always welcome in letters.

Letter Completion

1. Close the discussion. Write a final paragraph conveying best wishes to a friend or loved one. The last paragraph is usually lighter in terms of emotional load, but it should correspond to the general atmosphere of the letter. End the letter on a positive note to get your friend into your mood.

   • Repeat the purpose of the letter again. For example, if you invited a friend to a party, write the following: "I hope you come!" If you just want to wish a friend a good time, write something like: "Happy New Year!"
   • Inspire a friend to write back. If you want to be answered, write: “I hope for a speedy answer,” or: “Please write an answer!”

2. Write an ending. It should convey the mood of your letter, depending on its tone: formal or informal. Like a greeting, the ending is determined by the nature of your relationship with the addressee. Complete the letter with your name.

   • If you want to formally end the letter, write: "Sincerely," "Respectfully," or "Best regards."
   • If the letter is written in an informal tone, use phrases such as "Your...", "Take care of yourself," or "Bye."
   • If the letter is personal, write "Love", "Love you very much", or "Miss you".

3. Consider a postscript. Postscriptum (Latin post scriptum (P.S.) - “after written”), as a rule, is used at the end of a friendly letter as a method additional information, which is not worth taking a separate paragraph to it in the main part. You can also add an interesting joke, or just omit the postscript. In any case, make sure that the postscript matches the tone of the letter and gives your recipient the feeling that you want to see him.

Probably, everyone at least once had to deal with the need to write a business letter. When compiling it, you involuntarily come to the conclusion that it is not at all easy. There are many rules and regulations for writing business letters that you need to know. The article describes in detail the process of drafting a document, provides samples of a business letter, discusses their types and design.

Form

Ready-made forms will give solidity and indicate the reliability of the company. They contain essential information about the organization, such as:

• Name.
• Address.
• Contact phone numbers.
• Website.
• Email.
• Logo.
• Other contact details.

There are no strict rules on the forms. Therefore, each organization independently decides what information to put in them.

How to write business letters correctly? Training

Business letters are written and executed in a certain way, obeying their inherent rules and requirements. Depending on the goal, the author thinks through the content in detail in order to get the result he calculates. He must clearly understand what information the addressee already knows on the subject of the letter, what to proceed from and what will be new in it. Arguments depend on what purpose the author pursues. The process of preparing a business letter can be divided into the following stages:

• The study of the issue.
• Writing a draft letter.
• His agreement.
• Signing.
• Registration.
• Sending to the addressee.

Structure of business letters

When compiling a letter, it is necessary to saturate it with information, that is, put all the necessary information there. It can be simple or complex. In a simple letter, the content clearly and concisely displays information that generally does not require a response from the addressee. Complex may consist of several sections, paragraphs and paragraphs. Each paragraph presents one aspect of the information. Samples of this type of business letter usually consist of an introductory, main and final parts.

Below is an example of writing a business letter - its introductory part.

The main part describes situations, events, their analysis and evidence. It is in this part that they convince that it is necessary to act in one way or another, they prove how things were and inform about the need to participate in any event, citing various arguments.

The conclusion contains conclusions that are made in the form of proposals, requests, reminders, refusals, and so on.

An example of writing a business letter - its final part - is presented below. This summarizes the requirement stated in the main.

All information provided should be optimally consistent and understandable for perception.

Each email starts with a center-aligned message. This little part is extremely important. When choosing it, the author should consider:

• The position of the addressee.
• The nature of the relationship.
• Officiality.
• Etiquette.

The letter must end with a polite form. For example: "... I express hope for further cooperation (thanks for the invitation) ...". These phrases are followed by the signature of the author.

Style

All letters must be in a formal business style, which means using the means of speech for official business relations. The features of such a language are formed under the following circumstances:

• The main participants in business relations are legal entities, on behalf of the heads and officials of which letters are written.
• Relationships in organizations are strictly regulated.
• The subject of communication is the activity of the company.
• Documents of a managerial nature generally have a specific addressee.
• Often in the course of an organization's activities, the same situations occur.

In this regard, the information contained in the business letter should be:

• Official, impersonal, emphasizing the distance between the participants in communication.
• Address, intended for a specific addressee.
• Current at the time of writing.
• Reliable and impartial.
• Reasoned to induce the recipient to take any action.
• Complete for decision making.

Requirements

A business letter must meet the following requirements:

• Speech is standardized at all levels - lexical, morphological and syntactic. It contains many turns, terms and formulas.
• The tone of writing is neutral, restrained and strict, without the use of emotional and expressive language expressions.
• The accuracy and clarity of the text, without logical errors, the clarity and thoughtfulness of the wording.
• Conciseness and brevity - without the use of expressions that carry additional meaning.
• The use of language formulas formed as a result of repetitive situations.
• The use of terms, that is, words or phrases that have special concepts.
• The use of abbreviations that can be lexical (that is, compound words formed by removing letters from parts of words: LLC, GOST, and so on) and graphic (that is, abbreviated word designations: gr-n, zh-d and more).
• The use of constructions in the genitive and instrumental cases.
• Phrases with verbal nouns(“support” instead of “support”).
• Using simple common sentences.

The above business letter samples below are shown in full version(with the main part). The information meets all the requirements of the official business style.

Types of business letters

It is best to write a business letter on any one specific issue. If you need to solve several issues at once, it is recommended to draw up several different options.

Business letters can be in their content:

• Accompanying. Such letters are usually needed to inform about where to send the documents.
  (How to write a business letter? A sample cover letter will help those who need to write this kind of document.)

• Warranty. They are written to confirm any promises or conditions. It can be guaranteed, for example, payment for work, rent, delivery times, and more.
• Thank you. They have been used more and more frequently in recent years. Such letters demonstrate the good tone of partnerships. They can be issued on a regular letterhead or on colored paper with a beautiful print.
  (How to write a business letter? A sample of a thank-you variety is drawn up in free form, depending on the tasks that it solves. In this case, the letter expresses its essence in the shortest form. Such a sample, made on colored paper with an ornament, can hang on the wall in the room companies in a place of honor.)

• Informational.
• Instructive.
• Congratulatory.
• Advertising.

There are also letters:

• Proposals about cooperation. Quite common in recent times, sent to organizations, are often promotional in nature, for example, like this sample. It is quite difficult to write commercial letters, you need to take into account many nuances so that they pay attention to it, and even more so get interested. But if you make it according to the model below, it has every chance of success.

• Invitations. They are sent, offering to participate in various events. Usually they are addressed to the leader or official, but they can also be addressed to the whole team.
• Requests.
• Notifications.
• requests and many more.

How to write a response to a letter. Example

The answer should begin with a repetition of the request set out in the first letter. Then the results of its consideration are given and approval or reason for refusal is expressed. A business response letter may contain an alternative solution to the expected information. It usually follows the following principles:

• The presence of a link to the first letter and its content.
• The same language means.
• Comparable volumes and aspects of content.
• Compliance with a certain sequence.

Decor

In addition to using letterhead business letters, you need to take into account other subtleties in their design. These are details, rules for abbreviations, spelling of the address, heading, text length, field width and more.

Samples of a business letter help to compose it, taking into account all the subtleties and nuances. They are used by both novice clerks and experienced workers. Thanks to the samples, they learn how to write letters correctly and save a lot of time.

Are you sure that among the hundreds of letters that the recipient views, your letter really stands out? Career development specialists and marketers talked about how to correctly indicate the subject of an email so that the recipient will open it and respond to it in a timely manner.

1. Always include a subject line

Ignoring the subject field of an email is the biggest mistake a sender makes when expecting a timely response. The subject of the letter, as a rule, indicates the content of the message to the recipient and makes him decide whether or not to open the letter. An email with an empty subject field is likely to be deleted immediately, as it annoys the recipient as they need to open the email to find out what it is about.

2. First, enter the subject of the letter, and then start writing the message

Many people think that the subject line of an email is a secondary task after writing it. However, Amanda Augustine, who works as a career consultant at The Ladders, emphasizes that the subject of the letter is a priority for the author. Firstly, it is the topic that sets the tone for the message, and, secondly, it does not allow you to be distracted by other topics.

3. Be brief

Whereas when you open your inbox on a computer monitor you can see 60 characters in the subject line, on a smartphone you can only see 25-30 characters. Therefore, fit the subject of the letter in 6-8 words. This will be more than enough.

4. Indicate the most important thing at the beginning of the email subject

Dmitry Leonov, vice president of SaneBox, said that about 50% of emails are viewed from mobile phones. Consider this, and write the most important thing at the very beginning of the subject of the letter. Otherwise, in 50% of cases, important parts of the message can simply be cut off by mobile devices and not read by recipients.

5. Avoid unnecessary words

Do not litter the subject line with unnecessary phrases such as "Good afternoon", "Nice to meet you", "Thank you" and so on. First, they mean nothing to the recipient. Secondly, you can safely use them in the letter itself, which will be even more logical.

6. Be clear and specific in the subject line

The subject of the letter should indicate exactly what the letter will be about. It is on the subject of the letter that the recipient must prioritize and decide when exactly he needs to respond to it. For example, a message in the subject "Do you have free time now to solve my question?" very vague, because it does not give the recipient an understanding of what exactly they want from him, and forces him to open the letter. Therefore, if you send a resume, then feel free to write your name and the title of the vacancy for which you are applying in the subject line. And if you want to ask a colleague or partner a question about the current project, then indicate the name of the specific project in the subject line.

7. Keep the theme simple and call to action

This tip is especially helpful for marketers and those who send marketing emails. Kip Bodnar, Vice President of Hub Spot, advises writing a subject line that would call the recipient to action, would interest him.

8. Use keywords to further search and filter

Many professionals have subject folders in their email, and they also actively use filters to search for certain emails. Therefore, if there are no such labels in the subject line of your letter, then your letter will most likely simply not be noticed. Therefore, it is very important to use keywords that reflect the subject of the letter, so that in the future the recipient can easily find it through the search system.

9. Specify if you need a response

When a person receives a letter, it is also important for him to know whether he just needs to read it or whether it needs to be answered. So, says Amanda Augustine, put "Please reply" or "Please read" in the subject line of your email. You can also use the expression "For your information". It is used to inform the recipient that they will be interested in the message. Emphasizes in business email that the sender wants to inform the recipient, but the message is not an instruction and does not require the recipient to perform actions directly related to the message.

10. Indicate a deadline in the subject line

If you send a lot of information in the body of the letter, but you need it to be responded to within a certain time frame, then indicate it in the subject line of the letter. This will significantly increase the chances of reading and responding to the message in a timely manner. For example, you could say, "Please reply to this email by the end of business Friday."

11. If someone referred you to this recipient, let them know

If the contact of the recipient was given to you by any partner, client, colleague, then indicate his name directly in the subject line, and not in the letter itself. First, a familiar name will grab the recipient's attention. Second, it will give the recipient an idea of ​​a project or issue that you can approach them with.

12. Highlight what you want to offer

If you're sending a cold email, you don't know if your offer will be of interest to your recipient. Therefore, indicate in the subject line what you offer, and also tell us about bonuses - discounts, special offers.

13. Enter the name of the recipient or the name of the company

You must know who you are sending the letter to. And the recipient should also immediately realize that this letter is intended specifically for him. Kip Bodnar claims that one of the most better ways this show is the indication of his name or the name of the company in the subject of the letter. For example, you could write: "Vladimir, look at these figures: the company's sales increased by 25%."

14. Use words that limit the response time to the letter

If you want to grab someone's attention and convince the recipient to respond to you, put the term of your offer in the subject line of your email. For example: "Registration is required today", "The number of seats is limited - hurry up to sign up for the event."

15. Don't start a sentence in the subject line of an email that ends in the email itself.

If you start writing a question or a sentence in the subject line of the letter, then end it immediately, without continuing in the letter itself. This annoys the recipient, as it forces him to open the letter and continue reading. Think, maybe a messenger or even a call is more suitable for a short question?

16. Reread the message in the subject line

Amanda Augustine recommends re-reading the subject line before sending. Why is this? Very often, when a sender sends a whole "bunch" of letters to various recipients, they forget to change the name or company name in the subject line. This can annoy the recipient or even offend. Therefore, before sending a letter, re-read it and check for inconsistencies.

17. Don't write in uppercase

The use of uppercase words draws attention, but in the wrong direction. This method makes the letter difficult to read and causes the recipient to worry on a subconscious level. Instead, you can use dashes, colons, to draw some line between words and emphasize something.

The translation of the article was prepared by Ekaterina Nikitina based on materials from Business Insider

You have prepared a letter with strong content. It is useful, a cool promotion or a great offer. But will subscribers know about it? Every day they receive 40-50 (or even more) letters, and they have little time:

1. They delete some letters without looking.
2. Others procrastinate and forget
3. Others read immediately

In order for the letter to be in the third group, you need to give the subscriber motivation that will push him to open the letter. Give it in the subject line of your email. This article will help you. From it you will learn:

• What is the subject of the letter and how to work with each field
• What is the optimal subject line length?
• What words and symbols will help you increase open rates
• What tricks do spammers use?
• How to make sure the subject line is correct

What does an email look like in your email inbox?

Some people think that the most important part of an email is the subject (highlighted in red in the picture):

However, there are other parts besides it: the sender and the preheader, and they also play an important role in whether the recipient opens your message or not.

On a mobile device, emails look like this:

To make the recipient want to open your letter, you need to work with each field.

When filling out the "Sender" field, adhere to two principles:

1. If you are addressing yourself, write your first and last name:

1. If from a company, the name of the company:

Some add to the name of the company the name and position of the person who communicates with subscribers. They explain it this way: “People prefer to communicate with people, and not with a faceless company.” I agree, but all this may not fit in the field:

This is bad, because you can’t immediately figure out who Olga Shuravina is. It turns out this is who:

To find out, I had to open the letter. But I was motivated - I needed to lead by example. Will the subscriber be motivated? Therefore, do not write the name of the company representative in the "Sender" field, but introduce yourself at the end of the letter:

header

The purpose of the headline is to tell about the content of the letter, to distinguish it from the background of others, to intrigue or provoke. There are nine steps to help you do this:

1. Format
2. Order
3. The audience
4. Relevance
5. Intrigue
6. Question
7. allusion
8. Provocation

Let's consider each.

Format

The essence of the reception is to show the way the content is presented: a manual, instruction, test, survey, practice, video, etc. With the help of the format, the value of the letter increases: the reader sees that inside is not an ordinary article, but, for example, practice (read, implement and get results).

Company	header
Magazine "Personnel Business"	Step-by-step instruction: how to attract to work in holidays
	[Likbez] Email marketing for the store: how to set up a newsletter in MailChimp
Academy of Lead Generation (comprehensive training in Internet promotion)	[Video] Benefits of having your own lead generation department
AvtoZvuk (autoelectronics store)	How to choose wipers? Video!
Salecontent (content marketing agency)	[Infographic] 7 tools for repeat sales
	Practice: Improving the Sales Funnel

Order

The essence of the reception is to show that the information in the letter is structured. This technique also increases the value of the letter: the order hints to the subscriber that the author has done a great job by selecting several good ways(tips, tricks) among the many available.

Company	header
Razor (sports and children's products: scooters, skateboards…)	10 reasons to buy a scooter
Fotoshkola.net (photo training)	5 good reasons to join a new intensive
Magazine "Glavbuh"	4 typical checkout violations: simple ways to correct Formal letter: 3 simple design rules
Mr.Kolgotoff (online store of tights)	Fall dress code
E-xecutive.ru (business community for managers)	Three main mistakes of Russian marketers
Condom-Shop.Ru (sex shop for intimate goods)	Recipes from the autumn blues
Magazine "Salary"	Difficult salary questions that need your answers 10 New Answers to Accountants' Questions
Texterra	5 Best Ways to Come Up with an Idea for Super Content

It is not necessary to use numbers to show order. For example, let's compare two headings: "Ways to Increase Conversions" and "5 Ways to Increase Conversions" - both show order.

The audience

The essence of the reception is to show who the letter is addressed to: managers, marketers, girls, mothers, couples, etc. By specifying the audience, you personalize the message, which makes the subscriber motivated to open the letter.

Company	header
Wix (website builder)	Secret to Wix Users: SEO Secrets Workshop
Forzieri (online store for bags, shoes, clothes, accessories and jewelry)	VIP event for bachelors and friends
003.ru (online store household appliances, electronics, goods for home and office)	Everything for children on 003.ru! The best promotions and useful gifts for moms and babies!
Panyushkina Oksana (teaches hairdressers)	To all hairdressers who can't live without creativity
Mnogo.ru (accumulative program for the whole family)	Buyers of LitRes: 40% discount + triple bonuses

Relevance

The essence of the reception is to tie the content of the letter to reality. So the subscriber will see that now or today is the best time to read the letter - a little later, tomorrow or a week later it will be too late. With the help of relevance, the value of writing increases: a person first thinks about pressing problems, and then about eternal topics.

Company	header
Terminal.ru (online store)
Travelata (online tour hypermarket)
Quelle (online store of clothes, shoes and accessories)
SendPulse (mailing service)
Texterra
InMyRoom (the largest collection of interior design and decor ideas)

Intrigue

The essence of the reception is to use the curiosity of the subscriber. To satisfy him, he will open the letter.

Company	header
Lamoda.ru (online store of clothes, shoes and accessories)	It seems you forgot something interesting
Insider.pro (publication about financial markets)	What Putin will tell and what happened in California
Megaproryv (business development center)	Trading business with no money (almost)
	Til Schweiger makes spaghetti bolognese like this ... (Here the author deliberately put ellipsis, so he hints: if you want to know how Til Schweiger makes spaghetti bolognese, then open the letter)

Question

Reception works the same way as intrigue. The main thing is that the subscriber wants to know the answer to the question you ask in the subject line.

Company	header
RuTraveller (guide to cities and countries)	Where to have fun in winter? Where to go other than Egypt?
GALKA-GAME (games for early development)	How to work and earn money on Instagram? Free webinar! What to give the baby for the holiday?
Shelomentsev Dmitry (helps people lose weight)	Why do you crave sweets so much?
Allo.ua (online store of equipment and electronics)	What to do if you get your smartphone wet?
Artur Budovsky (founder of the school of article business "TextUnique")	Why you will never have problems with orders?

Humor

The essence of the reception is to cheer up the subscriber. A person likes someone who cheers him up, so the likelihood that he will open the letter increases.

Use this technique with caution, because people perceive humor differently - what is funny to you, the subscriber may find it offensive.

allusion

The essence of the reception is to attract attention with the help of a headline that resembles proverbs, sayings, established expressions, the names of TV shows, films, books, songs and phrases from them. With the help of allusion, the subject of the letter both stands out and intrigues.

Company	header
	I want ideas from you Change or die Joy from the mind
Yves Rocher (online cosmetics and perfumery store)	One is good, six is ​​better
Academy of good copywriters
Ozon.ru (online store of everything)	There is no such thing as too much tea! 3rd pack for 1 ruble
Domos.ru (online tableware store)	Buy more - pay less! Favorable New Year's gifts

Often, with the help of allusion, it is possible to attract attention, but not show what the letter is about. Because of this, some subscribers may consider: since it is not clear what the letter is about, I will not waste time on it. Therefore, further in the header or preheader hint about the content of the letter. For example, (title) Who has time, that and the professional copywriter (pretitle) Black Friday has begun.

Provocation

The essence of the reception is to tell the subscriber something out of the ordinary, something that will cause indignation or joy, but will not leave you indifferent. So you stand out from the background of others.

Be careful with provocations: if the subscriber realizes that you used this technique only to sell something, then he can blacklist you or unsubscribe.

In addition, you can play with tricks: use not one, but several at once.

Testing will show which technique or combination of techniques will work best in your case. We will talk about this in the last part of the article.

The purpose of a preheader is to reinforce the headline and give the subscriber extra motivation to open the email.

When you don't use a preheader, the subscriber sees this:

Or this:

This is half the trouble. Worse, when the preheader duplicates the "Sender" field and the title:

But when this gets into the headline, it's like saying "hack!" to the executioner who was about to let you go:

The mail service generates a preheader automatically from the first words found in the body of the letter. However, it is in our power to make sure that what we need gets into it.

How to create a pretitle and make it invisible

1. Click on the title and a menu will appear. In the menu, click on settings:

1. Click in the font section on the field with a choice of colors, and a window with color options will appear:

1. Choose the color you want.

Here's what happens in the end. Look, the preheader in the subject line is:

I open the letter and do not see it, because it white color, like the background:

Now let's learn what to do to make the preheader strengthen the headline of the letter.

1. Decipher the title if you used allusion or intrigue:

Company	header
Magazine "Commercial Director"	Punishment cannot be forgiven Do you think it is necessary to punish an employee if he committed ...(at this point, the mail service cut off the preheader)
Alexander Tchaikovsky (helps clients sell products and services on the Internet with the help of selling texts)	Playing good and bad client How to speak with a client on an equal footing
Megaplan	Joy from the mind How to use knowledge The Boy Who Was Sold Secrets of turning a product into a brand I want ideas from you How to distinguish good idea from bad
Megabreak	Increasing sales with a marker How to arrange social competitions on a single magnetic whiteboard
	All about myself yes about myself A selection of soul-saving articles on how to write about yourself

1. Explain the request if you are asking for something in the title:

1. Use a call to action:

1. Intrigue:

1. Use positioning (headings are different, but the preheading is always the same):

1. Add information if the letter touched on several topics:

1. Challenge:

1. Tell us what to do with the information received:

You noticed that in two of the examples, the email service cut off the preheader. It's not terrible, but it's better if this does not happen. Therefore, be guided by how many characters in the preheader a particular mail service displays and whether it displays at all. The images below will help with this:

And to check if the preheader is displayed correctly in mailboxes, do the following:

• set up test mailboxes in all mail services that subscribers use;
• add them to the database;
• send an email to test boxes first;
• see how the preheader is displayed on different mail services, devices (computer, smartphone, tablet) and browsers - if normal, send an email to the entire database.

Optimal Header Length in an Email Subject

Marketers often ask what is the optimal length of a headline in an email subject line. Let's look at the research results.

According to the research of the company, which analyzed 1.2 billion emails in 2012, titles 4-15 characters long have the highest Open Rate (15.2%), and titles longer than 51 characters have the lowest (10.4%).

If you are offering the same to the whole database, then it is better not to use the name of the recipient. Instead, use headline techniques, share interesting information, and help solve problems. Then the subscriber will open your letters, regardless of whether they are registered or not.

As with headline length, only testing will tell if a personalized message will have an effect.

Magic words in email subject lines

It is believed that there are magic words that increase the open rate of emails. UniSender tested 12 words that are recommended and frequently used in emails and concluded that they do not greatly affect email open rates:

In addition, expert opinions differ on the impact of certain words on open rates. For example, the words "free" and "gift".

Andrey Tsilikov, director of sales at Sendsay, writes in his article “The 5 Deadly Sins of Email Marketing” that the word “free” reduces open rates, while “gift” increases open rates.

Maxim Higer, founder and head of the Smartresponder service, in the article “How to create an effective email subject line? ” writes that “free” can increase open rates, and cites the results of testing a letter with an invitation to a master class on speed reading as an example:

• The headline “Download a free mini-book on speed reading” worked better than the headline “Increase your reading speed by 2 times” - Open Rate 38.4% vs. 28.3%.

And the results of a study of 300 million emails conducted by SendPulse show that the subject line with the word “gift” has the lowest Open Rate.

What does it say? The fact that it is worth listening to the opinion of experts, and looking closely at the results of research, but checking all this with the help of testing. As Andrey Tsilikov writes in the above article:

• "Don't forget to A/B test email headers and find your magic words."

Emoticons and Symbols in Email Subjects

The purpose of emoticons and symbols is to grab the attention of the subscriber and make the email stand out from the rest. They are:

• Experian found that a black heart increased Open Rate by 2.2%, a black sun by 14.9%, and an umbrella by 50%.
• Swiftpage conducted an A/B test: it sent half of the base an email with a symbol in the subject line, and the other half without a symbol. Letters with the symbol had an Open Rate higher by 3.29%.

• He chose Gmail subscribers who view mail on computers.
• Sent one half an email with an animated character in the subject line, the other half without.
• I checked the result after 70 hours: the theme with animated symbols had a 20% higher Open Rate.

The problem lies in the mail services and devices used to view mail: they display emoticons and symbols differently or not at all.

Gmail displays everything:

But sometimes there are failures that depend on operating system, browser and device used to view mail:

Yandex.Mail and Mail.ru display characters and emoticons in black and white, even if you used color ones.

Mobile Gmail and Outlook display popular characters on the iPhone and behave unpredictably with rare characters. For example, let's take a familiar topic:

E-Mail Marketing Tipps - Animated options are marked in yellow. To use emojis and symbols, copy the box above the image and paste it into the email subject line.

1. Pro-smm - here are emoticons and symbols for social networks, but they can also be inserted into the subject of the letter (there are no animated ones). To do this, copy the desired character and paste it into the subject of the letter.

How to use

So that subscribers do not perceive the letter as spam, use emoticons and symbols in the right place and do not abuse them.

Here is a spam example:

One or two characters are enough for one topic. If there is only one character, put it:

If two:

As for relevance, the main thing here is that the symbols reflect the essence of your brand or email subject line:

inappropriate	Appropriate
	50% discount on guitar lessons
How to know if your husband is cheating on you	Every Friday two pizzas for the price of one

Unfortunately, even if these conditions are met, some subscribers may perceive an email with emoticons and symbols as spam. Therefore, test variants with and without symbols.

Spammy email subject lines

Spammers also want their emails to have a high Open Rate. And they came up with two methods for this: disguise as personal correspondence or as notifications from government agencies. In no case do we recommend that you use these methods, because they imply deception: the subject of the letter does not match what is inside. Because of this, it causes negativity among recipients and harms the reputation of the company. We give these examples only for reference, because. they really increase the Open Rate, and simply cannot be left out of this article.

Disguise for personal correspondence

This technique increases the Open Rate by 15-20%.

header	What is the strength
RE: Here is the info you asked for	The prefix RE: tells the recipient that this is a reply to his letter. He does not remember that he sent it (not surprising, because he did not send it), but the fact on the face is the answer to his letter. The recipient will doubt his memory and open the letter.
Gathering on Friday	Potentially, only a friend or colleague can communicate with the recipient in this way. He does not feel the trick and opens the letter.
(No subject)	It is very similar to personal correspondence, because when we correspond with friends and colleagues, we are often too lazy to fill in the title field, they say, according to the content of the letter, they will understand everything. Again, the recipient does not feel the trick and opens the letter.

Disguise as notifications from government agencies

Immediately for example.

A certain company sent directors of middle and higher educational institutions a letter with an offer to make a website and host it without advertising for 21,500 rubles. In order for as many recipients as possible to open the letter, she titled it as if it were a notice from the prosecutor's office:

• "About site checks educational institutions prosecutors"

As a result, more than 70% of recipients opened the letter.

Test

If you've been reading carefully up to this point, you've noticed a pattern: you always need to test to find the most effective email subject line. There are no universal methods, because subscriber bases, like people, are different: what worked on one base is not a fact that it will work on another. And vice versa.

In each mailing list creation service, the testing function is implemented in its own way, but the essence is the same. Let's say you come up with three headlines and want to determine the most effective one. To test them:

• Create three copies of the email with the same content but different headings.
• Mark the Open Rate as a parameter by which the system will determine the winner.
• Determine the percentage of subscribers for testing. Use the Sample Calculator to determine how many subscribers to send the test to make sure the results are valid.
• Set the duration of the test. Usually marketers ask 24 hours. Microsoft writes that you need to allow 48-72 hours for the test, and notes that this period may vary depending on the industry and segments. If time is short, set 3 hours - this is what UniSender advises.
• Set a start time for testing.
• You start the test.

• Will randomly select a given percentage of subscribers and send them emails.
• Collects information about open rates for a given time.
• Will send a letter with the winning headline to the rest of the base upon completion of the test.

In this way preheaders, title length, subject with and without name and symbols are tested.

So we’ve finished figuring out how to compose an email subject line so that as many recipients as possible open it. Did you know:

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