OK, so I will admit up front that I am writing this post for selfish reasons. My current Letter of Introduction subject line is boring and I am trying to come up with a better tag line to use. I have learned the hard way that it is essential to have a good subject line to increase your LOI’s response rate. If it’s a bad subject line, then your email will most likely never be opened and go straight to the trash folder.

I saw a pretty big jump in my response rate after I started using my current subject line “Experienced Freelance Financial Content Marketing Writer Available” instead of the more generic “Freelance Writer Available.” (Note that I use whatever industry I am contacting and just used Financial as an example here.) So while this subject line is working well, I am starting to think that I could increase my reply rate even more with a more exciting subject line.

While I don’t have the answer to my own subject line (yet), I have talked to several editors about this and have learned the following tips. Yes, I realize it is almost impossible to do all of these things in the same subject line, but I think it is possible to do most of these in for a better subject line.

1. Include the Industry of the Company in the Subject Line. The most important quality clients are looking for in a writer is industry experience. If you make it obvious that you meet that requirement, then they will be more likely to open your email. This is even more important in highly specialized industries. I recommend being as specific as possible in these cases. For example, I have used “Experienced Credit Card Content Marketing Writer” and “Experienced VoIP Content Marketing Writer” in the past.
2. Make Sure Your Title Doesn’t Look Like Spam or Advertising. Everyone’s email box is overflowing with advertising messages and most of us simply delete many emails without even opening it. Create a subject line that looks different than these mass emails so that the editor knows it is a legitimate email message.
3. Use a Subject Line that Reflects Your Strengths and Personality. I think this is why I am looking for a new subject line. You are most likely to be a fit with clients whose strengths and personality are a match with yours. So if you make it obvious how you are different from all of the other writers from the start, then you will have a higher chance of landing those ‘perfect match’ gigs. While my current subject line is functional, it doesn’t give a client a specific reason to hire me, as opposed to someone else who has similar skills.
4. Tell the Client How You Can Help Them. This tip was given to me by an editor at Client Connections. Businesses want to increase their productivity and revenue, and every decision is pretty much aimed around those two goals. If you establish from the start how your services can help them do this, then you will have a higher success rate.
5. Include the words Writer and Freelance. The reason for including writer is self-explanatory. But many companies are not looking for more full-time employees, so if your email makes them think you want a permanent job then they may simply move your email to the recruiting folder or delete it. But if you make it completely obvious from the get-go that you are a freelancer, then people may read your email who have been considering looking into finding a freelance writer.

What do you use for your subject line? Any suggestions for my subject line? Any tips for creating effective subject lines?