You are failing if you are using the following subject lines
Is your mailings’ and mailings’ list effectiveness falling flat? In the world of link building, few things are more frustrating than spending hours sending carefully crafted emails to people and not getting a single response. Maybe a bunch of those initial emails were sent to underused inboxes, or maybe some of the people on your list aren't the right people to contact about your content.
At this point, most of us will sit down and build another list. Makes sense right?
But before deciding to create another list, did you check the email open fees? If it's below 5 percent, then your subject line probably sucks. Before spending more time searching for new sites, you should correct your subject line and try again.
The "foot in the door" technique
One of the most powerful theories comes from the world of social psychology, more specifically from compliance psychology. The foot-in-the-door technique tells us that accepting a small request will increase the likelihood of accepting a second, larger request. Research shows that the foot-in-the-door technique will work as long as the large request is consistent or similar in nature to the original, smaller request. But how does this connect to the issue and its linking tone?
Our little request here is to open the email; That is our foot in the door.
Make sure your subject line clearly indicates what the email is about. If they click on it, they just told you that they are interested in what you are sharing. Now you have your foot in the door.
5 tips to improve your subject lines
Combine a list of leads with a solid subject line, and you're bound to get links.
Here are some tweaks that have worked:
Be specific about the format of your content
You want your recipient to be fully engaged in what they are about to see before clicking the link. Remember that for the foot-in-the-door technique to work, there has to be consistency between the small and the large.That is why your subject line should not only indicate the subject of your content but also its format.
Mention the site when it matters
In most cases, you will send your content to journalists and bloggers who only write for the site you are targeting, so you don't need to write the name of the site in your subject line.It is a different situation when you are contacting someone who writes for multiple posts. In those cases, my advice is to mention the name of the specific post you are targeting to make sure your foot is on the right door.
Convey the purpose of the email
To help journalists and editors immediately identify your email as a pitch, try adding these words to your subject lines:
- History
- Tip
- Story idea
This will be key in cases where the subject of your content could be mistaken for a different type of message, such as a sales message or spam.
Get your content to journalists in their language
Before you commit to a subject line, take the time to read how the types of sites the newsroom directs write their own headlines. What do they focus on? Is there a word that you use often?
If you are shooting a series of images, you can specify visuals or photos as the subject. But it's worth checking for a word other than the posts they frequently point to; they use for those kinds of functions. The same posts are giving you clues – use them.
Choose a journalist's headline as your subject line when following up
When the time comes for you to move on to unresponsive targets, don't just send another email asking if they got your message.Review the coverage you have already achieved for that campaign and choose your favorite headline. This will be your subject line for the follow-up round.
The "subject" practices in your emails that you should stop using today (and why)
If you got to this sentence, you know that your subject lines are your foot in the door, so you need to be smart about how to use them.
Here are five common subject lines to avoid:
1. False answer and false follow-up. If your plan is to make them believe that you are having an ongoing conversation just to open an email, they will realize that you misled them as soon as they read the first sentence of your email. Lying to people won't give you an open or click, but it will mark it as spam and ignore it.
2. "I loved your article" and other open subject lines. If you want to establish a good relationship with a writer, tell him how much you like his work. But don't make them think you're a fan if all you really want is for them to link to your content. Your subject lines set expectations. By choosing to go with an open or unrelated subject line, you can get him to open your email out of curiosity, but if the content doesn't match the expectations you've set then it will be ignored.
3. Try to impress with unnecessary adjectives and adverbs. Superlative adjectives and adverbs are nothing more than you projecting your opinion onto the field in hopes of making it juicier and more clickable. Remember: your subject line will set the tone. If you bathe in the descriptions of "the best" and "the most useful," it can be set to fail. It's not about what you think, it's what your recipients will think. If the reporter clicks on the link and doesn't find what she thinks is "the best," then she has missed out on her.
You don't need to be smart, you just need to make it easy for them to quickly know what your email is about.
Subject lines set expectations.
Most of the advice out there about subject lines comes from the world of email marketing, but link spreading is a different ball game. Using the “foot in the door” technique will help you develop a new mindset for writing subject lines that will allow you to bond. The next time you write an email try to be as specific as possible on your subject to make sure your little request (the open email) is consistent with your big request (the click to your content).