Subject line
Statistics show that an average office worker receives 80 to 126 emails a day, so a good subject line is important to ensure that your email gets read. In fact a good subject line might even be the most important part of an email! A good subject line creates a sense of urgency and is also:
- Short
- Relevant
- Specific
Examples of good subject lines:
- Important: Hub Installation Project timeline changed
- Installation Meeting date postponed/modified
- Need info *re: Project status
- A question re: our latest marketing strategy
- Review by 4pm – Updated parts list
- Review Actions – MoM (Minutes of meeting) Installation project
- Follow Up re: phone call with ABC
*re – is short for regarding
In the above examples, the topic changes but it is good to inform whoever you are writing to, directly in the subject line, what is expected of them.
Whenever possible, use helpful acronyms in your subject line to avoid long texts and let the receiver better prioritise their emails
FYI : For your information. – Informational only. No action required on part of receiver.
ACT – Action required or requested
NRN : No reply necessary. This means no reply is needed from the person receiving the email.
EOM : End of message. – This means that whatever is in the subject line is the message and you do not need to even open the email. Examples of these type of messages could be:
- Bring updated action list to (subject) meeting today: EOM
- Absence to (subject) meeting today due to illness: EOM
If you need good subject lines for specific sectors like Sales, HR, Helpdesk… please go to to the relevant courses, which you may find here.