Email Drab to Fab Part 3: Subject Lines

Let's be honest. When you are going through your email you tend to read the ones that have clear or interesting subject lines first. Emails that aren't clear or have no subjects get read later if at all. So, why are do you send out emails with boring subjects or no subjects at all? 

When you are sending an email out to parents or students you are competing with every other email in their inbox. Some people are really good about reading every email they receive, but most people scan the subject lines and delete anything that doesn't grab their attention. That is why it is useful to compose your emails with a really impressive subject.

Email Subjects

Please Don't Do This:

Forget to include a subject: If you can't be bothered with typing a short explanation of what is in the email, why should the recipient take time to read it. 

Use unclear subject: Having one word or vague subjects are almost as bad as not having a subject at all.

Do These Things Instead:

Make Your Subject Specific: When your recipient reads the heading they should know what to expect.
Make Your Subject Powerful: Your subject should grab your recipients attention.
Make Your Subject Cleaver :  A catchy or fun subject will make your recipient want to read your email.

Vague: Parent Meeting	Specific: Information about Parent Meeting October 15th
Weak: Parent Meeting October 15th	Powerful: Urgent Information about Oct 15th Parent Meeting
Dull: Information about Parent Meeting October 15th	Creative: Information Proud Parents Need for Oct 15th Meeting

If some of these examples seem like something you would get from advertiser, you are right. Advertisers spend millions of dollars every year researching what grabs people's attention. If you don't want your emails lost in your recipient's inbox, you should use some of the same practices.

HINT: According to campaignmonitor.com,  you want to keep your subjects to between 41 and 70 characters, or around 7 words to be most effective.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all educators. The hard work that you do for your students everyday might seem to go unnoticed, but it is truly appreciated.You are helping to shape young people into outstanding adults and from a parent and a colleague, "THANK YOU!"  

Enjoy the Thanksgiving break, you deserve it. 

Email Drab or Fab Part 2: Adding Images

In a previous post we covered how to add a professional signature to your emails, but there is more you can do to help your emails make a great impression. So, let's jump right in. 

Images are a great way to jazz up your emails as long as they meet a few requirements: 

1. The image(s) relate to your position or email subject. Seasonal images would fall under this category as well. 
2. The image(s) don't overpower the email. They should not be too big, bold, or dramatic. 
3. The image(s) are those which you have created, or images that have creative commons licenses. You don't want stolen images on your emails!

Here are some examples:

Background photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com

Each of these images has a Creative Commons License. The first 3 came from pixabay.com and did not require attribution, and the last one came from freepik.com and required attribution.

The pencils would make good dividers for longer emails with multiple subjects, and the other images would make for great headers. 

How to do it:

Option 1: When using Gmail, you can add images by inserting the image or dragging an image into the body of your message. This is great when you want to use the image one time, however, there are some images that you will want to add on a regular basis. For this, you will want to add a canned response. 

Option 2: Creating a canned response: If you aren't sure how to create a canned response, go back to  Can it! Using Canned Responses in Gmail. Create a blank email with the image(s) you want to use and save it as new canned response. HINT: Don't include a signature in your template if you already one set up. It will be added automatically.  

In the comments below, tell about images that you think spruce up an email, and which ones make them look cheesy.  

Email Drab or Fab Part 1: Using Signatures

Take a look at the two email signatures below: 

Thanks, Chris

Thanks,

Which one of these looks like it came from a professional that is excited about his job and wants to work with you, and which one looks like it came from someone that would have rather not sent you an email in the first place?

That question doesn't actually need a response, and chances are if you end your emails like the example on the left, it's not because you don't care, it's because you are busy or just don't think about things like your email signature. The reality is having a strong email signature matters. It's like your digital business card. Not only does it make you look more professional, but it also gives you a chance to share important information with the people with whom you are communicating. 

Here is how to make your own professional email signature for Gmail: 

1. Open a browser 
2. In the address bar go to docs.new (this will open a new Google Doc). 
3. Insert a table (Start with 1 row and 2 columns to start with). 
4. In the left column insert a picture or yourself or a school related logo (remember to keep it professional). 
5. In the right column type the information you want to share. 
6. Change the font style, size, and color to make it look the way you want. 
7. You can add rows or columns as needed to make sure things are spaced the way you want them to be. 
8. Highlight and copy the entire table 
9. Open Gmail
10. Click on the settings icon
11. Click settings
12. Under the General Tab, scroll down until you see Signature: 
13. Paste the table into the box provided. 
14. Click in the box that says "Insert this signatures before quoted text in replies..."
15. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes 

That's it. Now every time you send an email your signature will be fabulous.

Note: Here is a video of how to set up signatures in Outlook.

Please leave a comment below with what information you like to include in your signatures.