Choosing an email subject line is one of the vital elements elements of interaction skills. An attention grabbing and relevant email subject is essential, besides using the right words, transitions, grammar and structure.
LIME mnemonic summarizes the do's and don't of email subject line examples in business:-
- Long or short subject
- Irrelevant
- Main subject and sub topics
- Emotions.
Long and/or Short Subject lines
In Microsoft outlook, a subject line of 6-7 words are visible in the display window. Too short subject line may lack necessary information and/or confuse the reader; while, a long subject line may lack to convey the main message
Long subject line examples:
"Procurement and shipment of sales goods from project A will be discussed in the meeting"
"Customer satisfaction report indicates positive growth of our company
Business organizational changes are updated in the intranet for your reference"
Short subject line examples:
Hello
Paid!
No?
How
Goods delivered
Irrelevant email Subject
A synchronized email subject and body not only brings coherentness but also give a formal outlook to any business email.
Example of irrelevant email subject
Subject: "Our Project will go Live from Next Week"
Body: "I kindly request all of my team members to come prepared for the customer meeting that will be held tomorrow in Colb restaurant at 8 a.m."
Main Subject and the Sub Topics,
Sometime, a formal email may have more than one topic. It may include elements like clarification, information, celebration, request, and gratitude. Choosing an appropriate subject that can address all the elements by finding the right words and phrases is a skill.
Example:
Inappropriate subject: Team update
Body:
"I wish to welcome Mr. John to our team. He has completed his masters in agricultural sciences from tree university.
I also request Mr.Jack and Ms. Linda to bring the customer survey reports to the meeting tomorrow.
I wish best of luck to the rest of the team members who are going present their business white papers in the meeting."
In the above email, the subject could be revised to address the topics more specifically. "Welcome Mr.John, and Other Meeting Updates."
Emotions
Conventionally, Formal emails maintain a neutral emotion, which is preferred even today by many business organizations. It is believed that in some countries, writing the subject line in capital letters signifies anger. So, an email subject, "I LIKE THE WAY YOU PRESENTED" may indicate that the writer is sarcastic and annoyed about the way of presentation. Use of title case is standard, "I Like the Way You Presented"
Cohesive, coherent and persuasive emails not only help the reader to get the message quickly but also enhance his/her comprehension skills. This simple mnemonic LIME can come handy to write an effective formal email subject lines while writing a business email. this is how you Show Empathy in Email/Chat with Customers.
