Use the subject line wisely

You’d be surprised at how many people just scan subject lines and delete emails that don’t seem relevant to them. And we can hardly blame them—this is exactly what we ask you to do when triaging your Inbox and using the Scan-Block-Ask system.

To make sure that your emails are opened and responded to correctly, there are a couple of things you can do. First, try putting a call to action right in the subject line. “5 things I need you to do tomorrow” is much more clear than “Things” and it also makes searching for older email easier. Next, consider adding one of the following to make your emails relevant and actionable:

  • [Time Sensitive]: Help the recipient triage her Inbox by saying this is an urgent and important email.
  • [Action Item]: Tell your recipient that something is needed from him.
  • [Not Urgent]: By adding this to the subject line, you're removing a lot of pressure from the recipient.
  • [Please reply by (date)]: Consider adding a deadline to eliminate uncertainty and avoid receiving an extra email asking when action is needed by.
  • [NNTR, NRN or FYI]: These are short for “No Need to Reply,” “No Response Necessary” and “For Your Information.” Put one at the end of the subject line to save the recipient from writing an unnecessary email (and to save yourself from reading an unnecessary reply).
  • [EOM]: If you can fit the entire message into a subject line, put EOM (End of Message) at the end to tell the recipient s/he doesn’t even need to open the email.

By including one or more of the above in your subject line, you will avoid unnecessary email exchanges, making life better for you and for the other person.

Action steps

Use one of these subject line acronyms in an email today, and share your favorite tip for writing a great subject line by commenting at the bottom of this page. [EOM]

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SaneBox is a simple service that analyzes your past behavior (which emails you open, which you respond to, how quickly, how often, etc) and determines the importance of incoming emails without ever looking at the content (only the headers). It moves unimportant emails out of the Inbox into a separate folder called SaneLater and summarizes them in a digest. It works anywhere you check your email (since it's just an email folder).

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Day 5 Takeaways

1Use your subject line wisely, people! More to learn at the Inbox Zero Academy!

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2Boost your productivity, de-clutter your Inbox, and gain hours each week. Learn more at Inbox Zero Academy!

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3NNTR, NRN, FYI, EOM — Learn how powerful these acronyms can be in your subject lines!

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