Examples of Great Emails You Can Imitate
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Controversy sometimes sells, and it most certainly grabs attention. Using shock, controversy, or insult in your subject lines requires you to tread really carefully. You may get opens, but at the cost of customers. One effective email subject line strategy involves going ultra-minimalist with one-word subject lines. The promotion tab is scheduled for a major makeover — Google is starting to display promotional emails in a image-oriented design inspired by Pinterest.
If this new setup sticks, pictures will usurp subject lines as the pivotal email element. Until then, we still need to worry about the current state of the promotions tab. Which one stands out? From a simple design perspective, you can see why the Amazon Local subject line catches the eye — its length and shape stand out from the other largely similar-looking structures.
Another great email subject line example comes from Mequoda with the simple subject line of:. What should I be panicking about?
- Reiseführer Curaçao - Die niederländische Perle der Karibik (German Edition)!
- Newsletter Example #1: Announcing your new store to all your contacts;
- On the (Im)Possibility of Business Ethics: Critical Complexity, Deconstruction, and Implications for Understanding the Ethics of Business: 37 (Issues in Business Ethics).
Am I in danger? Am I having an existential crisis? Emotionally-walloping words make a big impression. Many of the factors that make up a good blog post title also make a good email subject line. Incorporating numbers into your subject line attracts attention, as our brains are naturally drawn to digits. This tends to be why top 10 lists are so successful — lists are easier for our brains to process and they create curiosity , in addition to providing the promise of a quick and easy read.
Numbers and list email subject lines stand out for the same reasons that one-word subject lines or unusual punctuation do — they are visually jarring. An article at The New Yorker discusses our avid adoration of listmania:. A headline that is graphically salient in some way has a greater chance of capturing our eye, and in an environment where dozens of headlines and stories vie for attention, numerals break up the visual field. Basically, the ultimate goal is to make your email subject line visually stand out. How you do that is up to you!
Incorporating personalization techniques into email subject lines is another way to increase open rates. Instead, try location-specific offers and language, or interest targeting. LivingSocial and Groupon are old pros at this, sending emails with subject lines promoting deals in your area. LivingSocial also sends me new deals based on my past purchases. The subject line above combines personalization via remarketing with scarcity to create an effective email subject line. Thrillist knows exactly who their audience is — the young, drinking crowd — and their conversational tone fits perfectly here with their fun email subject lines.
Thrillist knows their audience. Photo courtesy of Bem Devassa. Question marks and unusual punctuation offer another method for standing out from the email masses. Friday, September 26, Subject: Hello 1 Some university webpages are currently unavailable. Please monitor this web page for additional information and status updates.
Click here to confirm your access link has been removed 4. Thursday, September 25, Subject: Your CSUN account password is about to expire. Tuesday, September 23, Subject: In addition to providing a more stable email environment, Office offers an enhanced interface for Webmail 2 users, especially for Mac users. This email outlines key information about the migration and its impact on this account. Please contact the IT Help Center or your local technical support staff. For answers to frequently asked questions, visit the Faculty and Staff Email Upgrade page. This phishing attempt is more elaborate than usual.
The sender most likely copied some language directly from CSUN emails or policies. For more information please visit http: Monday, September 22, Subject: Your CSU, Northridge account password is about to expire. Friday, September 19, Subject: Thursday, September 18, Subject: Dear User, 1 Due to system error's Your webmail needs to be verified today. Wednesday, September 17, Subject: Tuesday, September 16, Subject: Verify Your Webmail Account Now. This email is being sent to you because of violation security breach that was detected by our servers.
Please follow the link below to perform maintenance work needed to improve the protection of the email for us to verify and have your account cleared against this virus. We are taking actions to help reduce the effects of these phishing email attacks. Enter the terms you wish to search for. Portal Webmail Directory Canvas. Evidence of Payment Reported: October 22 Email: Follow up Hi XXX. July 30 Email: Whoever is phishing is attempting to create a sense of urgency by alluding to a vague secret derived from vague sites and methods.
This is to scare you into paying money as soon as possible without thinking about the consequences. This email contains numerous grammatical errors, and is worded very awkwardly. While the attempted phisher does cite some very specific vulnerabilities, note that a key-logger doesn't provide access to a display screen, it simply logs your keystrokes. An attack with this kind of malware could make way more money selling your passwords or waiting for you to input credit card information, so it stands to reason that a hacker would actually keep quiet about this to make more money.
Be especially wary of emails that tell you not to go to the cops. You have no guarantee that alleged hackers will delete any of this evidence, and thus it would be best to go to an authority for forensic or identity fraud prevention purposes.
For example, today's great workplace writers are committed to using plain Once you start to notice how good writers do what they do, you should imitate them. Here are five examples of how you can incorporate interactive content into your Here is an example from Nissan that uses slide transitions to imitate the base is especially active on Apple Mail or Outlook, it's a good option.
Again, the email is attempting to get you to pay before action can be taken. May 11, Email: Evidence of payment 1 Hi there, 2 Your payment has been processed since Friday of last week. Most professional emails will address you formally. This email contains grammatical errors. Additionally, there is no mention as to what the payment was specifically for. The third sentence has no period.
Very rarely will alert emails ask you to download something.
The majority of the time, it will ask you to go to the actual site to fix whatever needs to be changed. This email included a link. Hover your cursor over links to verify its destination. If it looks suspicious, do not click on it. May 10, Email: Don't let your account be deleted 1 Your password was entered incorrectly more than three times.
Please click here to unfreeze your account. Please do not reply to this email. It is also unprofessional and unlikely to be the subject header for an official CSUN email. No contact information is provided. This is very suspicious. March 22, Email: The first red flag is the vague subject header.
If this email were legitimate, you would have already received previous communications before this "final" notification. This email includes some grammatical errors and misspellings. At CSUN, we do not ask users to validate accounts. The wording used here is not in line with common terminology used on campus.
Official CSUN emails include a contact number or some other way of gathering information about any official procedure. Someone attempting to phish information out of you will often leave the contact information out. March 19, Email: View Document disabled b 4 Enjoy! The Dropbox team This subject heading is extremely vague.
The greeting is unprofessional. Considering that this is an important document, an informal greeting is a red flag. If it WAS important, the individual messaging you would probably state the reason for the email upfront. If you hover your cursor over the link, it will reveal where it will direct you. If it is not an official site, do not click on it. February 16, Email: This should raise a red flag.
There are numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the email. A link was included. Notice that there are no instructions for you to follow that would allow you to bypass using the link. Notice that there is no contact information included in this email. February 5, Email: When files are emailed to you, the service used to send the email will specify who it came from. The fact that this information is not included is suspicious.
As with all emails, please use the actual DocuSign application. Hidden links are potentially and frequently malicious. December 20, Email: The part in brackets is an attachment and a link which was removed to prevent anyone from clicking it. Do not open attachments or links from unknown sources. The inclusion of such a topic makes this a suspicious email. The email does not provide information to contact the company regarding this message. It includes the company name, but does not provide a phone number or a contact email. December 5, Email: The first red flag is the lack of campus-specific terminology such as the "myNorthridge portal" or "CSUN account".
Hover over links with your cursor to see where the links will take you. Never click on a link unless you know its source.
Phishing Examples
The lack of contact information at the end of this email raises a red flag. October 26, Email: It is fundamentally Urgent that all staffs read attached. This email is smart in that it eventually leads to a real PDF. Be careful when emails give vague instructions. This email lacks contact information. A CSUN email would include contact information. August 27, Email: Official emails will never include a subject line that is in all caps.
The odd use of the word "pass-word" is a red flag. General misspellings, grammatical errors and typos show either poor English use or a lack of care from the other party. Either way, the validity of the email should be questioned. Official contact information from the school is omitted. Hidden or embedded links should be hovered over with your cursor to see where they direct you before proceeding. Contact information is omitted to prevent you from asking for confirmation. A CSUN email would include contact information should you have a question. February 22, Email: Most likely, you would be notified beforehand about eventually moving to a new service.
This email includes some typos and grammatical errors. Official CSUN emails usually include official contact information at the bottom of the email.
February 20, Email: At the very least, CSUN will inform you as to the main point of the email being sent out. The body of the message indicates that a meeting has been scheduled. At CSUN, you would have received a meeting request via Outlook and would not be asked to open an attachment for details. Be wary of links in emails. Hover over them to see where they go before clicking on them.
January 19, Email: Sent from my iPhone 3 The subject header is vague and suspicious. Be wary of anyone asking for this level of information over email. Typically, this is something best requested in person or through a phone call. It's also apparently sent from an iPhone. Although some business is conducted by phone, a request of this nature would not be sent from an iPhone. May 14, Email: Mailbox Helpdesk Dear Staff s.
Note the lack of a personal greeting. The email has been sent by the "IT Department" which is very vague and not from the IT Help Center and includes no contact information. The finality of the email should raise some suspicion. In the signature line, the "outlook" portion of Microsoft Outlook is not capitalized. This is a red flag. May 30, Email: General grammatical errors or strange phrasing should alert you to the possibility that the request is not valid. This email includes a service and department that does not exist at CSUN. May 21, Email: May 29, It em No. If so, contact Staples directly to inquire about the order.
The general flow of the email is off.
The Difference Between Plain Text and HTML Emails
The party attempting to phish is asking a lot of hypothetical questions which is suspicious. There is a general lack of punctuation.
Thursday, February 23, If you're not sure what makes a great call to action, check out this post on call to action examples by Dan for some help. You may get opens, but at the cost of customers. Your account safety is our top priority. When she's not typing out blog posts or crafting killer social media campaigns, you can find her lounging in a hammock with an epic fantasy novel. Do NOT open the attachment or click on any links. Won't be there to sign for your order?
February 13, Email: We are a direct lender with our headquarters located in Mount Laurel, NJ. This email resembles a promotional email and sounds legit because it seems to be addressing the education sector. However, note that there is no formal greeting.
This is immediately suspicious. This email possesses a sense of urgency trying to get the user to act immediately and even asks that it be forwarded to those in the education industry.
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The information itself is included in an attachment which is very suspicious. Do not open attachments unless you are very familiar with the source. Do not forward emails to your colleagues if there is any doubt to its validity. January 14, Email: The subject line of the email is not something recognizable. As always, attempt to hover over links before clicking on them if you must open them. Doing so will allow you to know where the link is attempting to direct you to. November 14, Date: This email subject header is trying to force you to read it by capitalizing its entire subject header.
The date format is not typical for this region.