Professionals who excel at direct mail tactics get you to open the direct mail piece, whether it was delivered via snail mail or e-mail, by overcoming two hurdles:

1.      Getting you to open the e-mail

2.      Getting you to actually read the e-mail

In our world of the bloated Inbox, you have the same hurdles. To get your receiver to open the e-mail, your subject line which serves like a headline must be concise and filled with pertinent information.  Often the headline can serve as the entire message.

Which of these subject lines will get your e-mail opened?

·         Update

·         Projected Finish Date

·         To meet deadline, need report by 5:00 today

Before I would open other e-mails, I would definitely open the e-mail that told me in the subject line a report was due by 5:00 today. When I am in the producer's mind set and mode, I don't want to be irritated by e-mails that wander around before they get to the point or give me nice to have information. I can read the nice to have e-mails at a later time during the day, but for my work style and the level of tasks I handle per hour, I need to have a subject line that captures my attention and relays a sense of urgency.

To tackle the second hurdle, getting people to actually read your content, follow these steps:

• Address one subject per e-mail
• Keep the e-mail 10 to 15 lines
• Use bullet points for key information

Use these tips and you'll be surprised how much more professional you will appear to your co-workers and colleagues.

Get more tips and techniques to handle your e-mail overload on Tuesday May 22, at 12:00 Noon, EDT, at the Webinar, Surviving E-mail. Register today at:

http://www.karlabrandau.com/newkarla3/seminars.htm

For maximum results, invite your entire team to attend.