In every website marketing campaign, advertising plays a significant role. Whether you use message boards, classified ads or e-mails as part of your advertising strategy, there are ways to make your ads stand out and become more significant to your readers.  One way is to compel the reader to open your offer through the subject line used.  Your subject line in your ad or e-mail may cause people to open it, or may simply cause them to skip by or erase your message.  Because of the importance of having people open your message and be exposed to your offer, it is vital that you make your subject line eye-catching.  You need an inspired subject line that will draw the attention of your prospective client.

However, there are some “do’s” and “don’t’s” you should consider when making up your subject lines.  These ‘rules’ can make or break your ad.

First here are the “don’t’s”:

1.                  Although many people do it and you may think it is a good idea, it is not necessarily good to use unnecessary symbols to make your stand out.  For example, “ ----(((((Hey Reader))))---- “ Using symbols in this way makes your ad seem unprofessional and desperate.  Your potential customer may not take you seriously.  It is important when you are trying to get someone to buy something from you that they know you are a serious, responsible business person before they will commit to handing over their money to you.

2.                  Never make claims in your subject line that you have no way of delivering, such as “Earn $1,000,000 by Tuesday!”  People are not stupid and they can see through the crap.  Most people on the internet learn to ignore unbelievable claims because many times they have been ripped off by similar claims before.  Be true to what you can deliver.

3.                  It is never a good idea to capitalize everything in your subject line.  On the internet this is consider ‘shouting’.  No one likes to be shouted at—and it is bad manners.  It is also harder to read and looks unprofessional.

The good news is that there are also some “do’s” that may make your ad more noticeable to your target audience.  These ‘tricks’ can be achieved without you having to resort to shady tactics, unprofessionalism or bad manners.

1.                  Using the word “Stop!” at the beginning of your subject line often attracts attention.  People are used to obeying a stop sign in the real world so they tend to take notice when they see it in an ad.  Immediately it gets the reader to take an action (which is to stop) and then follow through to read the rest of your ad line.

2.                  Ask a significant question in your subject line.  This gets your reader involved.  They want to know what the answer to the question is.  Or, they can relate to the question being asked.  For example, “Would you like to earn more money today?”

3.                  The word “Free” is a powerful word to use in your subject line.  Everyone loves to get something for nothing (free stuff) so giving your reader something for free is a real attention-getter.  You could give away a free information product, free software, a coupon or other incentive, a free trial, etc. 

Make your offer attractive to your readers so that they click on your ad. Your goal when creating the subject line in your e-mail or ad is to attract your reader into reading your advertising message, which in turn gets your real offer in front of them.  Using the right tactics to attract your target market should be professional and enticing so that your reader trusts you and is in the right frame of mind to buy your product or service.

There are many proper ways to get your message to your target audience.  Using an enticing subject line in your e-mail or ad can be a great marketing tool for your website marketing campaign and will help attract website visitors to your website.