Many newsletters and business offers are never read by Internet users for the simple reason that the e-mail didn't have an effective subject line. A subject line may only be a few words but these few words are very important.

As more and more e-mails fill our in-boxes it's more important than ever to have a subject line that catches our attention. The subject line is one of the most important aspects of your e-mail marketing campaign because it's what creates a first impression for your business. With just a few words you can encourage someone to read your newsletter or you can cause them to delete your e-mail without another glance.

Here are some simple rules for creating a great subject line:

- Keep the subject line direct and short. Subject lines should never be more than ten words long. In fact, five words or less is the perfect length. Most e-mail browsers won't let users see more than five or six words so a longer subject line will be truncated and not seen by the user. Use strong and descriptive words rather than fluffy adjectives such as "very".

- Emphasize the benefits to the reader. You want to make it as easy as possible for your customers to know precisely why they will benefit from reading your newsletter. This can be as simple as a "reward" for just opening the e-mail. A reward can be information or a discount coupon. You want to use catch phrases such as "save money" and "save time" to get a reader's immediate attention. The key is to entice your customers to want to read more and open the e-mail.

- Ask questions. When you ask a question in the subject line you cause a reader to become curious and want to know more. As well, when you ask a question the e-mail sounds more like it's coming from a colleague rather than just a business and will more likely be opened and read.

- Personal subject lines. One big mistake that screams "spam" is sending your e-mail to "undisclosed recipients". Make sure to always use your company name or real name as the sender. Try to put the recipients name in the subject line if there is room as well as insert it into the greeting of the e-mail.

- Take advantage of holidays and current events. If there is an upcoming holiday, such as Christmas, you can tie it up with your e-mail subject line. For example, "Save time on your Christmas Shopping".

- Avoid using the word "free". Hard sales phrases, such as "free" and "limited offer", are often filtered out by e-mail services since they are a clear indication of spam. As well, try to avoid using hype which includes explanation marks or all capital letters.

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