What emails do you decide to open every morning?
How do you make that decision?
Be honest…do you judge each email by the subject line?
I’ll bet the answer is “yes”. Most of us do. It’s a quick and easy way to make a snap judgement on what to spend time reading, and what to wait on and read later (eventually to be deleted without being read, more than likely).
The same type of decision making takes place every time one of your highly recruited prospects goes to his or her email Inbox and finds messages waiting. Contrary to popular opinion, email is still read by recruits, and is ranked highly when it comes to preferred ways for college coaches to communicate with them.
Which emails do they read? Which ones to they not pay attention to?
Just like you, it often comes down to the subject line.
So, what makes a great subject line? There are a few key questions that savvy college coaches should make sure are answered in future emails they create:
- Is it useful to the prospect who is reading it?
- Is it specific and direct?
- Is it remarkable in the way it’s worded?
- Is it urgent?
Let’s go through each one of these principles step by step:
First, focus on useful and ultra-specific as a coach who is contacting a recruit, even if you have to ignore unique and urgent. There are plenty of others who work at unique and urgent with every subject line — we call them spammers. Don’t cross the line into subject lines that are perceived as garbage. But do throw in a bit of a tease.
Secondly, when every email from you is urgent, none is. At least thats the way most recruits view it. Use urgency when it’s actually useful, such as when there’s a real deadline or compelling reason to contact you now about an opportunity with your program. If you’re running your email recruiting based on developing a relationship and talking about things that today’s recruits are really interested in, recruits won’t want to miss out and need to know how much time they have to get back to you.
Lastly, subject line space is valuable…there’s a limited amount you have for your subject line. So, the more compact your subject line, the better. Don’t forget useful and ultra-specific, but try to compress the fundamentals into the most powerful promise possible.
Two final things I want you to understand about the way prospects treat emails from coaches:
- When your email goes to their Inbox, that’s sacred ground. You’re showing up in their home, on their computer or smartphone, and in their life. Be aware that emailing a prospect is usually the first chance they’ll have to interact with you. Don’t waste this valuable opportunity to connect with them.
- Your email may also increase their stress level. Make sure you use this opportunity to be a coach who comes alongside your recruit and offer help, and your expertise about maneuvering through the complicated maze of recruiting.
Email gives you an incredible opportunity, Coach – and despite what many college recruiters assume, it still gets read by your teenage prospect. And it all starts with an effective subject line.
Now is the time to schedule Dan Tudor to come and speak at your college this year. Our On-Campus Workshop has criss-crossed the country since 2006, training hundreds of coaches and athletic departments on more effective ways to recruit this generation of prospects (as well as their parents and their coaches). Get the details by emailing Dan directly at dan@dantudor.com, or click here for an overview of what happens when we come to campus.