Try mentioning the subject of “subject lines” to an email marketer and you’ll find yourself listening to a litany of do’s and don’ts and an enumeration of spam-trigger words.

I am certain that you’re scratching your head right now and saying to yourself, “Subject lines? Who cares? I am in the business of trade show exhibiting.” Sure you are, but don’t you use emails to invite your clients and prospects to your display booth? Aha! Did I just hear a light bulb click on?

Since I am not a professional email marketer, I will not go through a litany of tips. But instead, I’ll share with you nuggets of lessons I’ve learned dealing with this seemingly relevant topic.

Lesson no. 1: $ and % will land your email in Spamville
If you’re planning to send out an email about the huge discount that you’re giving away at an upcoming trade show, don’t make the mistake of putting that number in your subject line. Spam filters are extra sensitive to zeroes, dollars and percentage signs. Oh, and one more thing—stay away from exclamation marks. You don’t want to excite the spam filters.

Lesson no. 2: All CAPS will not get your message through
There’s no better way to make a point than to capitalize all letters in your text. Well, that is if you want to catch the attention of spam filters. So, avoid using an ALL CAPS approach in your subject line.

Lesson no. 3: KISS (Keep It Short and Straightforward)
Experts recommend that you limit your subject line to no more than 50 characters. Please note that spaces in between words are counted as characters.

Lesson no. 4: Dates matter
This we proved at Nomadic when we tested two subject lines for a promotion email. The one that included a promo end date generated a higher open rate. Dates create an urgency for email recipients to open your email and see what you’re offering them.

Clearly, this short and single line of text can spell a whole lot of difference in getting your message across. So, before you push the “Send” button, double-check your subject line.

If you have email-marketing tips that you want to share with other exhibitors, go ahead and email them to us at marketing@nomadicdisplay.com. We’ll feature them in a separate blog.

Mabel Kenyon
Marketing Communications Coordinator