I give good advice. I should follow it more often. Three cases in point.
Subject LinesLoyal
Web Words readers know my feelings about
subject lines. They are very important and they are very challenging. My advice about them is
"think ahead." As you're preparing your newsletter or blog, keep the subject line top of mind.
It would have been great if I had taken this advice last month. Then instead of "
Privacy" as my subject line, I would have used "
Private." I thought of this an hour after I pushed the "send" button.
Would it have mattered? I can't tell for sure, but last month didn't get as good an opens rate as May ("The Finale.") And
"Private" is rather intriguing. Speaking of good advice,
Constant Contact recommends that you
test subject lines. Do this by dividing your list in half and sending the same newsletter to each list with a different subject line. I haven't taken this advice either.
Idea List"Keep a list of ideas for articles" is the first thing I tell my clients. Keep it wherever is most convenient--on your phone, your computer, a notebook. Use any organized place you can count on to be there when you need it. Do I do this? Well, not exactly.
I do have a list on my computer called "
For Future Issues." And I do use it, but nowhere near enough. The idea for this article came to me right after I published the
June Web Words. So I wrote it on a piece of paper, which got confused with a lot of other pieces of paper. Fortunately, I found it in time. But I think there's another idea floating around somewhere, and I have no idea where it is.
I also urge people to write complete notes. A two-word reminder might not be enough weeks later. Be sure you flesh out the idea thoroughly enough to actually be able to write the article when the time comes.
Backup ArticlesI also recommend keeping a few "evergreen" articles at the ready. That way if something unexpected happens in your life, you can still meet your schedule. I actually did this, but only because I wrote an article and then decided not to publish it. That was accidental. I need to do this on purpose.
So, do as I say, not as I do.