More NEMOA Tips: Jennings Doles Out Pointers Across the E-Mail Board

3. Bad subject lines? Jennings offered some examples:

* “Enter your subject here”;

* “Dude, make some new friends”;

* “I think this could help you”;

* “Your focus eJournal has arrived”;

* “Now available from API”; and

* “Conference e-mail.”

4. Welcome e-mails. Use these as a way to say thank-you for signing up. But make them transactional messages, Jennings noted, because transactional message open rates are dramatically higher than other e-mail open rates. “It’s a continuation of your last transaction,” she said. “They just signed up with you, so when you respond with a ‘Hey, that’s great, talk to you in a month,’ that doesn’t do much. But if you respond in a way that goes above and beyond, it leverages that relationship.”