Email Tips: Subject line

When I get an email I want to know two things: who is it from and what it is about. A good subject line is important to clear communication by email. I can hit the ‘reply’ button and zap back my answer.

An email and all the replies that go with it are known as a ‘thread’. You can ‘follow a thread’ in an email discussion group, for example. It can be a useful tool if you are trying to find some information later.

If I want to send a reply but change the subject I generally change the subject line as well.

It may also be a good idea to send separate emails if you have more than one subject, especially if you need a reply. People have a tendency to respond to the last thing they read and forget about the beginning. It is like what someone once observed about husbands: If you ask your husband to pick up five things at the grocery store and then add one more, he will forget two of the original five.