The Hazards of a 'Bad News' Email Subject Line

The Hazards of a 'Bad News' Email Subject Line

There's a good chance you've gotten email with the phrase "bad news" in the subject line. "It has been used by a number of Internet marketers to increase response rates, notably during product launches, often achieving particularly high response rates," writes Danny Iny at the AWeber blog.  

Why does a "bad news" subject line work? According to Iny, it hits Sean D'Souza's headline trifecta by:

• Prompting a question, rather than giving an answer
• Highlighting a problem, rather than outlining a solution
• Evoking curiosity

Beyond that, subscribers experience loss aversion. "People read the email because they want to make sure they aren't going to be negatively affected," he notes.  In theory, this may seem like a smart strategy. In practice, however, a "bad news" subject line can be treacherous. Here's why:

Your subscriber might not care about your bad news. If someone you actually know? whether a relative, a business partner or a lawyer? says she has bad news, you're going to pay attention. But the average subscriber has little inherent interest in bad news from a random email marketer.

You might lose the trust of hard-won subscribers. When a click reveals that your "bad news" isn't actually bad news, your message might feel manipulative? or worse, deceitful. "If your audience ends up feeling like you were employing cheap tactics to get them to buy from you," says Iny, "then it will likely backfire."

Conclusion: Watch out. Use a "bad news" subject line with care? or else the upside of increased open rates might bring the downside of increased unsubscribes.