Is it just me, or is it becoming more and more difficult these days to find appropriate subject lines for emails?
The old spammers used to be obvious, urging us in the subject lines of their emails to get thin, to get more girth, to obtain medications, to watch porn flicks. But these days they’re becoming more subtle (not to mention, on occasion, more lyrical), and it’s not just in deleting them that this is causing a problem.
For example, I needed to contact a client the other week. “Project proposal,” I wrote in the subject line of the email. I frowned; I’d received a couple of spam missives just that week with just that subject line. “Your project proposal” was worse. “Customline Wordware Project Proposal” worked, at least for now, but I know enough to realize that it won’t be long before my company name, too, is usurped. Already I’m getting very racy invitations indeed from … myself.
Or there’s the message that my own email program threw into the trash, the note from a prospective client that had as its subject line: “your question.” Right.
Aside from wondering how many friends I’ve disgruntled and how many potential clients I’ve lost due to overactive spam filters that never delivered messages to their intended recipients, I’m getting close to a point where my creativity just isn’t up to the task. What subject line is descriptive yet clearly not spam?
And if you can find one, how much longer will it be so?
We all complain about spam, but in some ways it’s part of the reality of life on the Net; and the advantages of being there, to me, far outweigh the inconveniences of spam. I can live with it if it’s the price I pay to read journals, submit essays or short stories, transact business, communicate with friends and family, and keep up-to-date with news.
I just wish I could find a subject line I can use! At that point I’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
