For those of you who read this blog on rss or get an email with the post in it you may be reading this now simply because I’ve never written a headline like that or because you have enough trust built over time that there’s usually something worth checking out. But, what if you didn’t know me. What if this was the first time you’ve ever heard of this blog. Would you still have a look?

I doubt it. And, yet I get emails from photographers all the time that simply say “Check out my new photos” or “New website up check it out” and I can’t figure out why you wouldn’t throw in a line or two explaining exactly what’s in there that’s worth checking out. Certainly, if I know you and like your work and I’ve been waiting 5 years for you to update your site then yes I’m headed there immediately but otherwise it just depends on what’s going on the day and the week the email arrives. I’m pretty sure people do it this way just in case I’m not interested in whatever you just took a picture of, so I will click anyway and discover what an awesome photographer you are. But, I know it would be way more effective if you simply said you updated your athlete portraits with a new group of hockey players shot in a portable studio (hey, I need someone who shoots athletes with a portable studio).

If we’re not there already, eventually it will get to the point where it’s just not possible to click on all the emails. I can’t imagine what the volume of marketing email is like now for photo editors and then art buyers get 10 times that, so do us all a favor, tell us about the pictures.

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45 Comments

  1. Rob,

    Thank you for updating your blog.You are always on point with everything, topics, advice, interviews. In our opinion it is the most informative blog in the photo industry. Reading it inspired us in the past and you never fail to impress with such amazing content.

    thank you,

    a and s

  2. Excellent points. Thanks.

  3. The secret to increase your email open rates

    See, you are reading my comment. It’s related to the topic and it’s about you. Not me.

    There are a number of good sites to support people in writing for blogs such as copyblogger and problogger. Many of the ideas translate well into other areas such as email headlines.

    A good question is often effective in drawing people into a post or email. But generic questions are often over looked or ignored.

    Excellent point Rob.

    Rosh

  4. Would you really notice and spend the time on such a headline amongst all the clutter and spam? I guess I’m curious about what would work in length, whats different and new, and what wouldn’t seem like total cheese ( to me and the viewer). Is it possible and accurate (reasonable?) to describe a work within that type of criteria? Got any examples?

    “Beware Zombies Ahead!” ?

  5. hey, i have a comment!

  6. Nice post…never even thought of this but I just realized, every week or so, I get an email from a blogger friend of mind and the email is titled “so and so updated his blog with a new post.”

    I NEVER click on it and always wonder why the title never comes through because I don’t have time to click on it and find out when chances are, it’ll be a waste of my time anyways….hmmmm

  7. What a great post!

    Rob, you an articulate your point so well, that’s what separates your blog from the others.

  8. This is a very important point to make, but at the same time I keep hearing that I should include my name in emails I send to photo editors and art buyers. Unfortunately my name, Christine Blackburne, takes up most of the character limit that is suggested in order not to have part of your subject cut off.

    So here is my question, how important is it to have your name in the subject if you are, as I am, a younger and less known photographer?

    • @Christine Blackburne,

      You mentioned hearing that you should put your name in emails. I’m not a marketing specialist, but I work as a software developer in a company that uses marketing heavily. I have more than a decade experience in designing and customizing user interfaces for software.

      I mention these things so that you understand where I’m coming from when I say that this idea sounds a little silly to me. As you mention, your name takes up most of the character limit, and I don’t know of any modern email reader that doesn’t already show the sender’s name next to the subject line anyway. Adding it again is just redundant and doesn’t provide any value. Make your subject line something descriptive which is actually relevant to your message.

      Respectfully,
      Randy

  9. Thank you, thank you for touching on my greatest pet peeve. ‘New Work’ or ‘New site’. I get so many emails from photographers and you would not believe the percentage that use these terms. I am like, really, new work? You and the two other photographers that I got 5 minutes after you.

    When I really feel badly, is when the agents do it. They should know better. It says Agency: Photographers Name: New Work. They would be better off promo-ing the client they worked for.

    Best promos I recently received: an agency promo listing all the free photo related events and mentioned the recession. I thought it was fun and you knew they were on touch with the current events. They showed off the photographers work too. Another was a photographer profiling his probono work, rather than a paying client. It was nicely done and the work was fantastic.

    The worst promo I recently received: A photographer took a picture of a model on a boat, there were 2 images in the email blast. They looked similar, but one was clearly better than the other (I am thinking why show the bad one, strange?) Clicked on the link cause it was a blog style format, and the guy put his (not so great) image next to a similar image of the JCrew cover (which was great) and blasted on how great his was and well, he took that photo so many months ago. Kinda saying they copied him??? I was like no one will hire this guy in their right mind. The photographer ranted about the details in the image and clearly had no visual IQ.

    Good luck with the promo-ing!

    • @An Art Director, Thanks for the advice.

  10. Such simple tip yet so many of us make this mistake. I know in my marketing emails, twitter, facebook etc. I frequently say “check me out!”

    Now I really need to re-evaluate how much more effective I could have been if only I implemented this simple tip.

  11. good point. in a few months I will be unveiling a new sub-series of cinemascapes. If you know my work and I tell you that the new work will involve a female for the central character instead of the rustbelt cowboy man and that female will still be played me, it might entice a view clicks… or not… depends on what you’re into?

    • @le cinémasagiste,

      I’m very much digging your new work.

      • @Anthony,

        thanks Anthony, but I’m not sure if you mean the concept of my work in progress mentioned above or what? My current work is not new. But thanks again anyway.

  12. “Free Beer And Bullets” always works best for me.

    • @Steven Rood, This worked! I clicked on your web link! Maybe I should give it a go.

  13. oh man, guilty I do that. thanks for the tip, I’ll never do it again. BTW I recently updated my site, er… I mean check groovy new 60’s style portraits on my site.

  14. Ooooh good idea!

  15. Unfortunately, spam wouldn’t exist if it didn’t work at least some of the time.

  16. This post is Right On Time, as I was just going through my Constant Contact reports. This post – and the subsequent comments- has been really helpful to me. :)

  17. Great post, i’ll never do it again.
    Thanks Rob

  18. I second Max and the others. Guilty as charged. But hopefully a little smarter from now on.

  19. Who am I?

    “Oh my god, I’m so busy, I’m the most important person in the world! I get so many fucking emails, you have no idea how many fucking emails I get! I can’t possibly open all these fucking emails or hire anyone to do it for me because I’m so fucking important!”

    Oh, I must be an art director.

    • @Matthew Dorian, who do you think does hire you? Be smart and listen to friendly advice. I only post to try and be constructive and help you out. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

    • @Matthew Dorian,
      You don’t have to be a douche about it. You actually don’t have a clue how many emails are sent. I certainly know plenty of people who don’t open any of them.

    • @Matthew Dorian,
      Gee, I hope you’re not a photographer with an attitude like that. It can’t be healthy.

  20. Great advice! I tried this last week and my open rate for the emails improved from 17% to 22%. Hard to tell what will work, but this is a good start.

    And yes, I am an Illustrator and an Art Director. Don’t shoot me, please.

  21. For photographer’s in India ( and probably the world) , where there is a dearth of good and intelligent perspectives, your blog is different.

  22. Hello A Photo Editor, I have a news flash: You’re just a plain mean old guy. You make it sound like it’s a chore to look at new work. Well, you chose your job as an editor so do your job and look at new work with enthusiasm, without all the sarcastic crap. Who knows, you might after all find a gem, even if that photographer can’t write the right words in the subject line in the email. Jeez, you must have been living in New York too long. Made you way too jaded for your young age — you sound like you’re 50.

    • @Corby Lightson,

      A photo editor’s job isn’t to just open emails all day. A great deal more photographers email a photo editor than there are job to be handed out. If someone in a non-creative field spent all his time interviewing possible employees for jobs that are not currently open instead of doing the job he was hired for, he’d be failing his company and he’d lose his job. Why do you think a photo editor or art director is any different?

    • @Corby Lightson, Matthew Dorian,
      Your “comments” are baffling to me. Why do you read this blog anyway? What do you expect from it?

      I mean really, these comments are so off target that it seems the most likely thing happening here is that neither of you are actually who you say you are, but instead are the ENEMIES of who you say you are, and what you’re really doing is attempting to derail poor Corby and Matthew’s careers.

      That, or you’re just stupid.

    • @Corby Lightson, I never get the impression Rob is being “mean.” I think he is offering you pearls. What he IS saying is he gets a huge amount of emails, and the most interesting sifts to the top. Much like trailers at the movie theatre. Could you imagine a movie trailer that said plainly, “MGM: New Work” I am not sure I would trust the film would be interesting with no specifics on what it was about, having no context.

      I think this is a helpful blog, offering insight on how to be certain your work pops out by giving it a better subject line. This will get your work out in front of more editors, directors, etc.

  23. I am going to side with Rob on this one. I am a photographer and have so far sent out six email blasts. When I put the name of the magazine client in the subject line such as: Vanity Fair – XXXXXX Photographer – then the emails were opened and there was a noticeable increase in site visits.

    When I put something like – MY NAME – New work – well, it did not quite work as well as I had hoped.

    Hell, I get close to 400 spam emails at day through my gmail account. I can not imagine how difficult it is for an art director of photo editor who is on one of the Agency Access or Adbase mailing lists.

    Personally, I’ve about given up on email as a way to market.

    There are better ways and I just need to find one.

    (By the way, I am in my fifties, Mr. Corby and some of the freshest and most interesting work I’ve seen lately has been by shooters in their forties to sixties who are secure enough in their career and work to push through all the b.s. and concentrate on what is important. I suggest maybe you do the same before throwing your name onto a blog that is read worldwide. Postings on the net live forever…)

  24. Thank you so much for this posting, Rob. I could not have read this at a better time. It’s always so difficult to figure out how to try and grab attention of someone who gets so many of the same kinds of emails every day, and I get so frustrated when most of my emails don’t even get opened. I will put your suggestion to the test this week!

    Very best,

    Tamar

  25. You are enjoyable to read, you have a good sense of humor and you are a wonderful advise giver. Thank you again.

  26. I can understand the reluctance to write a coherent subject line in an email. After we’ve downloaded, edited, deleted, rotated, color corrected, spotted, cropped, sized, captioned, keyworded, backed-up, archived, uploaded, re-described, added more keywords, burned some DVDs, had a few drinks and/or cigarettes and maybe a Prozac or two, trying to think of a catchy but useful subject line when our brain is mush is like the last straw. You just want to scream.

    Push through the pain.

  27. ugh…desperate little voices crying out for attention. I have contacted Rob on several occasions with a CLEAR and CONCISE question. It took a few days, but this dude, whom I never met, has never hired me and owes me nothing, got back to me each time with CLEAR and CONCISE answers.
    I do not do “e-mail blasts.” I believe it the visual form of telemarketing. Yeah, someone MIGHT bite, but you’re still being annoying to everyone else. Photo editors know what’s up. They will find you. I got my first ad campaign that way.
    Here’s a tip. Use some creativity, come up with an IDEA and hit up a freelance writer. THEN hit the mag. This has worked for me 10 outta 10 times, and it will work for you. Sending out your generic “sports” shots and “fashion” shots wastes your time and theirs.

    Oh yeah, @ Bettina (although you’re not who I though you were, how cool would that be) your shots are awesome.

  28. I’ve always found the “read my new post” type of emails mildly annoying at best. The whole point of rss is for the reader to subscribe through a reader application or service and let that notify them on their own schedule. The extra email is redundant and, frankly, a little spammy.

    If you’re concerned that your readers may not use an rss reader, then the ideal thing to do would be to educate them by providing information on you page about what it is and where to get one.

    Randy

  29. Absolutely elegant advice. Genius.

    Also, writing a subject line forces you to think. Too much digital communication is reactive rather than focussed.

    In terms of marketing, better advice couldn’t be had.

    Heads up to the moaning and groaning above about the self-importance of Rob’s request/advice: Everyone gets too much in their inbox.

    This is why, no matter what, I visit this blog.

  30. Great timing for this post. I read it a few days ago, right before sending off an eblast. I’ve heard the advice before, but maybe was stubborn to take it. This time, I added a relevant title to my email that ties to my work. This morning as the blast went out, my opens and click throughs were much higher than before, and those that did ‘click through’ were those I wanted to hear from.

  31. … amusant, you say “tell us about about you pictures” … I always thought the maxim ‘a picture tells a thousand words’ applied … NOW you’re telling me to tell you ABOUT the picture – ??? … geesh, allrighty then … check out my OTHER blog site, if you care, there I use pics as a lead-in to my WORDS … http://canadada.wordpress.com … geesh.

    Just teasing. Sort of.

    I’ve just FOUND your blog and really like it. It’s so, um, CLEAN … will be back.

  32. I just have to say I hate Adbase emails. I’ve never had my work email published and would never sign up for a mailing list with it. It’s strictly for internal use and for communicating with people we are currently working with. Somehow I’ve ended up in Adbase’s mailing list and have been barraged by photographers and illustrators promoting their work (AND they’re work is not even remotely applicable to our publication). It’s *not* the same as old-fashioned postcard mailings–unsolicited emails annoy me to no end, and, really, it makes me resent those who send them.

    And though this may be a little off-topic from this post. I do need to add this: Better headlines might help getting read, but a little research into who you’re sending your mailing to might prevent you from getting reported to spam blackhole lists. Just saying.


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