A few months ago I started getting a bunch of junk Spam
messages. All the messages had the same subject line. Thinking
that the emails were hocking cheap Ritalin, I left them in my
Spam filter and continued with my daily tasks. Besides, my ADHD
was under control with my five Starbucks lattes-a-day personal
remedy. Within seconds, I totally forgot about the Spam messages.
When I was doing my up my Christmas list a few weeks later, I
got to my Dad's name and thought, "Dad is pushing eighty, I
wonder if he might like some Viagra as a stocking stuffer?" I
suddenly remembered all those Ritalin emails. Maybe the online
drug shops had a whole variety of pharmaceuticals other than
Ritalin, and I could get a great deal on my Dad's Viagra.
I went back to my Spam filter and searched for all the messages
with that same subject line. They weren't hard to find, the
subject was only one word -
"Whoops!"
But there was no Viagra to be found. No Ritalin for that matter
either. What a rip! Now what would I get my Dad for Christmas?
To make matters even worse, I realized all those Spam emails
with the "Whoops!" subject line weren't Spam at all. They were a
whack of messages from a whole bunch of email lists I actually
subscribe to. It seems a "Whoops!" message is a legitimate
message that really means,
"I made a mistake, check within for details."
All my 'Whoops!" email messages detailed URLs that had been
mistyped, web addresses that had been moved, wrong dates, wrong
product prices, incorrect phone numbers and a whole variety of
other issues all covered under the subject line -- "Whoops!"
I even had one message that had "Double Whoops!" as a subject
line since this was the second email message from the same
company in a two-day time period that was riddled with errors.
I don't know if "Whoops!" is the greatest way to admit you made
an error. How many people even have "Whoops!" in their active
vocabulary? I wonder what else might be a more effective email
newsletter subject line when a mistake has been made?
- "Whoopsy daisy" -- No, too, childish.
- "My parents are cousins, I can't help it!" -- No, too personal.
- "Gall darn it, dagnamit, another error!" -- No, your
subscribers will think you need a few sessions of anger therapy.
- "Sorry, I am too cheap to get an editor" -- No, that is what
your subscribers will think, but it probably isn't the greatest
option for your subject line.
Maybe:
*Sincerest apologies, URL error in [insert newsletter name here]
*Sorry to have wasted your time, telephone number error
*We will try harder next time, pricing error in [insert
newsletter name here]
I asked a few business associates what they thought of the
"Whoops!" subject line. They all agreed it sounded like someone
attempting to be 'down home' and trying to appear like a
bumbling friend instead of a business who is having some
difficulty with the e-newsletter editing process.
I guess the lesson here is to just admit you made an error and
not try to cover it up with a "Gee wilickers, I think I just
might be a moron" type subject line.
None of this gets me my Dad's Viagra, but it has lessened the
load on my over-worked Spam software. I have set the software to
rescue all "Whoops!" email marketing messages and put them in
the Deleted box where they belong.
About the author:
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