I refuse to open e-mail from senders I don't recognize. If I don't know who sent it, it goes straight into the trash. If I do know the sender, I look at the subject line (SL) to decide when -- or if -- I'm going to read it.
Subject lines have to say something, have to help me prioritize my e-mail, or they get relegated to the bottom of my to-do list for the day. I like an SL that tells me what the e-mail is about.
Here's a trick I learned from a project manager who attended one of my workshops. Start every e-mail with a keyword, such as "Review," "Approve," "Action," "Decision Needed." A keyword can be anything that tells me what I'm expected to do with this e-mail. When I put a keyword in an e-mail, I get a faster, more complete response.
