The sneaky marketing tactic brands use to make you open their emails

The cunning tactic is surprisingly effective - but needs to stop immediately

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

For those of us bombarded with hundreds of emails on a daily basis, it can take something especially notable in the subject line to prompt us to open a new message.

There’s a very sneaky marketing tactic that some brands use to grab their email recipients’ attention, and many who fall for it are likely none-the-wiser.

We’re not talking about buzzwords or the use of the word “urgent” in capital letters.

Instead, the cunning technique that companies use to draw you in is the inclusion of “FWD:” or “Re:” in the subject line.

While this may seem far too simple to actually have a significant effect, the thought process behind this technique is surprisingly logical.

By making it appear as though the email is a response to a previous message or has been forwarded on, this makes it seem as though you’ve already been engaged in conversation with the sender on another occasion.

This in turn makes you subconsciously feel obliged to open the email and read what they have to say.

This sly method was highlighted in an article for Racked, in which examples of emails that the editorial team had received recently were shared.

It seems that many people have become aware of this emailing tactic over the years and don’t enjoy being duped.

“Hey marketer using ‘Re:’ in the subject line of an email that’s not a reply: your tactic works in that I open the email,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“It fails miserably when I realise you tricked me and I no longer trust your brand (in this case @NYSC).

“C’mon. You’re better than that.”

While being tricked into opening inconsequential emails may frustrate many people, the marketing ploy isn’t the biggest bugbear in the workplace.

In November last year, it was revealed that the two things people found most annoying at work were colleagues who were too loud and who complained incessantly.