Have you ever noticed a bad ad headline? Sure you have, probably hundreds of them in fact, but you likely don’t remember any of them because you didn’t even stop to look at the ad. An email subject line is basically the same thing as an ad headline. If it’s bad or irrelevant to your offering, your email will get deleted without even being read.

Here’s an example: A cycling clothing company sent me an email today (weeks after I requested removal from their list) with the headline, “Chocolate is so 90′s.” I have no idea how that relates to cycling clothing, and I don’t care. Instant delete. Do not cross my eyes, nor my consciousness. Do not collect a click, nor a sale.

Before you send that latest greatest offering in email or in an advertisement, make sure your headline is relevant to your offering and your customers desires or needs.

How is a bad subject or headline worth negative points? It’s simple: Instead of showing your customers that you are attentive to their wants and needs, you’ve just proven in one single sentence that you don’t understand them. Instead of netting a gain, you net a loss.

Here’s a suggestion: Instead of writing your subject lines and headlines at the last minute before sending, spend some real time — as in hours, not minutes — writing headlines that matter. Remember that a good headline ties in with your visual. If you’re stumped on how to write effective headlines, hire a professional copywriter, who is often worth his/her weight in, well, sales.