Give Customers A Little Credit

Inboxes are overflowing with discount-oriented subject lines - "Take $10 off your next purchase" or "Save $5 on the JuiceMaster 5000WKRP." Do customers even care anymore? Did they ever?

The problem with these subject lines is they're just offers. And every website they've subscribed to is making them an offer that's easy to refuse.

But take a look at this subject line:

You Have a $10 Credit With 1-800-Headsets

This is psychologically powerful. Of course, unless a credit is issued as part of a refund (credit note) or a gift card, a "credit" is just a clever name for a discount. (In this case, the credit is offered because of a previous purchase - i.e. a X-off-next-purchase coupon). But the word credit suggests "we have $10 of your money on our books, come and redeem the goods that are rightfully yours." This may be more motivational than the played-out discount offer.

Definitely worth testing.