• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, December 5, 2011

Think twice before cutting an email marketing list based on low open rates. Some people take action simply based on the subject line, said Nicole Delma, who works for music download site RCRD LBL.

When joining the company, Delma moved to slash the size of the list, but then she heard from frustrated consumers. She found that people were engaged with the email communications “strictly through the subject line.” They'd see mentions of artists and move swiftly to the Web site.

So, the company implemented a system to track how many people saw an email and within 10 or 15 minutes went to the dot com. Delma said she's heard about similar subject line activation at Groupon and Gilt Group.

“It's still a vtal way to bring that consumer onto the Web site,” she said.