I often get asked about what makes a good subject line when pitching a freelance writer via email. The simple answer is: Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Be as clear as possible about the reason you’re emailing from the get-go, and don’t be the email equivalent of clickbait (or promising something in the subject line that isn’t delivered upon in the body copy).

Here are few basic rules to keep in mind when crafting subject lines for your pitches to freelance writers.

Don’t use all caps.

A few companies and agencies are notorious for doing this. Please, don’t. Not only does this get INTERPRETED AS YELLING, but more importantly, it often also cuts off in the Gmail preview bar, pretty much securing its destiny in my trash bin because I don’t know what it’s about.

If you’re inviting a freelance writer to something, include “Invite” in the subject line.

Don’t bury the lead for an invitation at the end of an email; it has a good chance of being missed if the recipient doesn’t immediately see its relevance. Something as easy as “INVITE: [Short event description] on [Date]” is perfect.

Use my name.

When you send out blast emails that your client (who maybe doesn’t understand PR) is requiring, I will probably delete them after a quick glance. However, if you take a few extra minutes to personalize them by putting my name in the subject line (for example, “Hey Kelsey—New Chicago Hotel Opening of Interest?”) and then adding one personalized sentence pasted above the actual press release in an email, I’m more likely to open it and consider your idea. It sounds silly, but I once heard everyone’s favorite word is their own name—so for some reason this catches my attention.

Drop a publication name.

I get PR pitches all the time that tell me something exists without indicating its relevance to me. There’s no compelling reason for me to spend time on something like that—unless you take my advice from this post and suggest an example headline or angle for a specific publication I write for tied to what you’re pitching. Use that same tactic with subject lines. For example, “Kelsey, new Austin hotel opening for Robb Report?” is the beginning of a pitch so clickable I won’t be able to not read it.

Be humorous.

Look, we’re all dealing with people who are less-than-pleasant on a daily basis (and sometimes, that’s ourselves). So when someone takes time to write a subject line that makes me smile, even if it’s a cheesy dad joke, I’m pretty likely to respond. For example, I got a great email from a publicist the other day with the subject line: “Did you hear the joke about peanut butter?” Inside, her first sentence read: “Sadly, I can’t tell you the joke, because you might spread it!” I mean, I can’t make this stuff up—it was good. Her pitch was for a new peanut butter-flavored snack, and you better believe I was into it.

Inject something personal.

Other than my name, if you take time to include something in the subject line that you know is personal to me (maybe from reading my newsletter!), that’s a great way to get your email opened and pitch considered. A fantastic one from last week: “Kelsey: Can I send your cat gifts? + Intro to new cat company.” Anything that involves my sweet fur baby, Monty, is going to draw me in—and I’m not sure if this publicist knew that before connecting (this was her first time pitching me), but it sure as heck worked (her cat product line was really cute, so I hope to include it in a story soon).

In many ways, writing a good email subject line for your PR pitch is important as crafting the perfect article headline for a writer or editor. It can make the difference between an eye-catching pitch that turns into a smashing story and one that ends up in the trash bin, unread.

Do you have a typical formula for writing email subject lines? What have you found to be most successful? Did any of these tricks surprise you? Tell me about it in the comments below!