What to subject the email

Son did this. 

Not sure if any of it works, but having the name, position, and year in the subject makes it easier for the coach to search back through the emails, if warranted.

Another thing son did was when he was updating coaches on his schedules was that he brought up the old prior email he had already sent, so his profile was also included at the bottom but not rehashed in the current email.

LHP2017,

It has been a few years, but I recall a similar format in the email subject line.  Early in my son's search he was targeting mostly regional D1's that knew his travel coach/travel team or had spoken to his travel coach previously.   So I believe there was a reference to his travel team to put some context around it.  This was a successful for us, and he got the intended results.

As he progressed to academic college coaches (D1 & D3) that didn't know him or his travel coach, I believe he put his athletic and academic stats in the subject line along with his last name and graduation year.  Since he was a pitcher, putting velocity in MPH is pretty straight forward, and along with GPA and SAT scores.  As the email dialogues progressed he included academic and athletic milestones to keep the coaches updated on his progress.  Looking back, I think this is the way to go.  Coaches get lots of emails and it is best to put your best foot forward.

Good luck!

1) Your reply address should be {FIRST_NAME} {LAST_NAME}, grad year. That takes care of identification and there's no need to replicate in the Subject Line.

2) The reply-to address is, of course, your email address

3) Start the Subject Line with a symbol. Something like "►" works well to garner attention.

4) Personalize the subject line to the recipient. Examples:

      Coach {LAST_NAME}: blah blah blah

      blah, blah, blah, Coach {LAST_NAME}

5) Be direct and brief in the subject line. Examples:

      ► How I Will Contribute to Your Program, Coach {LAST_NAME}

      ► Coach {LAST_NAME}: A Winter Workout Update

6) Track if your recipient opens your email. There are many ways to do this, so here are two

    Download and use the free version of Yesware. Be sure not to go over the limitations.

    Use MailChimp (or similar) to send your emails. It's free for under 2000 contacts.

The aforementioned is based on my son's email marketing success, and the fact that my company sends over 5MM emails each month on behalf of our clients.

REMEMBER: the subject line is designed to get the recipient to open the email, so be bold, be creative, be daring. 

P.S. Might as well mention that you can test your subject line. Touchstone (http://www.subjectlinegold.com/) gives you 5 free chances to test, as does Phrasee (https://phrasee.co/optimise-em...asee-pheelings-lite/). So come up with a few variations and run it through both testers.

I should write an eBook on digital marketing for prospective ballplayers.

Yes you should....

It wasn't that long ago that players were sending out CDs with letters.  

Joe, WADR to your marketing skills, schools would have found your son if your family was living off the grid in Idaho.  

In our 2012 and 2016 experiences, what worked best for us was:

1) Use an email address with the player's name, e.g., first_last@yahoo.com, for all college related activity.

2) Email subject line always included the following: 

Firstname Lastname, 2016 SS/RHP, SUBJECT OF EMAIL

3) The "Subject of Email" changed based on the subject, e.g., Video Update, First Team All League, Summer Showcase Schedule, etc.

4) The closing was:

Sincerely,

Firstname Lastname

SS / RHP

High School Name (State) 2016

5) Once sons had skills videos completed, we always included a link to this adjacent to the positions in the closing:

Sincerely,

Firstname Lastname

SS / RHP     Skills Video:  www.vimeo.com/1234567

High School Name (State) 2016

Subject Line:

      First Name, Last Name, Grad Year, Position(s) AND WHAT DISTINGUISHES YOU (what makes you most marketable)

Examples:

Switch hitter

90 MPH fastball

6.4 60 yard dash

4.0 GPA

1400  SAT (2 part)

Low K % as a hitter

Starter on Travel team school actively recruits

1st team All state award

Some stats are good, but you can read in other posts that BA, ERA, can vary. K/BB as a pitcher if noteworthy should be OK

I would add that if you are a pitcher, and you are tall, to put your height in the subject line, e.g. Joe Smith - 2017 - 6'4" LHP

This is the kind of stuff that makes this website so awesome. 2019Son is nowhere near sending out any emails, but seeing all the great advice from joemktg, ryno, Ripken Fan, et al. made me wonder if it is worth putting in the subject line (1) travel team (if it is a known entity -- either well known to that particular college, or nationally known), and/or (2) high school (with the same caveat). What do you think?

Not the Subject Line, but the Reply Name. Our 2016 used FN LN, Canes 2016. I cannot tell you if it would've performed better than FN LN, 2016 as I didn't A/B it. But I can tell you his emails averaged a 70% open rate.

So it would look like this:

Reply Name: FN LN, Canes 2016

Reply Address: asdadsfa@gmail.com

Subject Line: ► How I Can Help Get the Team to Omaha, Coach LN

Where do I send the invoice?

Thanks! That makes perfect sense -- I'm sure "Canes" would get any coach's attention. 

I'll have to get back to you regarding the mailing address for the invoice.