Getting the attention of your supporters is only getting harder. And no, email is not dead. You likely communicate with an e-newsletter which you hope is read by your recipients.
The first thing I do when I open my work or personal email is scroll for subject lines (and recipient) to determine what I need to read. However, unlike me, not everyone is doing that from a desktop computer and may only have time to check their email while waiting in line somewhere.
A Pew study in June of 2012 reported that nine out of 9 smartphone owners check email on their device. Because of this, SHORT subject lines are even more important These are small screens and users will probably only look at the first few words to determine whether your message is relevant to them.
You can test this out for yourself by splitting your email list. Use a long subject line with one half and a short one on another and check the open rates. See if it makes a difference for you. Who knows? Maybe your supporters love you so much that they’ll read anything you send!