The next time your animal organization sends out an email or publishes a blog post, take a long, hard look at the subject line.

Writing headlines people will want to click on and subject lines that will get people to open your email is, or course, a skill much exploited by clickbait websites and people trying to sell you things. But that doesn’t mean animal shelters and rescue groups can’t learn a trick or two that will get more pets adopted, more volunteers recruited, and more dollars donated.

Try these three tips and see if they make a difference:

1. Be specific, not general. A headline like “Save homeless animals now!” is too generic to stand out in a crowded inbox or social media feed. It also asks people to do something they know they can’t do, and is more likely to inspire a sense of being overwhelmed than curiosity or a desire to help.

Instead, try something very specific to the situation you’re writing about. For example, if a recent natural disaster in your area has left you desperate for help, write something like, “Help save this puppy who almost froze to death last night!”

2. Include a strong, present-tense verb. Although not every headline or subject line needs to include a verb, the absence of one is more likely to produce flat copy that lacks a sense of action or urgency. If you’re trying to get people to act, care or respond, you’ll be better off with a verb.

“For example, “The red dog on the hill” is a far less compelling headline than “Community comes together to save the red dog on the hill.”

3. Imagine all someone can see is your headline. This is probably the single most useful tip for writing great headlines.

Imagine that all you can see is the headline or subject line. You have no idea on which website the article is published. You don’t know who wrote it. You don’t know what it’s about. You don’t know who sent the email. All you know, all you see, is the headline.

What would you think “The cat’s in the bag” might be about? How about “3 tips for success!” Or “A serious question”?

The truth is, you’d have absolutely no idea. And yet all too often, those are the exact headlines and subject lines animal organizations use for their email and blog posts, all but guaranteeing that no one seeing it fly across a social feed, search results page, or their inbox will click on it.

Here are some alternatives that will attract the people you want to attract:

• When it comes to reducing shelter stress, the cat’s in the bag!
• 3 sure-fire fundraising tips for animals shelters and rescue groups
• A serious question for rescue groups: Are your volunteers overwhelmed?

Legendary advertising writer David Ogilvie once said, “On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” Spending at least as much time on the headline as on what’s under or inside makes a lot more sense than throwing it together as an afterthought.