By all accounts, you are so prepared that you feel like you have already surpassed your goals. You have your goals set, the KPIs planned, and your stellar email campaign is ready. Getting people to open cold emails is only one problem: you have to create compelling subject lines for cold emails.
In addition to other sales representatives in their inboxes, they receive hundreds of other emails from their coworkers, clients, advertisements, and junk mail that all compete for their attention.
To succeed, you must stand out. Standing out from the masses is a common challenge today, but it can be overcome. Here are seven best practices to make sure your email subject line doesn’t hold you back from achieving your goals.
Personalized subject lines
Make sure the subject of your email is personalized – and call out the recipient by name. Give the recipient a summary of what the email contains.
Here’s why it works- Email personalization has become a necessity – and the open rate of an email subject can be increased by up to 50% by personalizing it.
Our brains are preprogrammed to listen and look for our name, so why not maximize that? Personalization in the subject line is easy and naturally more eye-catching. Our brains are preprogrammed to look for and listen for our name, so why miss out on using it?
You can also add a little personalization to the email to keep it from coming across as spammy, salesy, or too generic to warrant opening. You can find recent promotions, endorsements, company changes, and more on the LinkedIn profile of the prospect by doing a little search on Google. Find company press releases on their website, relevant blog posts, or company news that you can use to start a conversation.
Putting action into practice
- [First Name], what would you like to change about your company culture?
- [Company Name] should smash its goals for Q4.
- Is it possible to spare 5 minutes, [First Name]?
- Congratulations on your promotion, [First Name]!
Short subject lines for cold emails
We all know how to weed out spam and sales emails in our inboxes with a simple scan of our inboxes given how many emails we get every day. Those subject lines that go on and on and run off the page? You know them. Capitalize every letter. Excessively punctuated.
The messages are all screaming, “Don’t open me!”Stand out by making an effort. Your subject line should contain only 3-4 words.
Here’s why it works- It makes the contents seem more conversational and less sales-oriented if you keep your subject line short. Furthermore, 66% of all emails are now viewed and read on mobile devices.
If your subject line is too long, it could be cut off by the device and its settings.
Putting action into practice
- Are you in need of assistance?
- Then steal my strategy
- You’re invited
- Are you close?
Subject lines for casual emails
You’ll notice that the email subject lines in your inbox are very structured and professional. It is impossible not to archive emails that are marketing or sales-related, or worse, to mark them as spam. Keeping it as informal as possible is just as important as keeping it brief.
Here’s why it works- It can be difficult to create a subject line that stands out, but using all lowercase letters is one of the simplest ways to do it.
You can also write it as if you were emailing a friend, parent, or colleague you know well. It’s even okay, to begin with, a joke (just make sure you deliver the punchline at the end).
Putting action into practice
- Steps we need to take
- Answer to a quick question
- It’s obvious you’re in medical sales when
Snippets are important
A few words describing the email content can still make or break your open rate. Put a little effort into making it personal.
Here’s why it works- Because many email programs display a preview of an email’s contents, carefully crafting the opening line of your email can give them the final push to open it.
The extra words in your subject line will often overflow and replace your email snippet. Whitelisting requests, unsubscribe links, and another housekeeping verbiage that can accidentally end up in your snippet must be avoided at all costs.
You can personalize the snippet of conversation with their name or day of the week to make the content seem more tailored to their needs. An introductory paragraph can pose a thought-provoking question, spark your curiosity with an intriguing statement, or provide the first line of a story.
Putting action into practice
- [First Name] Happy Thursday!
- Would you like to watch me build a business?
- Imagine having a magic wand
Put the pieces together
Establishing a connection with your recipient reduces the initial distrust of your sales emails. You might have participated in a recent event together, have a mutual connection, or even be a member of the same group, club, or organization.
Here’s why it works- When scanning their inbox, people are wired to look for familiar words and names, just as they do when they personalize their email with their name.
Try mentioning in the subject line that you attended the same conference as them. Be sure to highlight any mutual connections, such as friends, neighbors, or referrals. You might be able to open your email if you establish a connection or trust upfront.
Putting action into practice
- [Mutual Connection Name] tells me to get in touch
- Growth Marketing Conference is where we met
- [Mutual Membership Meeting] followed by coffee
Using segmentation to increase the relevance
Consider how busy people interact with crowded email inboxes. They don’t read every message, instead, they skim, looking for those that seem relevant to them.
Here’s why it works- According to the DMA, segmented email campaigns can increase revenue by up to 760% since they give the impression that the message was sent specifically to them. Details on the recipient’s location, demographics, past purchases, behavior, industry, and usage can be incorporated to create a direct impression.
Putting action into practice
- Our picks for the best Dallas restaurants
- Get your [specific industry problem] fixed today
- You should not purchase [competitor product name] until you read this
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