Email subject lines

karinalung·Oct 09, 2019

Posted in:Sales

Hi Ladies! I always struggle with my emails' subject lines. I got my first job in sales, working for a company that generates leads for software development houses (like a remote sales team). Right now, we are working on onboarding more software dev houses and I'm not sure what to use as subject line. Do i go with a very specific and long subject line about the contents of the email / the description of the company or so I keep it simple and tell them we are looking for a collaboration? From what you've tested so far, what type of subject line worked best and got the most email opens?tnx!

kuan·Oct 09, 2019

Following this conversation as well. I assume you're asking about cold email outreach subject lines? I've found that short and direct ones work well. "DO X with COMPANY" and it works better than you're able to add a quantifiable data point. "DO X 50% better with COMPANY"

Farren·Oct 10, 2019

Great question, @lungkarina. First off- congrats on your first sales job!!The answers is- there is no one-size-fits-all strategy here. I recommend testing a few strategies relevant to the purpose of your outreach.First, a note on what you do not want to do:You want to avoid any selling in your subject line. After all, its purpose is to get the open, not land a sale. That means no flashy exciting offers or language that could be perceived as salesy.The purpose of the subject line is to trigger just enough curiosity to get the open. You can achieve this a number of ways:1) Ambiguity- a casual line like "about your sales team" doesn't give enough information to help the prospect decide to delete it. So instead, many choose to check it out.2) Specificity- the exact opposite, I know! A more detailed subject line like "heard you were scaling your sales team" can be an equally effective strategy- it all depends on your audience.3) Personalization- proceed with caution on this one because it relies on the fields you pull from not looking robotic. For that reason, I only ever personalize with the prospect's first name and never the company. Many companies are listed along with "Inc." or are spelled out in full when they should be shortened, making the email look spammy. "Intro to {Prospect First Name}" is a nice simple way to ensure that most of them come out looking good.Overall, every part of a cold email should talk TO the prospect, not at them. This includes the subject line, which is why you see me use 'you' and 'your' so much. One hack to help get this right is to pretend that you're writing the entire email to a colleague.Now for the real kicker... the subject line is not actually what gets the open! Most people base the majority of their decision on the inbox preview. That's the little scrap of text from the body of the email that shows from the inbox. If the inbox preview looks salesy or spammy, then the greatest subject line in the world can't redeem the open rate.You want to aim for a first line of the body that also triggers curiosity. That way, the prospect feels compelled to open it. Many of us subconsciously decide whether to open emails using the inbox preview. Once you notice you do this, you can't un-notice it. Being armed with that knowledge gives you a whole lot of leverage and better control over your outcome.

karinalung·Oct 10, 2019

Thanks a lot for your answer @Farren! Now that you mentioned the preview line, I've always used it to sell and I think it might have damaged my open rate. Thanks a lot for the tips!

MaddyO·Oct 17, 2019

Hi @lungkarina, welcome to the world of sales! Here are a few of my favorite subject lines for a B2B sale:- {Your Name} and {Client Name} Introduction- What are your Friday fears? - What causes you the Sunday Scaries? - No cookies = Content marketing (tailor to your industry regulation and solution) - You can use us, we don't mind. I like to have fun with my subject lines but that's more to my personality. All that being said, I agree with Farren that the preview box is extremely important. Try to avoid starting lines such as, "Hope all is well" and "Just reaching out" or "Are you the right person?" Good luck!

karinalung·Oct 24, 2019

these are great examples, might steal some of them! I usually don't like super stiff emails and I try to keep mine light and short and easy to read. But I always fear I won't be taken seriously, especially since 90% of the time I am talking to men in up-the-ladder positions (investors, startup founders, corporate managers). Have you experienced such insecurity? If so, how did you move past it while maintaining your individuality?

MaddyO·Oct 24, 2019

Great question, and a valid point, you should always tailor your subject line and email copy towards your audience. I personally sell to young account managers at advertising agencies, therefore, I try to keep it fun. When I reach out to brand CMOs, then I write a formal email. Here's an article I recently read that helps with writing copy: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2019/10/21/13-effective-techniques-for-writing-catchier-more-memorable-copy/#699fa51e5066One last point, regardless of who you are reaching out to, if you don't include your personality it's hard to gain traction and engagement. Even if it's your signature, mine was "to infinity and beyond" and I can't tell you how many compliments I received from CEOs to marketing managers, male and female, young and old.

karinalung·Oct 28, 2019

thanks for the tips and article, Maddy!