12 Tips To Write Catchy Email Subject Lines That Get Clicks

Nearly 64% of the recipients open their emails based on the subject line? It seems first impression is the last impression after all! Worry no more, for your search for catchy email subject lines ends here! Nevertheless, you should know about Bob before we move ahead.

Bob is the founder of an awesome SaaS company. And, just like others, he too was having a tough time in optimizing his email open rate. The reason: generic email subject lines.

Bob stumbled upon our website a few days back. He even signed up for our newsletter. We, in turn, sent him tons of tips and tricks. Bob being the smart guy he was, leveraged them to optimize his email subject lines. And, just like that Bob managed to improve his email open rates from a mere 5% to 21% within no time at all!

Be smart, be like Bob! Try implementing our ideas and craft the best email subject lines for sales.

What Is Cold Emailing?

A cold email is a tailored, one-to-one message sent to a person you don’t already know. Its goal is to engage that person in a business-related conversation rather than advertise a product or service to the masses. That is why your subject line has to stand out and make the prospect want to open your email.

You can think of cold emailing as the email version of cold calling. It is quite different from sending transactional and warm emails and is a subcategory of email marketing.

Why Are Email Subject Lines Important?

Just like how you get attracted to the title of a book and start reading it, the subject line of your email decides whether the recipient will read it or not. Your subject line has to be such that it persuades the recipient to read the email so that you get higher open rates.

Without a well-crafted subject line, your email will most likely end up in the trash as people receive tons of emails daily. You have to cut through the clutter and stand out, which is possible through the subject of your email alone.

Let’s now move on to the proven tips and tricks that can help you write click-worthy subject lines,

Tips To Write Catchy Email Subject Lines For Sales

1. Keep it short

Email subject line length matters. Remember that the ideal length of an email subject line differs across mobile, desktop, and tablet platforms. So, you have to keep that in mind when crafting the perfect one-liner for your sales email. The maximum email subject line character limit is usually around 60 characters before it gets cut it off. Keeping the length to 41 characters ensures that your entire subject line appears on all the devices.

2. Use Personalization

It’s usually a good idea to personalize the subject line with the prospect’s name. According to Stats, 74 per cent of marketers claim that customizing emails results in a 20% boost in income. People prefer to connect with people rather than large brands and corporations.

Use your own email address or alias that contains your first name instead of a generic address like [email protected] to look credible.

3. Make it Engaging

We’ve all been told to avoid judging a book by its cover, but that doesn’t apply to sales email subject lines. Before readers reach your email, they must first get through the subject line and it has to be engaging,

Making your introduction email subject lines catchy involves a lot of things. You can start the conversation by mentioning the following:

– A recent development in their industry

– A new piece of information about their industry

– A question about their project they just started or finished

– A request for their help

These viewpoints have one thing in common: they’re all about the prospect. You’ll have many opportunities to market your product in the email body and on subsequent calls. The basic purpose of your subject line is to entice the reader to click through, read more, and decide whether or not they are interested enough to reply or take action.

4. Provide Value

Offering something of value to prospects in your email is the best way to build a connection. It could be any downloadable resource such as an e-book or a whitepaper that is relevant to them. When you mention it in the subject line, the prospect will be interested in opening your email, and that’s what you aim at, right?

5. Create a Sense of Urgency

Because time sensitivity is a popular filter that many of us use to prioritize our inboxes, it’s obvious that our prospects use it as well. Even if your prospect isn’t interested in making a purchase right now, knowing that they might miss out on the chance will make them close the deal sooner. That’s how a limited-time-only promotion works. Using urgency to get your emails opened and read is a tried-and-tested strategy, but don’t rely on it all of the time. You could annoy your prospect by using the tactic too frequently.

6. Avoid Clickbait

Along the same lines as annoying your prospect, don’t write subject lines that aren’t at par with the content of the email, product, or service. Such subject lines don’t get opened.

If you make tall claims in the subject line and they are not a part of the email content, it might leave a sour taste in your prospect’s mouth. Even worse, the prospect may mark you as spam. Check your subject line against our final list of spam trigger words to avoid an extra layer of confidence.

7. Include Keywords

Keywords are another element prospects use to organize and filter their inboxes. Including certain keywords in your email subject line can help you get into the prospect’s inbox, and you can review it later. There’s no magic trick to find out what filters and rules your prospects use. You just have to be creative and A/B test. It will help figure out the keywords that have a greater impact on your open rates than others.

8. Build Genuine Connection

Aim to make the recipient feel that you sincerely want to help them by offering your product or service.  Complimenting them or mentioning an event you both attended could be an example of this. The best sales emails establish a genuine connection rather than aiming to seal the transaction as quickly as possible. Unless you’re conducting very high-volume, low-value transactional transactions, which is often the case with B2C e-commerce, don’t use limited-time deals.

Example 1: [Name], it was great to meet you at [event you both attended]!

Example 2: Do you have an interest in [product/service] or not? 

Doesn’t example 1 look better than example 2?

9. Keep it Conversational

If your email is way too formal and cold, and business-like, the prospect may not show any interest. So, avoid sounding like a conventional email marketing message and avoid being too formal. Something a little more relaxed may appeal to you and make your email feel more friendly. Some sales teams have had tremendous success utilizing emojis in subject lines, but be sure that this holds good for your target audience. However, you shouldn’t be too casual with the prospect. The basic “quick question” subject line is the simplest one, and it still works well on every occasion.

‘Can we chat about [their company/your products/services/etc.]?’ is definitely better than ‘What’s up, [name]? Hit me up if you’re interested in [product/service]’

10. Ask Open Ended Questions

Questions may pique someone’s curiosity and persuade them to open an email. Are you wondering why that happens? The brain gets stimulated when a question is put forth, and that is why it is a good tactic to ask a question. You can push a prospect down the sales funnel. Sales questions are essential whether you’re trying to make them feel useful by asking for facts or making them analyze their requirements and wants.

Good Example: What does [their company’s] [department] require?

Not-So-Good Example: Our [product/service] is just what you require.

11. Experiment a Little 

To find out a subject line that works, you have to experiment a little, which can take time. If you happen to find a subject line that works, it doesn’t mean that you can sit back and relax. You still have to A/B test different subject lines. Eventually, you would understand what kind of subject lines are working so that you can stick to them most often. 

12. Make Use of Persuasive Words

Words are immensely powerful as they can substantially impact the recipient. Certain words make the recipient want to click open an email. Humans are emotional and curious beings and are not able to control themselves. When you use certain persuasive words, prospects can’t stop themselves from opening your email. 

Words like ‘astonishing’, ‘banned’, ‘insane’, ‘unique’ and ‘secret’ arouse curiosity while ones like ‘best’, ‘certified’, ‘endorsed’, ‘expert’ help build trust. 

What To Use & Avoid In Subject Lines?

While you have seen how to craft catchy subject lines, it would help to know what keywords get you the highest opens. Take a look at what you can add:

Name of the recipient or their company – Personalized subject lines double the open rates, which is one valid reason to walk the extra mile. Nevertheless, you have SalesBlink to personalize email subject lines at scale with minimal effort.

‘Daily’ or ‘Weekly’ – These words are quite impactful, and you can use them when you mention a target in the subject line.

Alert – Using this word will fetch you better open rates.

News – When there’s the word ‘News’ you can expect more clicks.

Apart from knowing the most favorable words, you should also know about those that are strict no-no. Here’s a list of them,

Free – This is often overused and looks like spam.

Earn – This word finds use in money-making schemes (and are at times fradulent), and the spam filter will withhold such an email.

Bonus – Avoid using currency symbols as the ESP will mark it as spam.

Catchy Email Subject Line Templates

Here are a few catchy email subject line templates that you will find useful,

1. “{{Product name}}is now available at a 50% discount.”

2. “{{Prospect_name}}, I’ve got a unique deal only for you,” 

3. “Can’t find what you’re looking for on our website, {{Prospect_name}}? Here are some suggestions!”

4. “Hurry, {{Prospect_name}}! Make the most of this deal today.”

5. “{{Mutual Contact name}} suggested I contact you.”

6. “{{Mutual Contact name}} asked me to contact you.”

7. “Hello, {{Prospect name}} I have a question for you.”

8. “Could you find what you were looking for, {{Prospect_name}}?”

9. “We got together at the {{Event}}.”

10. “Do you think I’ll meet you at the {{Event}}?”

11. “Congratulations, {{Mutual connection}}!”

12. “I have the ability to {{Benefit}}.”

13. “Let’s be honest about this,{{Prospect_name}}.”

14. “{{Prospect_name}},your research paper was fantastic!”

15. “{{Prospect_name}},you did a great job with {{mention achievement}}!

16. “{{Prospect_name}}, do you have the ability to hide a secret?”

Examples of Email Subject Lines Worth Considering

Here are some of the examples of the best email subject lines,

1. Attractive subject lines

In the image below you can see how Groove HQ makes their emails seem worth opening with their catchy subject lines.

2. If-then subject lines

As you can see below, the subject line uses the if-then clause and makes the recipient want to open the email.

Get Ready To Win Over Prospects With Catchy Sales Email Subject Lines

Your subject line is the first thing that catches the prospect’s eye. So, investing more time in it can take you a long way. What’s worth noting is that the best practices for developing effective cold email subject lines are always evolving. The issue is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution that works indefinitely. Trends appear and vanish as they do in fashion.

You’ll be disappointed if you’re hoping for the perfect subject line for sales emails that will always ‘work’. For example, a strategy that worked a few months ago can fail to perform today.

FAQs