You have no choice but to improve your skills as a follow-up email subject line expert. This handy resource may contain useful information and subject lines for follow-up emails.
Prospecting is about getting past the skeptical. If you don’t have the opportunity to meet your prospect face to face and relay your message, even the best sales presentations will be meaningless.
On sales prospecting calls, a receptionist or assistant acts as the gatekeeper. For email prospecting, the gatekeeper is usually the recipient. It is impossible to read all the emails every day.
People scan subject lines to see the first few sentences and decide if the content is worth reading. To stand out from the crowd, you have to improve your subject line writing skills.
It will pay off long-term if you are persistent in your follow-up email’s subject line. The second time around, the subject line for follow-up emails had a higher response rate. The first email received an 18% response rate, while the fourth received a 13% response rate and the sixth received a staggering 27 percent.
Best Practices in the Subject Line for Follow-up Emails
Keep these recommended practices in mind as you experiment with the 11 subject lines for follow-up emails:
Presented with a conversational tone
Unsolicited or assertive subject lines can be easily overlooked and flagged as spam. Your follow-up email subject lines are more likely to be ignored or flagged as spam.
You will be listened to and responded to if your conversational tone reflects your humanity.
Keep it Simple, Make It Fun
Because 56% of all email openings occur on mobile devices, long subject lines can be cut. A good number of words should be between six and ten, but less than five works just as well.
Add the Subject’s name to the Message
This has been shown to increase open rates under certain circumstances. You might include the name of the company or association that you found during your investigation as an experimental element.
Make the Snippet more
A snippet is a short excerpt from the email’s content, which appears on the right side of the subject line in recipients’ inboxes. Your email will be opened more often if you put more effort into it. If you don’t respond to it, your campaign will be damaged.
Keep your subject line short and optimize your snippet. A long subject line can overwhelm your snippet and cause it to be replaced entirely.
You might include the name of the recipient, a thought-provoking question, or the opening line to a story in your snippets. You can make them as short as you like. Pro tip: Don’t include any information at the top of your email that might be included in the sample. This includes unsubscribe links, whitelist requests, or another housekeeping language. This section can be very useful. Make sure to include it at the end of your emails.
Think Scientifically
To find the best subject lines, you should always play with them. You can increase open rates, responses, and conversions over time by making small adjustments to your follow-up email subject lines.
You can send 100 to 1000 emails with the same sender, snippet, and body text. You can send another batch with a different subject, and that’s it. Mailshake allows you to keep track of open rates and clicks as well as responses.
You’ll need to test your emails, look at the latest email results, and compare what others are doing. You need to be able to write great follow-up email subject lines to cut through the clutter in your inbox. These 16 subject lines will help you get more responses from your follow-up emails.
Subject Lines for Emails in All Situations
1. Follow-up calls or meetings
It’s simple. It’s simple and direct, which is why it’s so effective. Many people are naturally curious about the next stages. It can also be used to reengage customers who have become cold.
When compared to Yesware’s average reply rate, “Next steps” was a more effective subject line for follow-up emails. It achieved a 70.5 percent opening rate and a 49.6 percent reply rate. They received voicemails containing a short statement about “trying to your line” to show more dedication and perseverance.
2. If you don’t hear from someone
Sorry for not including …”.
It is effective because it shows humanity and that you have made a mistake. It is common for people to forget that the person receiving their communication is a human being. It’s important to make a good first impression. This only shows that you are human and make mistakes.
It’s a good idea for this subject line to be accompanied by something the recipient finds interesting or useful. You can tell them about an event they are invited to or give them a piece of information that might help them achieve their goals or alleviate a pain point in their body.
3. You have struck up a conversation and would like to keep in touch.
[Prospect name]: It’s a pleasure speaking with you.
It’s honest and it reminds them that they are not strangers. It’s easier to be remembered if you show gratitude. You can make it more memorable by adding the name of the recipient. Josh Slone from LeadFuze says that personalizing your subject line can bring you more benefits. It is crucial to have accurate contact information.
Two ways to find good contact data are to ask the right questions and do preliminary research to uncover common ground, pain spots, and other areas where you might make a connection.
4. They granted permission to return at a later time
“It’s high time to take a second look.”
It works because:
If someone has granted permission to contact you in the future, you can use this subject line. However, it should still be polite and conversational. When you are having a conversation with potential customers, it is always better to offer something of value.
It can also be used as a substitute for boring subject lines such as “Checking in” and “Touching base”. These subject lines are not only unappreciative and wasteful of prospects’ time but also do not produce any sales results. It was found that 50% of “Touching base”, failed. It is important to always find a reason for keeping in touch with someone.
Check Yesware
5. Incorporating a sense of time pressure and precision
10:00 a.m. Tuesdays
It works because:
As a “Hail Mary”, why not request a meeting or phone call in your follow-up email? Emails that aren’t opened are more likely not to be read, so this urgency may help you get them to open your email.
For follow-up emails, a subject line that conveys confidence such as the one below is ideal. Assuming that the sale is a powerful sales tactic, it’s logical to assume that the meeting can be equally effective. Although “sometime soon” may be easy to dismiss, when someone asks you for a specific date and time, the standard response is to go over your schedule.
6. They are your advisors or guides
“Could I please ask you to help me?”
It works because people want to help others, despite their busy schedules. Dan Vanrenen (Managing Director at Taskeater) says you need to “create a subject that motivates them and communicates your interest in what it has to say.”
This is not a sales pitch. You are asking for help and empathy, but also guidance. This subject line is valid if you are genuine in your request and intend to follow their instructions. This email can be used to follow up to request information about the right person at the company you are trying to contact.
7. Just returned from a face-to-face encounter
Here’s a way to say thank you for taking the time to meet with me:
“Could I please ask you to help me?”
Research shows that 92% of salespeople quit after four “nos” and 82% of prospects say “no four times before saying “yes.” This does not mean that you can be arrogant or believe the transaction is over after the fourth touch. You should communicate with them regularly to show appreciation and keep them on the list.
Use the subject line below to express your gratitude for their time. It emphasizes the relevant meeting. They reveal their curiosity that they didn’t provide one more aspect.
Prospects are always searching for more information during the decision-making process. You must give them this information. To help them know they have made the right decision, they must be able to access a certain amount of information. In this context, “sharing” may subconsciously suggest that the recipient will reciprocate and respond.
8. Do not quit!
“Are you tired of selling people?”
It works because:
Being open and honest will increase the likelihood of provoking a response and getting the conversation moving in the right direction. Although the subject line might not be my first choice it can work wonders if I follow up in the email body with at least 4 to 5 missed interactions.
You might use this example in your body copy.
Also, me.” If you do not want to hear from us again, I will stop contacting you.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the following common pain points:
9. After a rejection
“Would it be possible to do anything?”
It works because:
They are more likely to read the content. Even though they might have decided on your product or service, this card can be used to continue the conversation or provide valuable information in your next email.
Clients are often looking for more than a vendor. They want to trust their advisers and form mutually beneficial relationships. It is important to ask for feedback and help from others to work together as a team. This may also help you gain their support and cooperation.
It is also simple and concise. The email structure communicates the message in a way that sparks interest before the recipient opens it. It is great to see a salesperson using the selling via curiosity method so clearly.
10. It is time to remind them of their responsibilities
“Are You Here?”
It works because:
Urban Dictionary defines FOMO as “mental or emotional distress caused by the fear of missing out” and it is a real phenomenon. Anxiety is a result of our cognitive ability to see possible outcomes.
Subject lines can generate FOMO, convey urgency and be succinct.
Two-word subject lines are the best for brevity. They will stand out in the inboxes of marketing communications. It’s easier to convey the message in a conversational tone — as if it were coming from a friend or coworker.
11. How to start a conversation in an open and sincere way
Who knows where to begin?
Certain people prefer to be approached in a certain way while being sold to. This subject line allows for a conversation to start in a casual, honest, and direct manner.
Effective communication starts with a clear goal and then asking the recipient how they would like to proceed. Here are some questions to ask before you start:
- How much would you pay to move?
- Are you facing a problem that no one can solve?
- What would you do with a magic wand that could solve your most pressing issues in a single wave?
The body text that follows the subject line may also be a way to reduce mental energy and offer the reader a range of options. This is an example of such a strategy in action:
In a video message, describe your product and how it can help your company.
It would be great to have a 10-minute call. I would appreciate it if you could give me a few dates and times that work this week.
If you’re still having trouble, please contact me again after one month.
To be attractive, your follow-up emails must address the needs and desires of your prospects. To attract their attention, you must use emotion and personalization and sound real and human, rather than robotic and sales.
Prospecting is about getting past the skeptical. If you don’t have the opportunity to meet your prospect face to face and relay your message, even the best sales presentations will be meaningless.
On sales prospecting calls, a receptionist or assistant acts as the gatekeeper. For email prospecting, the gatekeeper is usually the recipient. It is impossible to read all the emails every day.
People scan subject lines to see the first few sentences and decide if the content is worth reading. To stand out from the crowd, you have to improve your subject line writing skills.
It will pay off long-term if you are persistent in your follow-up email subject lines. Follow-up emails had a higher response rate that the first email. The first email received an 18% response rate, while the fourth received a 13% response rate and the sixth received a staggering 27 percent.
Conclusion
People skim the subject lines and first few phrases of emails to determine if the information they are about to read is interesting, important, or noteworthy. This post will help you to create catchy subject lines for your follow-up emails.
