Email is a primary form of sales communication, but the problem with emails is they don’t always get opened by the recipient. How do you get more of your sales email read?
Craft awesome subject lines that address a need, want, or interest so your intended reader will be more likely to open them.
Subject lines may seem like such a small part of your email message, but they’re the first impression you have on an email recipient. They are your golden ticket to standing out in someone’s crowded email inbox.
Let’s discuss what makes a subject line top notch and what types of sales emails belong to a corresponding subject line example.
7 Types of Sales Emails
There is a wide range of sales emails that your sales reps will send to leads and prospects. Here is a breakdown of some popular sales email types:
Cold Emails
Cold emails are sales emails that are sent to recipients that you don’t know without prior contact. They can be used for networking, lead generation, and market research.
Offer Emails
Some sales emails are used to offer a product, service, discount, or some other offer to prospects or current customers to get them to take a desired action.
Follow Up Emails
Email follow ups are sent after some sort of correspondence with a lead such as a phone call, in-person meeting, email, or chat conversation. You should follow up with prospects at least every few days to provide them with helpful resources, information, and to build a connection.
Following up with your prospects via email is not as invasive as follow up phone calls if you space them out properly, and it can boost your chances of closing them into a customer.
Request Emails
In sales, email requests are typically sent to leads in order to set up a meeting or demonstration. Essentially, you are asking your recipient for something.
These emails should be concise and well written so that the prospect understands what you want, when you want it, and how.
Value Emails
Value emails are sent purely for your lead’s benefit. You may send them sales collateral like relevant blog articles, templates, or other helpful items that nurture them throughout the sales process.
New Product or Service Emails
Have stale leads? Sending your stale leads an email about new products or new product features can help to stimulate their interest in your business again.
These emails can also be sent to current customers, just in case they are interested in upgrading or adding on additional features.
Rapport-Building Emails
These emails are sent to check in with your prospects and leads.
Don’t make these emails about selling anything. Check on them and their progress with whatever pain points you’ve identified. Or, you can send them an email related to something you discussed in an earlier conversation.
For instance, if you know your prospect moved to a new state or their favorite team just won a championship, then email them about that.
How to Write Sales Emails to Improve Engagement and Response Rates
1. Craft Strong Subject Lines.
Crafting a strong email subject line is essential for your email open rates. You must use clear and enticing email subject lines to capture the interest of your reader.
A good practice for creating subject lines is conducting A/B tests to see which one yields higher open rates. According to HubSpot, you should aim to achieve an open rate of 30 to 50 percent.
2. Connect the Beginning of Your Sales Email to the Subject Line.
Avoid starting your email with something generic like, “Hi, I’m [name] from [company]…” Start with something relevant that will impact your reader.
Make sure the beginning of your email addresses your subject line so your subject line doesn’t seem like clickbait. For instance, if your subject line mentions a mutual contact, you may want to start your email out with why your mutual contact thought it would be good for you to connect.
3. Include Valuable Body Copy.
Your body copy should be specific to the reader you are sending it to. Avoid stating information about generic value propositions. Instead, discuss how your company can personally add value to your prospect.
You may also choose to ask questions that align with some of the research you’ve done on your prospect. Make sure you address their goals and what they hope to achieve as a way to relate back to what you offer.
4. Close With a CTA.
Ask or tell your prospects what you want them to do. They most likely aren’t going to be able to guess what you want from them.
For example, you can close with one of the following statements or questions:
- Let me know if this is a priority for you so we can get started.
- Are you available for a 30 minute call on [date]?
- Check out this article to learn more about the benefits of X strategy that we can help you with.
- Do you have any questions or thoughts about the information presented in this email?
5. Add a Professional Signature.
Your email should have a signature, but the signature should not include a cliche source of inspiration or distracting graphics.
Keep your signature short, professional, simple, and on brand. Make sure to include your contact information so they can get in touch with you and link an online profile such as LinkedIn.
As we stated, the subject line is the most important part of your email for open rates. Your recipient can’t read what is in your email if they don’t click on it. Let’s discuss some essential tips for crafting email subject lines that will boost your open rates.
10 Tips For Crafting Email Subject Lines
Here are 10 tips for you to consider when you write your sales email subject lines.
1. use lowercase text.
Don’t capitalize each word: It’s not an advertising headline!
Believe it or not, even though it might be grammatically incorrect, lowercase text actually increases open rates, probably because personal emails don’t capitalize each word! By keeping your subject line lowercase, it adds a human touch to your email.
2. Add Personalization When Possible.
A simple technique that really works is to include the recipient’s first name in your subject line.
Experiment with personalization tokens in your subject line (and throughout your email): Try using just the prospect’s first name or even the company name.
3. Use Urgent Phrases.
Make your reader feel like they are running out of time with an offer you are providing them with. This will help them to feel like they are missing out on something important if they don’t open the email.
You may even include small details about the several other people who have already benefitted from this special. For extra urgency, let them know you have limited spots or offerings available.
4. Ask a Question.
When used in a subject line, questions can significantly increase open rates. Asking the correct question at the proper point in the nurturing cycle is an art.
The better you get at it, the more you’ll sell. Use the power of questions!
5. Keep Your Promises!
Once you start getting creative, it’s easy to go too far. Some subject lines can produce incredible open rates, but you need to look at more than this one metric.
Consider your overall nurturing strategy, and timing is important. The bottom line: No matter what your subject line promises, make sure your email delivers!
If it doesn’t, it might get your email opened, maybe even read, but if you don’t deliver on your promise, you’ve lost your prospect!
6. Use Emojis With Caution.
Emojis are fun and may add something extra to your email subject line, but make sure you know what the emojis mean before you use them. It’s not always what you think.
If you aren’t well versed in using emojis, then you may want to skip using them altogether for professional emails.
7. Limit Punctuation.
You want your reader to be excited to open your email message, but you don’t want to overdo your subject line with five exclamation points and one question mark.
Overusing punctuation may actually get your email ignored because it appears spammy. A good practice is to stick to standard punctuation.
8. Make People Feel Special.
Add some context into your email subject lines that make your reader feel like you didn’t just send the email to your entire 500 person email list (even if you did).
For instance, your subject line could include buzzwords like “exclusive,” “private,” or “for you” to help entice them to open the emails you send.
9. Avoid Using All Caps.
“OPEN NOW AND RECEIVE A COUPON FOR ONE FREE OIL CHANGE!”
Does reading that line make you feel like a used car salesman is shouting at you? If it does, then it feels like that to your readers too.
This may cause them anxiety and get your email sent straight to the email graveyard (spam folder). This tactic is disruptive. Try to stick to an all lowercase subject line, or one that simply follows the proper format.
10. Make It Relevant and Timely.
Relate your email subject line to a current event or relate it to something you have talked with your reader about before. This helps to build rapport and makes you seem more human.
These tips and hacks can help you to craft effective email subject lines. Now let’s explore some specific subject lines that can get your prospects to open, read, and act on your emails.
50 Email Subject Lines to Use For Sales Emails to Improve Revenue
Here are 50 email subject line examples with short explanations about why they work for you to use for a variety of sales emails:
Follow-Up Email Subject Lines
1. “What you need to get started”
This helps to pique your readers curiosity because they may not know how simply it is to get started with your company. This may very well entice them to click on your email to find out more.
Place a few bullet points about how to start a working relationship with your reader in the body text and you’re good to go.
2. “Here are your options”
People love options, but not too many. They may be uncertain about what they can choose from your menu of products or services. So tell them.
Let them know what offerings work best for their circumstances in the body text.
3. “Our next steps”
This is a good subject line to follow up after your first connection or to help you further engage with a prospect that has gone cold.
4. “I’d love your feedback on our last meeting”
Ask for their opinion on your presentation and your offerings. This opens up a whole discussion that can help you to gauge what the person really wants from your business.
They’ll be more inclined to open it because you are putting them in the driver’s seat, rather than trying to force a sale.
5. “Pleasure chatting/meeting with you, [Name]”
This follow up subject line is personal and thoughtful. Most readers are likely to respond to a message with a subject line about a meeting or conversation you had if it went well.
6. “Let’s take another look”
This subject lines allows you to re-open a conversation in a way that will allow you to reiterate key points in the body text of your email.
7. “Missed you again”
Your prospect and leads likely live a busy life. They may not always have time to check every email they get. Nudge them a little by sending them a follow up email to let them know you’ve been trying to get in touch.
Keep this email simple and polite so it doesn’t come off as pushy and rude.
8. “Where should we begin?”
Getting started with a new business and building a working relationship with that business can be a grueling task for some leads. Encourage them to trust you by laying out details for them about where they can start to alleviate their pain points.
9. “I forgot to mention..”
Use this subject line if you actually have new and relevant information to provide them.
10. “Quick question”
Who doesn’t have time to open an email that says quick question? They may be more willing to engage with you because you added the trigger word “quick.”
Email Subject Lines For When You Don’t Receive a Response
11. “I left you a voicemail”
Follow up tactics are generally a combination of phone calls and emails. If you call a prospect, follow up with an email letting your prospect know. It may be easier for them to respond to your email, rather than making the time to call you back.
12. “Trust your instincts”
This email subject line gets your prospect or lead thinking about what their attitude may be toward your product and what their intentions are.
13. “Just looking out for you”
Let your recipient know you care about what’s best for them. They may have discussed some of their pain points, and readdressing them in an email with this subject line is a good idea.
Be caring and helpful so they are more inclined to trust the email source and the information you are providing.
14. “Still thinking it over? Maybe this will help”
Many readers will want to know what will help them. This is a great subject line to offer the recipient some sales collateral that offers further proof of how your solution can assist.
15. “3 weekend ideas for you”
This is a casual email subject line that is non-invasive and friendly. It may help to build rapport and garner you an email open and a friendly response in return.
Meeting Request Email Subject Lines
16. “Requesting a meeting on [Date]”
This shows your reader what you want and when right away. Before they even read your email, they can decide whether or not they are free to meet with you.
17. “15 minutes free this week?”
Busy leads and prospects need to know that you value their schedule. Asking them to spare 15 minutes for you in a subject line isn’t a lot to ask. They may be more willing to respond to your email and meet with you because they know it won’t take long.
18. “Time to touch base”
Using this email subject line for stale leads is a good option so you can set up another meeting call with them for a pulse check to see if they have selected one of your competitors or if they are still interested in what you are offering.
19. “Let’s meet this week”
Telling your leads you want to meet sets clear intentions for your email. The body of your email can discuss talking points for your meeting and specific dates and times.
20. “Scheduled: Product demo”
This email subject line will get you opens simply because the person will not remember scheduling anything with you. Then you can tell them that it is time for the next step in your sales process – the product demo.
Cold Email Subject Lines
21. “I found you through [referral name, website, or social media]”
Mutual connections are a great way to start email subject lines for cold leads. They likely trust the person that referred you and may be more willing to read the information you are sending.
22. “Looking for a solution to X problem? We can help”
Research your prospect to learn about some areas that you may be able to help them with. If they are looking for a way to fix their pain points, then they will likely want to know how you can help. This means they will open your email.
23. “X tips/ideas for your [problem, pain point, issue]”
This email can be very simple. List bullets of ideas that may help them fix their problem. Don’t provide them everything up front so you can encourage them to respond to learn more about what you’re talking about.
24. “Nice to meet you, [prospect name]”
This is a great subject line to use for leads that have downloaded your content or looked at your pricing page. Let them know you noticed their interest by touching base with a friendly email.
25. “Hoping you can help.”
Most people are inclined to want to help others. Asking someone for their help instead of offering yours may lead to a good response.
26. “A [benefit] for [company name]”
Who doesn’t like benefits? This is a good way to open up an email that has an offer inside for your prospect or lead.
27. “Question about your goals”
What question do you have? They’ll have to open your email to learn more.
28. “We have [fact] in common.”
You can probably find at least one thing you and your lead have in common by browsing through LinkedIn. This may pique your lead’s interest and get you a response.
29. “Hey [name], check out this [feature/product]”
Remember you are emailing your prospect to offer them value. Do that by letting them know what feature or product is good for them from the start. You can also attach content about your product or feature to the email.
30. “You’ll love this article, [prospect name]”
They won’t know what article it is until they open the email. This is a great subject line to appeal to your lead’s curiosity.
Minimalist Subject Lines
31. “ “
Ok, so there’s nothing between the “quotes,” but that is on purpose!
Several studies have shown that messages where the subject line was left blank are actually opened eight percent more that those with subject lines. So if you’re having a creative block – it happens to everyone from time to time – maybe you should just hit send…
32. “Quick request”
Make sure the request in the email really is quick so your prospect or lead doesn’t think you lied just to get them to open the email.
33. “Trying to connect”
Sometimes simply letting your recipient know you want to connect is better than sending several emails with gimmicky subject lines.
34. “Let’s talk”
Simple, straight, and to the point. Let them know what you want to talk about in the body of the email and you are good to go.
35. “Last chance”
A subject line like this gives your readers a sense of urgency. Let them know the offerings they can’t miss out on in the body text, then lay out the next steps.
36. “Think fast”
If your leads think your offers will be around for a long time, they will be less inclined to act quickly.
Personalized Email Subject Lines
37. “We heard you’re an expert, [name]”
This is a personalized way to connect with a lead on a topic of mutual interest. You can then lead the email with the topic and discuss your thoughts and things that your company may offer to enhance the expertise.
38. “[Name], got a second?”
Using someone’s name in an email subject line is a great way to get them to open an email. Most of their inbox is probably filled with generic subject lines so yours will stand out.
39. “Read your article [article title] and wanted to discuss…”
Some of your leads may be content creators. Starting a conversation about some of the work they have written can be a good way to start an email exchange.
40. “It was nice meeting you [name] at [event name]”
Jog your prospect’s memory and bring up your last meeting even if it was brief. They are more likely to respond when they realize they have actually met you in person. You can even discuss some details about the event to establish a connection in the body section of the email.
41. “We care about your success”
This subject line lets your leads know why you are contacting them. It shows that you can help them be successful, but how? They’ll have to open the email to find out.
Miscellaneous Email Subject Lines
- 42. “Last day to see what this email is about”
- 43. “We have a surprise for you”
- 44. “Get priority access”
- 45. “A plan for your busy week ahead”
- 46. “Am I assuming correctly?”
- 47. “Make X money in X months”
- 48. “You deserve better”
- 49. “Don’t Delay! Register today”
- 50. “As promised: Free templates”
Your email subject line can often be the difference between an unopened email and a piece that gets opened, read, and acted upon. No matter how great your body copy is, if your email doesn’t get opened, it’s useless.
The best email subject lines will pique the interest of your prospects, address their pain points, ask relevant questions, and provide valuable solutions. These tips, hacks, and examples are a great place to start!
Read more: We Signed Up for 12 Products: Here’s What We Learned About Sales Email Subject Lines
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Erika Giles.
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