Prospecting is all about getting past the gatekeeper. After all, even the finest sales presentations are useless if you don't get the chance to confront your prospect and properly sell them.

A receptionist or assistant is usually the gatekeeper on sales prospecting calls. When prospecting via email, however, the prospect is frequently the gatekeeper. And, like the rest of us, they get a deluge of email every day that they can't reasonably read and answer all of.

As a result, people scan subject lines and skim the first sentence or two to determine relevance, interest, and urgency. Knowing that everyone is skimming and reading your email, you have little choice but to improve your subject line writing to stand out.

In the long run, mastering the art of the follow-up email subject line and being persistent will pay off. In fact, response rates for follow-up emails are higher than for original ones. According to one research, the first email received an 18% response rate, the fourth received a 13% response rate, and the sixth email received a whopping 27% response rate.

Improve your follow-up email subject lines with these 7 templates and 6 best practices to earn more opens, responses, and purchases.

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6 Best Practices & Email Subject Lines

Continue reading for 6 best practices and email subject lines. 

Natural and conversational sound

Subject lines that are excessively salesy or come off as spam are easily disregarded or flagged as spam. A pleasant, conversational tone, on the other hand, will appear genuine and is more likely to inspire a response.

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Be Brief

Long subject lines will be trimmed off because 56 percent of individuals check their emails on their phones. Six to 10 words is ideal, but fewer than five works nicely as well.

Add the subject's name to make it more personal

This has been demonstrated to increase open rates in several circumstances. You might also try mentioning the firm name or a mutual link or shared experience you discovered throughout your study.

Snippet Optimization

The snippet is a little piece of text that shows to the right of the subject line in recipients' inboxes and provides them a sneak peek at the email content. You increase your chances of getting your email opened if you take the time to get it properly and make it feel personal. If you ignore it, your campaign will suffer.

Because a big subject line can overflow and totally replace your snippet, optimizing the snippet goes hand in hand with keeping your subject line brief.

Think Like a Scientist

It's crucial to play around with your subject lines. People don't always open the same subject lines, and making little changes to your campaigns over time can help you boost open rates, responses, and conversions.

Send somewhere between 100 and 1,000 emails using the same sender, snippet, and email content. Then email another batch with a different subject line. Using a service like Alore, you can keep track of openings, clicks, answers, and more. 

Finally, you must do your own testing, study up on the most recent email discoveries, and see what others are doing. It's not easy to break through the clutter of the inbox, which is why learning how to create great follow-up email subject lines is essential.

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Automated follow-up processes are preferable

Why bother personally contacting hundreds of prospects every week? It just cannot be sustained. Instead, use a program like Alore to create automatic sequences that include follow-ups.

You can customize your emails at scale, schedule follow-ups, and even set up triggers depending on recipient behaviors, all while managing all of your leads in one place.

Many automation solutions, like Alore, use native and Zapier connections to interact directly with your CRM and other applications. 

7 Email subject lines 

1. Following up on a conversation or encounter

"Next steps" after a phone conversation or meeting Why does it work? It's brief, conversational, and direct. People are naturally interested and can't help but want to know what the next steps are. It's also an effective way to re-engage prospects who have gone cold.

When Yesware compared the response rate of "Next steps" as a follow-up email subject line to their typical reply rate, they discovered that it may get up to a 70.5 percent open rate and a 49.6 percent reply rate. They found the subject line to be particularly beneficial as a straight follow-up after leaving voicemails with a short message about "tried your line" to demonstrate increased dedication and perseverance.

2. If you do not get a response

If you don't get a response, say "I neglected to mention..." Why does it work? It demonstrates that you are a human being who has made a mistake. People frequently forget that there is another person on the other end of the line. Showing a more natural aspect of yourself might help you make a better first impression — one that isn't salesy but instead genuine. It demonstrates that you, like everyone else, are prone to making mistakes.

This subject line should be paired with a provocative comment, informative material, or other resource that the recipient would find useful. For example, in the body, you may inform them about a co-hosted event to which they are invited, or provide an exclusive piece of material that can assist them in achieving their goals.

Also Check: 7 Important Steps to Develop a Successful Sales Strategy

3. You created an impression on them and want to stay on their mind

"It's great to talk with you, [prospect name]" Why does it work? It shows honesty while also reminding them that you aren't a complete stranger. You will be remembered if you express thanks. 

It's also a good idea to include the recipient's name for further personalisation. "The more you tailor your subject line, the more benefits you may gain," explains Josh Slone of LeadFuze. It's crucial to have accurate contact information."

Good contact data comes from asking the correct questions during your first meeting, as well as conducting preliminary research to identify common ground, potential pain spots, and other places where you may connect.

4. They agreed to return at a later date

"Let's look at it again." Why does it work? If you were given permission to contact someone in the future, this subject line shows that you've spoken with them previously while being conversational and polite. It's better if you can bring new knowledge or something else of worth to the table.

It's also a wonderful alternative to cliched subject lines like "Checking in" or "Touching Base," which are useless. They not only come out as wasteful and insensitive to the prospect's time, but they also don't work. In reality, it was discovered that "touching base" failed 50% of the time. Bottom line: there should always be a cause to follow up.

5. Incorporate a sense of urgency and specificity

"Tuesday 10:00 meeting" Why does it work? Because the ultimate aim of a follow-up email is usually a phone call or meeting, why not ask for one? If they haven't reacted by now, there's a strong possibility the emails aren't getting read, so this increased urgency may be enough to get their attention.

A confident approach like this might be very beneficial as a follow-up email subject line. Assuming the meeting, like the strong sales technique of assuming the sale, might catch the prospect off guard. It's easy to ignore someone who asks for a meeting "sometime soon," but when someone asks for a meeting now, don't discount them.

6. You require their assistance or guidance

"Could you assist me with this?" Why does it work? Even if they're busy, people have an innate desire to serve others. When it comes to creating engaging subject lines, Taskeater's Managing Director Dan Vanrenen feels that you should "create a subject line that motivates them to react and clearly shows your interest in what they have to say."

This appeal for assistance and empathy demonstrates that you're not just interested in the transaction, but also in their counsel or direction. To be clear, this subject line only works if your request is genuine and you are likely to follow their advice or instruction. As a follow-up, use this email to request connections to the proper person at the company.

Also Read: 7 Important Steps to Develop a Successful Sales Strategy

7. You just finished a face-to-face encounter

"It was great seeing you today, but I wanted to discuss something else with you." Why does it work? According to research, 92 percent of all salesmen quit after four "no's," but 80 percent of prospects say "no" four times before saying "yes." That doesn't mean you can get complacent and believe the deal is done after the fourth contact. Instead, continue to thank them and stay on their radar by following up as soon as possible.

Because it highlights the pertinent meeting you shared, the subject line above demonstrates that you appreciate their time and stands out in their inbox. Furthermore, it piques their attention by revealing that there is one more item they haven't said.

Conclusion

Even though email subject lines are brief, they have a significant impact on the performance of your sales emails. Without giving too much away, the finest email subject lines are original, intriguing, and instructive. A compelling subject line might make the difference between a prospect opening or ignoring your email. Be flexible, test frequently, and be inventive in your email subject line to achieve the greatest results.