Crafting Killer Email Subject Lines: How to Get Your Outreach Emails Opened

Imagine this – you’re in your home alone and you’re craving a smashed burger. You cannot go and just start making one in the kitchen because:

You are swamped with work
You simply don’t know how to make it
No, you cannot pull a 5-minute craft watching YouTube tutorials

Suddenly, you hear your doorbell ring. You see two people from the peephole. One is a food deliveryman, and the other is a common man in his usual clothes. Who’s the person you’re going to open your door for?

If you’re saying the delivery man (90% of you would), here’s where your answer lies for making a killer cold email to potential clients – giving them what they want.

Your client will open the door for the company that offers them what they need, not in a promotional way, but because they simply caught their attention by being extraordinary with their work and words.

Today, we will learn exactly what that means and how to write the best email subject lines.

What makes a good subject line?

The one complete answer is – to have a voice of your own and know how to use it. Let’s say you sell raw materials for coffee, and your potential clients are the ones who commercialize the products. If you were to pitch your products to them, you need to stand out with your offer. That is, if they even listen to your offer.

Keep it noted, there are hundreds of people like you who are trying to call dibs on them. So what makes your potential client choose you over them?

Meet the four horsemen of customer engagement –

Relevancy
Personalization
X-factor
Short and sweet

You are one of their own

If you ask me, crafting email subject lines is an art that can be mastered over time with patience. Relevancy is something most people miss, and that’s what gets them blocked or, to say the least, in the spam folder.

The first thing you do when you start writing one down is to find ways in which they need you in their business. Even if they already have what it takes or similar services associated with yours, show them how your services stand out.

Yet you offer what they lack and need

Personalization is something that needs to be studied. You are writing to a real human being, not a bot. So pour all the tactics and emotions that you might need to get noticed. Don’t just put vague lines like –

“Check this out!”

Not being specific about your services or not provoking their emotions just enough to open it yields zero result. Writing a personalized email that matches their interest gives you the upper hand to make your services known. It is seen that personalized emails get opened 50% more than direct vague offers. Considering the usual opening rate across all industries is 37.27%, this alone should put you ahead of the game.

Make them feel at home, use words and language that a helpful friend would use. Use ‘I’s, like a well-wisher. Use your name and designation – that way, the reader will feel more connected to you rather than just reading from a bot-created body. Use their names and designations. Shoot a –

“[Name], you don’t have to worry about [Problem] anymore’

Less talk, yet quality talk

Nobody has the time to read a 150-word essay from a person that they do not know (unless you write an extremely provoking subject line that has a 100% open rate). While writing a cold email, where people are yet to find out about you, it is best to talk briefly and focus on yourself. The best that relates to them, so that they can work with it.

Here’s a point that a huge population seems to miss –

The ideal length of a subject and a body of the subject line depends on the devices that they most frequently use. A mobile, having a smaller screen, will show limited words in the subject line. While a laptop or a corporate PC shows all the possible words.

The email provider cuts off the length at 60 characters. We need to craft within that range in such a way that it fits all the possible devices. It is recommended to use 41 characters for better open rates across all devices.

One study shows that the subject line with seven words has the highest opening rate. You can use this strategy in any one of your email marketing campaigns. But while looking at the numbers, don’t forget to pour your energy into the real deal – the content inside. You need to modify your subject line according to the topics your prospect cares about.

So … how do we do that?

See if they are concerned about their reputation. That way, you can tailor your words like “This will get you in the Top 3 of [their] field”
If they are interested in more revenue generation. Then pop them in an idea in that subject line.
Shoot them a text regarding customer concerns, how they can improve their services, and how you can be of help.

And many more options to explore. Here’s a warning: don’t ever use clickbait in your subject lines. The prospects know when you’re playing with words, and this puts you in the black book. We don’t want that here.

Learn how to keep the reader hooked

Whoever said “Don’t judge a book by its cover” clearly was not in the Email Marketing world. Here, one subject line makes or breaks the deal. In this part, we’re telling you that words can do magic – just try to use the cooler ones.

Just a few words to get people hooked, and you’re set for a deal. You need to write something that is relevant to them:

Reference recent incidents that concern them and offer a solution
Include a new study that can help them or solve a problem
If you know about something they are working on and offer them a solution, do that.
Ask for their suggestion on a topic that concerns them.

Explain the perks

You need to put yourself out there and tell the prospect, I can do this better and maybe even cheaper.

Oh, did you hear about the WIIFM principle?

WIIFM sales principle, or ‘What’s In It For Me?’ principle, focuses on the value you are going to add if they work with you. It is a great way of building rapport after they have decided that they actually need the service that you provide.

One pro-tip is: Find out a problem of that company, or maybe something they are struggling with, and form the subject line similar to this – “[Name], let’s discuss [Problem] of [Company Name].”

This tells that you have researched the company and can offer real solutions instead of spammy bot messages.

What works in today’s time

Hate to break it to you, but that “[Solution to a Problem] expires in 24 hours!” – trick actually works. And so does using trendy words – “This [Solution] could be the Labubu of your business.'

This is optional advice. You need to run A/B testing to know if this actually works as it claims to be. Search Console, Google Trends, or HubSpot’s Traffic Analysis tool are some of the tools that you can use to find out the most trending topics and words on the Internet.

This tip only works if the receiver is curious enough. If this is an old-fashioned company, it is better to stick with the basics or just find out through A/B testing.

Introducing emails that had higher opening rates

For cold emails, you just need enough to build the tension. If I had to give an example,

“Subject: Loved your [recent post on any social]

Hello [Name],

Just saw your website, and something caught my attention. Why do you think [write a common

Is [concern] relevant to the industry?

No pitch here, just straight-up impressed with [Company name]! If you’re up for it, I’d love to

exchange some ideas. Let me know if you’re available on [date/time], or let me know your

preferred time!

Cheers,

[Your name]”

Or just ask a question –