One of the biggest hurdles every company faces in email campaigns is simply getting prospects to open them. The copy is perfect, your business is a perfect fit, and the information you’ve provided is beyond helpful, so what gives? Why is your open rate so low?  

Well, I can almost guarantee you can blame it on your subject line. The subject line is the first, and sometimes only, thing your contact sees when they opening their inbox. They get to your email and make a split decision to open, or not. You must stand out amongst the crowd of other emails and content they have in their inbox. So, let’s make it short, sweet, credible, but most importantly, make it personalized.

We’ve written and launched our fair share of email campaigns, so we’ve compiled a list of some of our five best tips to help you craft the best email subject lines for B2B sales. 

1. Keep It Short-

Imagine every prospect is going to view your email from their favorite pocket-sized assistant, their phone. Let’s say today your subject line is over 40 characters, your prospect can only see at best half of that content, so your point really doesn’t have time to fully come across. So let’s cut down on the subject length and make our point as concise as possible. This also goes for those who are checking their email on their computer, the shorter, the better.

2. Grammar (but you knew this already…right?)-

Poor grammar is something that I think we can all agree is a massive turn off. Sure it will catch someone's eye, but not in a good way.  We have tools like Grammarly and other service offerings for a reason, let’s take advantage and utilize the tools at your disposal.  Sure, you might be rolling your eyes and saying “I know grammar is really important. Thanks for the groundbreaking tip.” But stick with me here and let’s all do our part to make the world a more grammatically correct place to live.  At the bare minimum, let’s use spellcheck. 

3. Personalize-

We’re not saving the best for last here, this is by far the most compelling part of any email subject campaign you can create. Making your prospects feel as though your email was directly written to them, could make a world of difference, and this begins at the subject line. Ask questions, utilize their company name, bring up their alma mater, anything that brings attention, and feels tailor-made for them.

4. Don't Over Do It-

By this I mean let’s try our best not to get overly excited about them and fully spiral out of control with exclamation points!!!!!!!! Or really annunciate just how EXCITED you ACTUALLY are. Using all-caps words when you’re texting might get the point across that you’re beyond excited for a date or a fun night out with friends.  But, when we’re emailing contacts, this can easily be interpreted as being scolded or come off as overly abrasive, so try to avoid them all together if possible. 

5. Keep Your Information Relevant-

Being direct in the subject line helps you get straight to the point. It leaves no questions as to why it is you're reaching out. Here is an example from a Hubspot blog based on subject lines that had really successful open rates: “Tired of salespeople who never give up?”. This subject line might make you think “but….I am the salespeople” and you're right, we are, but a subject line like this allows us to empathize with our contact. As it states in that Hubspot blog, let's face it, we're all tired of overly aggressive salespeople.

Writing email subject lines for b2b sales shouldn’t be a struggle or leave you staring at your screen for hours trying to brainstorm something compelling. Take a step back and position yourself as the role of the prospect and try to utilize these simple tips to see what you come up with. If you try any of these tips, please reach out to us and let us know what you find! Happy selling!