How to create catchy email subject lines that boost open rate [107+ examples]
What would you say is the first thing that catches your prospects' attention in their inbox? That is right, email subject lines. They are undoubtedly the most integral part of your cold email outreach. In just seconds, the faith of your outreach success is determined.
How? Well, if you do not create catchy email subject lines, you risk getting your email deleted, your open rate becomes much lower, and you will be disregarded as Spam. Consequently, this ultimately leads to a lower number of warmed-up leads and closed deals. Furthermore, effort and time spent will go to waste.
Don’t panic. We’ve got your back.
In this article, we are explaining what the subject line is and why it is important for your email outreach. Furthermore, we are digging deep into catchy email subject examples, why they work, and help you create your golden subject line that catches your prospects’ attention immediately.
What is an email subject line and why is it important?
Let’s start with the basics. When you open up email inbox, you can notice the 3 following components of the email message:
- Senders’ name,
- Subject Line,
- And Preview text.
Email subject line is a text line next to the sender’s name, describing the title of the email message. In other words, it is an indication of what the message is about and why you should read it.
Email subject line communicates value, sets expectations, and entices recipients to discover more about the topic by reading the email message.
Getting your email subject line just right will make you stand out in the sea of other emails and increase the open rate. In sales terms, this means increasing the chances of getting your message across and warming up leads so you can close more deals.
Another thing worth mentioning is the importance of the Preview Text.
A preview text, aka preheader text, is a line next to the subject line that shows the beginning of your email message. In some cases, preview text can be custom-made if you use newsletter software or similar tools, but in most cases, it shows a preview of your message. That is why it is important to perceive them in synergy rather than separate components to make your outreach as effective as you can (but we will talk more about this below).
How to write catchy email subject lines: Tips to get started
Email subject lines’ first and foremost purpose is to get your prospects to open up your email. In other words, you need to catch their attention and entice them towards this action.
Therefore, make email subject lines mean something. Let’s go through a couple of steps to get started.
1. Determine the type of subject lines
As a salesperson, especially when doing a cold outreach, your job is to set the tone of the email subject lines. There are many ways to do it - making bold, sweet, or commanding statements - but first, you need to figure out the email content. After that, write down the email core meaning, and choose the type of tone which best fits your outreach message, personality, and prospects’ preferences.
The usual subject line types for sales are:
| Email Subject Lines Types | Email Subject Lines Examples |
| Controversial | LinkedIn is not for outreach if… |
| Lack | Poor quality data costs you. Here’s why… |
| Personalized | Amy, this tip will improve your business |
| FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) | Catch limited time offer |
| Guide | How to close deals in 3 days |
| Questioning | What is your top priority? |
| Sneak peek | A discount gift for you |
| Making an offer | 10% off lifetime offer |
| Statistics | 92% of salespeople swear by this strategy |
| Directive | Use this fantastic tip to improve sales |
| Pain point | If you struggle with wasting time, use this hack |
2. Straight to the point
Be clear and concise about your email subject lines whenever you can. The reason is that often prospects prioritize the emails by their subject line and order of reading/replying. For this reason, the email subject line should communicate what the message is all about and its importance.
Avoid vague subject lines, such as “While I wait for your response”, that doesn't show anything about the email content as it will end up at the bottom of the priority list, and prospects will eventually forget it.
However, this doesn’t mean you can’t get crafty with it. You can create wordplay such as “Let’s Taco ‘bout your performance”, create a theme as “Let’s schedule a coffee chat”, or even use the power words to enhance your catchy email subject lines.
3. Power words in email subject lines
Specific words can trigger an emotion in us on a conscious or subconscious level. Let's take the word “happy” for instance. After reading it, you suddenly felt a slight uplift in your mood, didn’t you? What happens with the word “Sad”? You felt slightly down there, correct?
Words are indeed powerful. So using specific words in subject lines can do the same for your prospect. To be more precise, using Power words can really catch your prospects’ attention and activate an emotion. Furthermore, if you put the Power word at the subject line beginning, it will draw even more attention.
Here are power words example list to catch your prospects’ attention and get them to open up your email:
| Providing value: - Inspire - Learn - Guide - Enjoy - Proven - Lifetime - Discount - Valuable - Nifty - Secret | Pain point focus: - Ready - Change - Save - Stop - Avoid - Easier - Faster - Improve - Skyrocket - Reach |
Note: The important thing is to set expectations with power words, but be careful not to overpromise, as this will only annoy your prospects. And do not go overboard with them.
4. How long should email subject lines be
On average, email subject lines should ideally be 4 to 7 words. If you need more words, aim for a subject line no longer than 9 words, which is the upper limit. Furthermore, contemporary inboxes can reveal up to 60 characters on average, depending on the email provider.
Also, keep in mind that some people check their emails on mobile devices, which show only 41 to 50 characters. This roughly translates to 7 to 8 words. Therefore, to lower the number of characters, you need to remove any filler words, such as just, hi, thanks, going to, etc.
Note: If you plan to reach out to your prospects using LinkedIn InMail, you should know that the subject line character limit is 200 characters. Check out our complete guide on how LinkedIn InMail works and 13 InMail templates for a better response rate.
5. Use subject lines and preview texts in synergy
As we mentioned earlier, the preview text is a line of text found next to the subject line. It shows the first couple of words of your email message. In addition, it can show custom text if you use a newsletter software tool.
Preview text is just as important as the subject line - it is your chance to deepen the message and make it more effective to get your prospects to open up an email.
Preview text is usually 35 to 90 characters long, depending on the email provider. To make a subject line and preview text work together, it is best to perceive a preview text as a collection of details that didn’t fit the subject line. Here is an example:
Subject line: 🎁 A discount gift for you
Preview text: Happy Women’s Day! Up until the end of March, you get a discount of […]
Note: To convince a prospect to keep on reading the email and perform the desired action, make sure you get your opening paragraph and a Call To Action right.
Email subject lines best practices [and some worst ones to keep away]
Now that we’ve set the email subject lines basic steps, let’s go through the best practices and what you need to avoid.
Subject lines best practices
1. Personalization
Did you know that personalizing subject lines can increase the open rate by 22.2%? The increase in open rate happens because personalization creates a sense of familiarity in leads. Especially if you found those leads by prospecting on LinkedIn. Furthermore, it comes across as genuine and that you care for them.
Personalize your email subject lines using the following demographic, psychographic, and firmographic data:
- Interaction with your brand
- Their location
- Years in the company
- Current company
- Interests and values
To gain a full understanding of how powerful personalization in outreach can be, check out our blogs on how to increase the level of personalization in outreach and how to personalize image and GIF to improve response rate.
2. Use emojis In email subject line
In modern days times, emojis can be a nifty tool to spice up your subject line. They are a friend in need to get your point across, make your email stand out in the inbox, and they cost only one character (speaking of saving the space in the subject line :).
To back this up, take a look at the following statistics:
Emojis in subject lines had an open rate of 56% higher than those without them.
Not bad, ha 🧐?
3. Include numbers
Catchy email subject lines that include numbers achieve 45% higher open rates. This way, prospects will perceive your subject line as more precise and attract their attention. Use numbers to state how many tips you send them, time stamps, or statistics to increase the value.
4. Email subject lines specifying time
Providing your prospects with the right information that is in correlation with time will attract their attention as it represents information that is a “current trend”. Nicely timed subject line will increase an open rate, as well as response rate depending on the email body.
Example:
Here is how to boost your April’s website performance
5. Hint the valuable content
One of the perfect ways to increase the open rate is to give your prospects a sneak peek into the body of the email. This catchy email subject lines’ teaser can be in the form of content that prospects will value, such as images, infographics, and guides with top 5 tips.
Example:
Why Sales Needs To Get Out There And Use Social Selling More (Webinar)
6. Subject line testing
You need to test your email subject lines to be sure you got them just right, and there are a couple of ways you can do it.
A/B testing
Every audience is different, and in some cases, one subject line that worked previously won’t be that effective anymore. And then, there is the following fact:
A/B testing can increase email open rates by 49%.
That is why you need A/B tests as much as possible. In order to do this, take 3 to 5 subject lines and send out those cold outreach emails to check which one has the highest open rate.
For example, in Skylead, you can test different subject lines for your outreach campaigns on autopilot and see which one works best for you.
Online email subject line testers
Online email subject line testers are nifty tools to have at hand if you are not sure about the effectiveness of your subject lines. Whether you wish to test the emotional tone of voice or the overall effectiveness of your subject lines, you can use tools such as Send Check It, EMV Headline Analyzer, or GradeMyEmail.
Email subject lines DON’Ts
1. Hi there
Avoid phrases such as Hi there, Greetings George, or Hello. The reason is they aren’t specific enough and do not show any hint of what the email message is all about. Instead, draw your prospect’s attention by clearly stating the purpose.
2. Misleading prospects
Being deceptive and promising your prospect one thing in the subject line and showing them another will annoy them. Consequently, you will lose trust and respect instantly. Not to mention, you will fail to close the deal with the prospect forever. Therefore, avoid click baits, or RE: and FWD: entirely just to get them to open up an email.
3. DO NOT USE ALL CAPS OR BUNCH OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!
See how that was unnerving and frenzy-like? Using letters in Caps Lock or with multiple exclamation points is a synonym for spammers these days. It also looks aggressive and distasteful, and you do not wish that for your brand, trust us. Furthermore, if you use this kind of email subject line, you risk getting your emails in the Spam folder. However, Caps Lock and exclamation points are not prohibited - you can always use one from time to time to emphasize your statement, but please do not go overboard.
4. Avoid spammy words
Similar to all-caps-lock words and multiple exclamation points, spam words can also ruin your outreach efforts. These words have been all over the internet for many, many years (not to mention billiards in the 80s) and are now considered repulsive and plain out pushy.
Here are a couple of examples to watch out for:
- Act Now
- Cash
- Cheap
- Credit
- Double your ROI
- Earn Extra cash
- Millionaires
- Free
- Fast money
- Get it today
Catchy email subject lines examples and templates
Follow up email subject lines
- Had a {{Topic}} idea for you since we last spoke
Example:
Had a social selling idea for you since we last spoke
- Been thinking about what you said
- Should I give up on you and close the file?
- I forgot to mention in our meeting that…
- The final and easy step…
- Tuesday meeting at 10PM
- Sending info I promised 👉
- I spoke with {{ReferredName}} and they said…
Example:
I spoke with Mark, and he said…
- Down to business - How we can help
- Need any help?
- {{firstName}} I need your advice
- Have 5 minutes for a quick call?
- I don't expect you to open this email but…
General cold outreach email subject lines
- ❤️ how you contribute to {{DesiredResult}}
Example:
❤️ how you contribute to closing the deals faster
- {{firstName}} let’s connect
- Are you completely happy with {{CompetitorName}}?
- Get lifetime access to {{SoftwareName}}
- What are your insights from {{Event}}?
- The most exciting opportunity for {{Industry}} companies in 2024
Example:
The most exciting opportunity for insurance companies in 2024
- Saw your amazing post - Interested in creating shared content?
- Exclusive for {{CompanyName}}: 3 tips to get conversion faster
- Congrats on {{Achievement}} 🥳
Example:
Congrats on becoming CEO 🥳
- Join forces? 👊
Urgent email subject lines
- Do you have these numbers and analytics yet?
- Hot conversion data insight for {{CurrentMonth}}, 2024
- Resource on {{Topic}} that’d go great in your {{Topic}} post
Example:
Resource on Email Statistics that’d go great in your Outreach post
- Omg {{firstName}}...
- It doesn’t look good
- 10 must-know trends to keep up on the market
- Your Free Trial is ending!
- Save 30% before the New Year
Email subject lines that entice curiosity
- Everyone’s favorite {{Occupation}} trick is…
Example:
Everyone’s favorite Sales trick is…
- 🤫 Real secret to {{Task}} or {{Benefit}} is…
Example:
🤫 Real secret to outperform outreach is…
- About your approach…
- I have a question about how {{DoingRelevantTask}}
Example:
I have a question about how you handle budgeting
- Does Thursday work for you?
- New year, a new strategy to {{Goal}}
Example:
New year, a new strategy to achieve 50+ conversions a month
- Are you taking advantage of your detailed reporting?
- How we accomplished {{DesiredResult}} in 2 months
Example:
How we accomplished 6x more sales in 2 month
- {{RelevantTopic}} trends that are the talk of the town
Example:
Sales strategy trends that are the talk of the town
- Save 5 hours a week with {{Task}} on autopilot
Example:
Save 5 hours a week with outreach on autopilot
- 56% of {{JobPosition}} use this trick to improve conversion
- A cheat-sheet for better conversion — Interested?
- {{Topic}} resources that can help you at this time
Example:
Cold outreach resources that can help you at this time
- 4 tips to help increase sales during hard times 💪
- It’s that simple 😃
- Few in the {{IndustryType}} know about these hacks
- Pick one out of these 2 strategies
Email subject lines that address pain points
- How to survive {{PainPoint}}
Example:
How to survive working 10 hours a day
- 5 easy steps to beat {{PainPoint}}
- How to deal with {{PainPoint}}
Example:
How to deal with LinkedIn algorithm
- 5 Ideas for {{PainPoint}}
- A resource to help you with {{PainPoint}}
- How happy are you with {{Department}} performance?
Example:
How happy are you with Sales performance?
- Steal this strategy from us - It will work for {{PainPoint}} 😁
- 7 tips for turning {{PainPoint}} around
- Proven solution to {{PainPoint}}
- Tired of {{PainPoint}}? Let’s have a chat
Subject lines that relieve pain and offer solution
- The fastest way to reach your Q2 target 💹
- Here is the shortcut to {{Benefit}} 🙌
Example:
Here is the shortcut to tracking performance easier 🙌
- Help is on the way - best strategies for LinkedIn lead generation
- Problem with closing the deals? Here is how to fix it easily
- Save up 5 hours of work per week
- {{ProductOrSolution}} empowers companies such as {{CompanyName}}
- Ready to implement {{Tool}} to eliminate {{PainPoint}}?
Example:
Ready to implement Skylead to eliminate wasting time on manual outreach?
Personalized email subject lines
- {{firstName}}, I was researching {{CompanyName}} and…
- {{ReferredName}} said to reach out to you…
Example:
Your colleague Steve said to reach out to you…
- {{ReferredName}} think you’ll love us too
- {{firstName}} I loved your post on LinkedIn about {{Topic}}
Example:
Sandy, I loved your post on LinkedIn about how to modernize sales
- Does this work for you {{firstName}}?
- {{firstName}}, a quick question regarding your performance
- {{firstName}}, I notice you try to achieve a 50% increase in sales
- Opportunity for {{CompanyName}}
- Partner up with {{CompanyName}}
- {{firstName}}, I have a story for you
- {{TheirCompetitorName}} VS {{CompanyName}}
- {{firstName}} perform {{Task}} better from Now on 💪
Example:
Andy perform outreach better from Now on 💪
- New managing employees strategy for {{CompanyName}}
- Loved the blog you wrote for {{CompanyName}}🔥
- {{firstName}} I missed you at {{Event}}
- What is your expert opinion on {{Topic}}, {{firstName}}?
Example:
What is your expert opinion on social selling, {{firstName}}?
- {{firstName}} is there a lot on your plate r/n?
Humorous email subject lines
- 🌮 Can we Taco ‘bout your growth?
- ⚽ I wondered why the ball was in my court, then it hit me
- I tried an elevator pitch - it was great on so many levels 🆙
- 🐝 You are likely an indecisive bee. Might I call you maybee?
- 🤝 Connect with you in present or future? It’s kinda tense
- 🪐 Should I organize a space for our meeting and planet?
- ⛵ Need a {{Topic}} strategy arc? I Noah guy.
Example:
⛵ Need a Sales strategy arc? I Noah guy.
- My coffee is mugged and waiting for your call 😅
- I'm gonna make him an offer you can't refuse…
- May the Force be with you, and {{YourCompanyName}}🌌
- {{ReferredName}} said to say hello to his little friend 🙋
- “You can’t handle the truth!” Or can you?
- Shaken, not stirred. 🍹 A {{Resource}} you asked for.
Example:
Shaken, not stirred. 🍹 A Guide To Outreach you asked for.
- I like {{ProductOrAService}} as my wine - sweet and victorious. Do you? 🍷
Frequently asked questions
How can one effectively A/B test different subject lines to find the most effective one for their audience?
A/B testing for email subject lines involves sending two variants to a small segment of your audience to see which performs better, then using the more successful one for the broader audience. Monitoring open rates for each variant provides actionable insights. You can automate A/B testing by using the LinkedIn automation tool and cold email software with such a feature, like Skylead.
Are there specific strategies for crafting subject lines that improve click-through rates, not just open rates?
To improve click-through rates, subject lines should create curiosity or offer value that compels the recipient to discover more inside the email. Personalization and urgency can also encourage clicks by making the email feel more relevant and time-sensitive to the reader.
How do the recommended subject lines perform across different industries, such as tech versus creative fields?
The performance of subject lines can vary by industry due to different audience expectations and content relevance. Customizing subject lines to reflect the specific interests and language of your target industry is crucial for maximizing engagement.
Summary
Strong and catchy email subject lines are mesmerizing and alluring to your prospects. They are links between your leads and your message. For this reason, it is important to make it as perfect as you can so you can increase the open rate, nurture the prospect and ultimately close the deal. And when you pass through the importance of it all, creating email subject lines and testing them can be fun indeed.
Here is a quick throwback of what you should and shouldn’t do when writing the email subject lines.
| Email Subject Lines DOs: | Email Subject Lines DON’Ts: |
| Use personalization | Avoid words such as Hi and Greetings |
| Make emojis your best friend | Do not mislead the prospects |
| Include numbers | Avoid words in Caps Lock |
| Make timely email subject lines | Remove excessive exclamation points |
| Hint the valuable content inside the email | Avoid symbols such as $$$ |
| Test your email subject lines | Forget about spammy words |
Now it’s your turn. Go and rock out those subject lines!
Wish to use Skylead for your outreach campaigns and A/B test your emails? We would be glad to hear from you and chat. Say hi by scheduling a Demo with us.
