Crafting the Best Sales Email Subject Lines

Account-based marketing (ABM) is all about deliberate, personalized contact. There’s a misconception when it comes to making that first contact with a potential ABM partner. Marketers rightly focus on crafting a solid opening email with the right tone and value proposition to hook new accounts.

Still, there’s a point of contact just before that – the email subject line.

A strong subject line is a vital part of the sales funnel. It determines if that all-important email is opened in the first place and sets the tone for the information that follows. Given how beneficial the perfect subject line can be, here are the most important factors to remember when writing one.

What makes a good email subject line?

Still, there’s a point of contact just before that – the email subject line.

What makes a good email subject line?

When it comes to marketing, the best tools work when their purpose is understood. The primary goal of a subject line is to get the receiver to open the email. If it were that simple, though, no email would ever be left unopened or – worse – sent to the junk pile.

In order to convince someone that the email is valuable, the subject line should convey the topic first and foremost. Ideally, the receiver should also know why that topic is relevant to them and what they could gain if they open the email.

Personalize to a point

Account-based marketing is founded on the principle that accurate, high-value targeting generates sales much better than vague campaigns that aim for visibility. So the first step to crafting an ABM email’s subject line is specificity.

Get to the heart of why the receiver should open the email as quickly as possible. Don’t use the account’s name in the subject line – space is already limited. Focus on sales-driven keywords and relevance. After all, the receiver will see their name in the first line of the actual email.

Quick-fire best practices for writing a subject line

Not sure where to start with a subject line? There are some useful concepts to keep in mind. They can make the writing of the line simpler and improve the click-through rate (CTR) of sales emails.

Write the subject line last

Having a fully written email ready makes it easier to condense the most relevant bits into the subject line. When writing a first contact email, starting with the subject line can lead to overthinking it at the expense of getting the body written. The bulk of time here should be spent on perfecting the email.

Write the subject line first

In complete contradiction of the first practice, starting with the subject line can be just as helpful. These best practices are interchangeable, so use what works best in each situation.

Crafting the subject line first can create a point of focus to write the rest of the email around. Chances are the subject line will need to be edited at the end anyway, so don’t worry about perfecting it on the first try.

Write for mobile devices

Dmitri Leonov, VP of email management platform SaneBox, reports that 50% of emails are read on mobile devices. An email inbox on a smartphone may only show the first 30 characters of the subject line – that’s half the characters a web browser would show.

Even if the receiver will open a web-based inbox, prioritize the first 5-6 words to make the most of both platforms.

Think from the lead’s perspective

It’s easy to fall into the trap of writing from the position of the business and not the client on the other side. While this perspective is natural for operations, sales are built around the view of the customer. Look at your own inbox and note the kind of subject lines your eye naturally skims over and which ones grab your attention.

Hone in on the most relevant information

Remember how limited the text space is? Consider the receiver’s time just as limited. If the first three words of the subject line were isolated, would they give enough information on what the email was about? Even if the first few words aren’t the hook, they should establish relevance. A hook works best in context, so don’t neglect the setup.

Things to avoid in an email subject line

Just as there are ways to write a good subject line, there are also ways to miswrite one. When crafting this key line, here is what you should avoid.

Overly generic

The easiest way to get sent to the spam folder is to open with a generic line structure. Sales emails are some of the heaviest contributors to the spam folder. People have learned to avoid clicking on them and wasting their time. Even in a sales message, a generic pitch will hurt the email conversion rate.

Too wordy

It can be tempting to inject a bit of character into the subject line, especially around account-based marketing. While the tone of the subject line is essential, making it chatty or overly friendly requires more words than the message needs.

Filter words

Speaking of too many words, avoid filler. Subject lines should be condensed to the words that make it read well and nothing more. Everything else goes into the body of the email.

Cold vs. warm leads

One of the most important things to determine is whether you’re approaching a new account or one that already knows you. A cold lead will have no prior information about the contents of the email, so the subject line needs to focus more on clarity and the initial hook.

On the other hand, a warm lead will already have some context – even if they just know the business’s name. Warm leads are the best for sales generation, so a more personalized subject line could be more helpful here.

Conclusion

There are infinite ways to write a sales email’s subject line, but some work better than others. The principles that go into writing an ABM email also apply here, so don’t neglect the fundamentals of personalized targeting. Investing the time here will ensure that it pays off down the line!

Crafting the Best Sales Email Subject Lines – Account-based marketing (ABM) is all about deliberate, personalized contact great email campaign starts with the freshest and highly targeted lists. Consider micro-targeted email that has a few lines specifically targeting your prospect, what he/she has spoken or socialized about lately; or something that has been written about them. Impact Enterprise’s highly skilled data specialists can get the data, cost effectively and efficiently. Test pilots are always FREE.

Impact Enterprises was Established in 2013 and recruits skilled talent from bright young professionals in Zambia, Africa, where 59% of graduates find themselves unemployed and without an opportunity to showcase their skills and dedication.

Impact Enterprises lead generation services include, lead validation, data enrichment, contact research, data entry & CRM hygiene; content services include content management, influencer mapping and moderation for social media; AI Data Annotation services include image labelling, language processing and geospatial analysis. For recurring projects, the company provides a dedicated team to oversee operations for each client and guarantees an exceptional standard of delivery

Crafting the Best Sales Email Subject Lines