20 Sales Email Subject Lines + 10 Tips to Write Your Own

How many emails do people open a day? Definitely not all of them. That’s because 50% of all emails are spam. That makes it hard to notice, or care about, the emails that are coming from your frontline sales reps. 

Sellers spend an average of 13 hours a week writing emails just to get the attention of their prospects. This takes them away from what they want to do, sell. To get through the clutter, reps need to perfect the first thing that any email recipient sees – the subject line. 

We’ve compiled 20 sales email subject lines for you to try out, plus offer guidance on how to create your own subject lines. 

Why do subject lines matter? 

Email is one of the most popular forms of communication. 333.2B emails are projected to be sent and received in 2022, and for a good reason. A survey by Litmus shows that email is the number one marketing channel for effectiveness. We know where to reach new customers, but sales reps still have to compete against an onslaught of newsletters, brand promotions, and spam on a daily basis. 

The words you choose for your subject line matter because prospects take only a few seconds to decide whether to click on an email or not. This is your big chance to peak interest from your email recipient and get them to say, “tell me more.”

To make the most out of the time that your sellers spend writing emails and prospecting, follow these best practices for creating sales email subject lines. 

Best practices for effective subject lines

Your subject line is only a few words in the larger email, but those words are some of the most important. Here are our best practices to ensure that you’re sending the best subject lines. 

Clean up your leads

Before you start any prospecting, make sure that you are working from an up to date list of leads. Not only do you want to ensure that you have the right prospect, job title, and contact details, you’ll also need to make sure that you’re targeting your ideal customer. If your business does well with enterprise companies, don’t spend too much time emailing with SMBs.  

Keep your subject lines short

A subject line that is a full sentence will likely land in the spam folder by your recipient’s email filter. Avoid this fate and make it more compelling by using just a few words. An example is: “IT security at [prospect company.]”

Personalize your subject line

One of the easiest ways to personalize an email is to use the prospect’s first name. Try: “[prospect’s first name] x [your company name].” You can also use their role or company. You want them to know that you intentionally sent them your email. 

Keep things casual

When a prospect sees an email with an overly formal subject line, they might dismiss it as a mass email. So instead of using: “Top companies in your industry see a 300% ROI”, you can instead try “Can I make your job easier?”

Consider using keywords related to your company

If your company sells marketing automation software, use the keywords that draw your inbound leads to your website. For example: “[Prospect company] and automated emails.” Your prospects will search based on what they need so bring those keywords to them. 

Test your subject lines

The best way to know which subject lines are the most effective is to conduct a split test. Try sending out two versions of the same email to two batches of leads, but with different subject lines. Don’t change anything else in the email, otherwise you won’t know what variation triggered a response. 

Don’t get stuck on one subject line for too long

Sales prospecting changes fast. What worked well two years ago, or even one year ago, might not be effective today. Around six years ago, business development reps were sending an email with a subject line that said: “Are you okay?” when you didn’t respond to their emails, followed by a list of reasons you are unable to respond, like being “abducted by aliens.” That got old fast. 

Mix it up

Writing a winning email is important. But to get a human connection, sprinkle in other communication styles like phone calls or responding to your prospect’s LinkedIn or Twitter posts. The next time you send an email, your prospect will recognize you. 

Connect your subject line to a value proposition

If your subject line is compelling, your reader will want to learn more. That’s why your subject line should always be connected to your value proposition. If your subject line says: “quick question” and your question in the email body is “do you have time for a call?” that’s not adding any value. Instead, ask a question about challenges they may be facing – and that your company can solve.

Speak to your target audience

When you’re pursuing a company, you’ll need to tailor your subject line to each person’s role at the organization. What you might say to a VP of Sales in your subject line will be different from what you’d say to a sales manager. 

20 subject lines to try on for size 

We’ve rounded up twenty sales email subject lines to get you started. Each of the examples are short, relevant, and personalized to your prospect and their company. 

1. [Prospect’s first name], quick question
2. [Prospect’s first name] + [your first name]
3. [Prospect’s first name] and [your company name]
4. [Prospect’s first name], your thoughts?
5. Question about marketing automation
6. Is now not a good time? 
7. Improving your email response rate
8. [Mutual connection] said I should get in touch
9. Helped [mutual connection] improve email ROI
10. Question about email response rates
11. Email conversion at [company name]
12. 5X email opens at [company name]
13. Your LinkedIn post about automation 
14. [company name] yearly target
15. Congrats on Series B!
16. [prospect name], email growth?
17. [mutual connection] suggested I connect
18. See you at [industry conference]
19. Goals around email automation?
20. We’re [University/college] alums! 

Make every email subject line your own 

Writing the perfect email subject line is as much an art as it is a science. Not every line will work for every prospect. Now that you’ve created a list of subject lines that you want to try out in your prospecting efforts, find out more about building the rest of your email copy by reading our blog post on the 4 components of an effective email structure.