Email marketing is one of the effective ways to pour in significant revenues to any business if done right. Statista reports that a whopping 4.3 billion users will be using emails by 2023.

It is one of the most preferred ways of communication for consumers in hospitality, entertainment, digital, retail, and many industries.

Understanding your target audience and sending relevant emails using the best practices are the key to success in email marketing. An optimized email message can boost your open rate as well as your click-through rate significantly.

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A compelling email message consists of various elements, but subject lines play a crucial role, especially in follow-up emails. According to a survey, 62% of users open an email based on a personalized subject line, leading to a 29.3% open rate.

An effective follow-up email strategy is essential to generate good revenue for your business through email marketing. So in this guide, I will discuss a few crucial tips on improving your follow-up email subject lines.

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Practical tips for writing a follow-up email subject line

#1. Give reference to the previous email

Every day we receive numerous emails, and it is hard to remember the previous emails. So, it would help if you made an extra effort and included a reference to the last email because this allows the customer to recall your brand and immediately respond. This way of sending emails will help you stand out from the competition.

Most of the time, customers read your previous emails but forget to respond to them, especially when sending cold emails. However, adding a reference to previous emails every time will help you close the deal.

#2. Ignore conventional rules

You might have come across many do’s and don’ts on the web for email marketing. Though most of the advice you receive in those articles is good, it is okay to ignore these conventional rules sometimes and try something out of the box. It may fetch you great results for your business.

Rather than having traditional boring text in your subject lines, try to add emojis to it, despite experts saying to avoid it. They have a higher read rate. You can also try using some spam words like “free” that help increase your CTR. However, use these words only where necessary and don’t overdo them.

#3. Add some extra value

Whenever you shoot a follow-up email, remember to add extra value to your customers. Repeating the same old content or offer in your emails will not help you achieve better results.

Try adding extra helpful information for customers or offering them a more valuable discount coupon, which helps them purchase your product at a steal deal. It hits the right trigger and makes them click on your email and convert.

You can also include your product “how-to” guides and video tutorials in your emails for better customer engagement.

#4. Identify friction points

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and identify the reasons why they might not respond to your email. If you can find that, you can address the issue in your email subject line.

If the customer finds your product too expensive, offer them a discount. If they have any trust issues with your product, try to provide them with a free trial to use your product for a few days, and then decide.

If you can remove friction points through your email, you can expect a higher conversion rate.

#5. Consider things to avoid

Even though I stated to avoid conventional email methods (at least sometimes), I can also recommend you follow the old ways in some areas of email marketing.

Some top email marketing services provide you insights about your email copy before sending it to avoid it going to spam.

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You need to avoid using all caps in your email, stop using re: and fwd: do not use too many spam words and emojis. Using these kinds of elements in your subject lines will make the email look spammy to the reader.

#6. Show your real name

Did you ever feel compelled to open an email from [email protected] or [email protected]? Probably NOT!

We respond to real people and not bots. One of the quick hacks you can apply in your email subject lines is to use a real name. In every email, including follow-ups, try to use the same real name. It will help to increase open-rate and clicks.

This technique has helped companies like HubSpot increase their conversions.

#7. Show what’s inside

Never try to add a surprise element in your email. Try to state in simple words what a customer can expect inside your email. For example, if you provide a free trial, try to mention the same in your email subject line.

Like, “Here is Your Free Trial For 14 Days.”

Inside the email, explain to the customer how they can use the free trial and add a download link to your product.

#8. A threat, benefit, or logic

You can broadly classify most email subject lines into three categories: Threat, benefit, or logic. Threat creates a sense of urgency or FOMO among customers. Logic means explaining to the customer about your product/business. And, benefit means explaining the advantage to the reader.

When you shoot an email stating benefits to the user and don’t receive a proper response, try to use subject lines with a mix of threat and logic.

#9. Try, test, and repeat

It is always essential to test new subject lines and know which one works the best for you. Never be afraid of having a failed email campaign. Try new subject lines, test them, and if you succeed in those campaigns, try to repeat the same.

The more success you see with one email campaign, the easier your email marketing becomes.

For example, you can use a subject line like “Did you read this?” if you are a news agency and send curated and latest articles to your readers.

If you are an affiliate marketer, try to use an email subject line like “Need a Quick Favor” this helps them perform tasks that move to the next level in your sales funnel.

Wrapping up

Use the above follow-up email subject line hacks wisely and improve your sales. Let me know what your go-to formula for creating crazy email subject lines is!

Guest author: Ranjit is a freelance web developer and blogger at AppsTale, and he loves to share his experiences to increase sales and conversions for online businesses.