Subject lines are always treated as an afterthought. When in reality, subject lines should be given the same level of priority as any other element of your email marketing campaign.
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Whether you are a first-time entrepreneur or a small-scale business owner, subject lines work the same for everyone. Piecing together the right words that resonate with the prospect to prompt an open is really what we’re after.
A business proposal email is a sales document that is sent to clients to gain their business. This is an important step for the growth of your organization. Business proposal emails can be sent to new, existing, or potential clients to boost revenue. A business proposal aims to show the prospect how the organization can resolve its pain points. It generally contains the why.
Why your business is the right option for resolving the problem at hand, the solution, your credibility, and pricing.
Today, we’ll explain the importance of subject lines and a variety of tips you can use to craft an impeccable subject line with great open rates.
What makes a good email subject line?
A great subject line is a mix of a variety of elements. These are the ones that will get your readers hooked to open that email right away.
Personalization
Let’s face it, no one wants to be treated like a number on an analytics report. This is exactly why implementing personalization to your subject lines will make readers feel known and seen一increasing open and engagement rates. A personalized subject line is 26% more likely to lead to an opened email.
Personalization goes beyond using the recipient’s name in your subject line. Information such as their demographics, the last blog they wrote, the name of a mutual connection, the last product they purchased, how many times they used your app, etc. can also be leveraged into building a human connection.
The key to personalizing a subject line is to include these 3 elements:
- Relevancy
- Timeliness
- Use of a real person
An average business person receives 121 emails per day, their inboxes are cluttered. Working professionals are already overworked and under-rested, with less time on their hands; thus relevance is highly important. Why should they open your email if they don’t feel it’s relevant to them? When you personalize your subject line in a way that is relevant to them, for example:
“Annie, we got your email marketing needs covered!” has a higher chance of being opened compared to “Top 5 reasons to pick our brand”.
Timeliness is equally important as you must contact your prospect at the right time of their customer journey. Once you have gathered enough data, you can easily predict the type of content that will be of relevance to them.
When people receive automated emails from bots, they automatically delete them. This is why it is important to send an email that is written by an actual person. Instead of sending the email from a common generic business email, use a real person email and picture. Think about it yourself, wouldn’t you more likely open that was from a person as opposed to a business?
Keep it short and simple
Nobody has the time for long-winded subject lines. People browse through their emails very quickly, you need to grab their attention within a few phrases. Also, long subject lines won’t be displayed if emails are being opened on their mobile devices.
The best practice is to keep your subject line short and simple, between five to seven words and under 40 characters (maximum: 9 words and 60 characters). You’d be surprised to learn that one-word subject lines sometimes do exceptionally well. A simple subject line as “TGIF” can get high engagement rates.
Use emojis along with your subject line and give it an extra oomph. A survey by OptinMonster found that adding emojis in subject lines increased the effectiveness of marketing by 70%.
Make it attractive
The whole act of browsing through your inbox all happens very fast. So how do you come up with something attractive that creates a sense of curiosity within the reader?
Using conversational language helps break the ice. Adding in funny phrases that will make your readers smile, will provoke curiosity “I wonder what this email is about?”. For example, “John, please don’t tell anyone about this!” or “We missed you today, John!”, embodies the above-mentioned elements very well.
Send an exclusive offer
This is a tip that has been around for a while, a tip you probably already knew before you even started reading this blog. Almost every sales email subject line contains some sort of offer. Especially if the festive season is approaching. I am sure you have read subject lines that contain phrases such as ‘limited time’, ‘sale’, ‘exclusive offer’, and ‘10% off!’.
Whether you operate a product or service-based business, promotional email subject lines are used by several business professionals. With advanced technology that usually detects such emails as spam, it can be tricky to craft the perfect one.
Here are a few examples of promotional subject lines for small businesses and owners that have proven to work.
“A little gift for you: $15 Gift Card”
“$15 off on all products only for today”
“Here’s a coupon for your esteemed loyalty”
“Free Service Upgrade”
“10% off your next purchase”
“Your next purchase is on us!”
You can also mention exclusive giveaways in the subject line.
Mistakes To Avoid While Writing An Email Subject Line for your Business Proposal
Never make false promises
Yes, I know you want to woo your prospects with enticing offers. But making false promises will give you a bad rep! Misleading your customers just for higher open rates doesn’t do you any favors if they’re opening the email for the sole purpose of unsubscribing.
The use of clickbaity subject lines is a classic example of doing this. Remember your main goal here is not to boost open rates but to prompt a response. The aim of email marketing is to connect with prospects and offer them a solution to their problems.
Whatever your goals may be, making false promises will create distrust between you and your prospects.
Avoid the no-reply sender name
You want to connect with your prospects and treat them like individuals. Using a no-reply sender name denotes that they can’t get in touch with you at the drop of a hat. Prospects don’t wish to be treated as mere numbers. Plus, many ISPs filter emails that have the no-reply sender name as spam. Either way, it’s a frustrating experience for the reader as they have to go through a longer channel of getting in touch with you.
Set up a dedicated email address for your email marketing campaign, and monitor it regularly. Always remember, you want to appear as approachable as possible. The more out of reach you feel to a prospect, the lower the likelihood of them being interested in your business.
Putting words in ALL CAPS
HEY THERE!
Did the little voice in your head scream that out? It did, didn’t it? That’s what using all caps subject lines sounds like, shouting at your prospects. I know you want to put forth a sense of excitement but try to minimize the use of caps lock.
Using the wrong recipient name
This is quite possibly your worst nightmare. If you are using an email outreach tool, then a slip-up like this is bound to happen. And that will most likely push your prospect away. In order to ensure this doesn’t happen, thoroughly check and proofread your email campaign before sending it out.
Writing too much
You need to capture the attention of the prospect in seconds. Remember that people are busy, so keep it concise and to the point! Moreover, a large number of individuals access their email through mobile devices thus, you need to ensure that the subject line appears in totality on their screens. Research conducted by AWeber suggests that subject lines should be 43 characters in length.
Writing a generic subject line
The aim of a subject line is one: to propel the prospect to open your email. Using generic, one-size-fits-all subject lines is a huge no-no! In fact, 33% of users opened emails because the subject line was engaging. Make it unique by using the personal data available to you. Craft subject lines that resonate with your audience and evoke curiosity and increase open and click-through rates.
So now that you’ve read the do’s and don’ts of crafting the perfect subject line; you must be wondering what the perfect email subject line looks like though? While all subject lines are objective and situation-specific, here are the 7 best email subject lines that you can use and tailor accordingly for your business proposal. Be prepared to have your open and response rate soar to new levels!
7 Best Email Subject Lines for your Business Proposal
- {First Name}, we have the perfect solution for you!
- Quick question for you {First Name}!
- Let us fix {pain point} in [X] number of days!
- Are you struggling with {mention pain point}? You’re not alone!
- Increase your revenue by 10% next month?
- OPEN ME for the secret to success!
- You’re Invited: Exclusive Invite For You Only
Conclusion
Subject lines are your organization’s first contact with prospective customers. If used correctly and tactfully they can generate profitable results and a successful email marketing campaign. It is always advisable to proofread your subject lines before sending the final email. Get the opinion of your colleagues and try out A/B split testing to stay informed on what’s working.
Don’t consider your subject line as a mere afterthought. The subject line determines whether or not your email will be opened, so it should be given equal priority as the content.
Author Bio:
Dhruv is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Saleshandy, a sales engagement platform that helps sales professionals close more deals. He is an empathetic marketer, people person, SaaS enthusiast, hustler, and growth hacker. He is passionate about identifying customer needs, measuring success and delight. He loves to write on customer-centric problem solving and growth, enabling customers and businesses to make better decisions.