66 Cold Email Subject Lines With A 65%+ Open Rate

When you send your prospects a cold email, the first thing they see in their inbox is the subject line. This means, that you have only one chance to get their attention and leave a positive impression. If you’re having trouble nailing your cold email subject line, we’ll help you with several tips on how to write better subject lines for your cold emails, and we also included examples to give you some inspiration.

Why is the cold email subject line so important?

Sales reps oftentimes doom their cold email outreach from the very start because they focus their effort on the email body and its content while not dedicating enough time to the subject line as well.

This is a mistake as since the subject line is the first touchpoint with a potential customer, it has to get their attention, so they will open your email and see what you have to offer.

Before we get to the really interesting stuff that you’re no doubt here for, let’s try to first understand why you need to pay special attention to your subject line. In other words, to better understand the How, it is crucial to first know the Why.

The subject line of your cold email represents the first impression you can make when your recipient sees your email in their inbox. It is arguably the most important part of your email for two reasons:

Firstly, the subject line directly impacts your email open rate, which can make or break your cold email campaign. If a prospect doesn’t feel inclined to open your cold email, then your whole email campaign is at risk of failing.

The other reason is the importance of your subject line when email filters decided if your email should be sent to your prospect’s inbox or spam folder. Now you surely realize how relevant the subject line of your cold email actually is.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s focus on several tips you can use to improve your cold email subject lines and boost your email open rate.

Tips for creating engaging cold email subject lines

When you’re writing your subject lines, it is vital to pay attention to a number of key factors that can influence how well they perform. We decided to ask our sales team on what how they craft their subject lines for their own cold email campaigns. So, coming straight from our sales reps, here are some tips on how to improve the effectiveness of your cold email subject lines and increase the open rate of your outreach campaigns.

Research your target audience

As entertainers are fond of saying, know your audience. In this case, do your research and find out beforehand, what is your target audience. The ideal customer profile is your cheat sheet, which tells you who your audience is, what appeals to them and how to approach them.

Conducting proper research ensures that you’re targeting the right audience, increasing your chances of using the right wording and being able to make it more relatable.

Contact the right person

After you find your target audience, identify the person you should contact. Consult with your buyer persona to find them. In short, you’re looking for the person who can benefit from your product or service and potentially has decision-making power in their company. Someone who can see the benefit of your offer, understand the value it represents, and make a purchase decision.

Use their name

Although this type of personalization is pretty much the standard in sales outreach these days, still if it ain’t broke don’t fix it as they say. Using your prospect’s name in your email subject line is still a simple and effective way of getting their attention.

Address their pain points

This is a more direct approach. Instead of leaning into the point of impact gradually, you can go straight for the pain point and directly address a challenge they might be facing. This type of wording has a high chance of triggering an email open and a response shortly after.

Promote a unique offer

Naturally, we’re not saying to send your prospects a spamy email with a subject line: “Get 20% off of our product only today!”. Use the information you have to personalize your offer. You can use a specific event in your subject lines like their birthday, or something more in general, for example, a season event like Black Friday.

Ask a question to trigger a response

One of the most successful ways to boost your email open rate is to ask your prospect a question. Asking an open-ended question is great for provoking a response from your email recipients by getting them to open your email and respond.

Experiment and get creative with emojis

Adding a bit of a visual flair to your subject line can make your cold email stand out in the potentially dozens of outreach emails in your prospect’s inbox. Although primarily used in social engagement they’re steadily seeing more use in email outreach. Using an emoji or an emoticon in your subject line can result in an increasing open rate based on some of our cold outreach campaigns.

Cold email subject line examples

To see the above tips in action we asked our sales reps to share some of their most successful cold email subject lines. We took 66 subject lines that have at least a 65% open rate and separated them into six categories.

If you’re interested in how our sales reps draw the attention of their prospects and get them to contribute to their high cold email open rate, look no further.

Connecting with your prospect

As mentioned previously, first impressions are important. You only get one chance and one opportunity to present yourself and your product to your potential customer. Establish that connection by simply mentioning their name in the subject line or you can be even more specific by telling them why you’re contacting them, or what you offer.

• • A super fan here ✌️
  • Wanna grab a chat?
  • Checking in {{ first_name }}!
  • You got lucky, {{ first_name }}
  • The answer to your dilemmas!
  • Sneak peek for {{ first_name }}
  • Referral from {{ mutual_contact }}
  • {{ first_name }}, let’s break some ice
  • {{ first_name }}, this is a wild guess 💭
  • Proof that {{ company_name }} rocks 🚀
  • Sliding into your inbox like a pro…again ✌️
  • {{ first_name }} we have things in common.
  • {{ first_name }}, let’s talk about Sales.Rocks x {{ company_name }} 📞

Target their pain points

The subject line of your cold emails allows you to get to the main point of your email campaign, right at the start. Tell your prospects that you can solve their problems and help them overcome the challenges they are facing. Identify your prospects’ pain points and use the subject line of your cold email to get your message across.

• • To automate or not…
  • {{ first_name }}, let’s reach new markets!
  • Cloudy with a chance of more contracts ⛈️
  • Unsatisfied with your reply rate {{ first_name }}?
  • Combination of {{ your solutions value }} that fit {{ first_name }}!
  • {{ first_name }} are you ready for ((company_name)) expansion?
  • {{ first_name }}, are you missing {{ your solution to their painpoint }}? 🤔
  • {{ first_name }} make major {{ result of your soluton }} gains for {{ company_name }} 😵‍💫
  • {{ first_name }} are you looking to find the best {{ results of your product }} for {{ company_name }}?

Asking a question

If you want to turn your subject line into a question, make sure that the question you’re asking them will pique their interest. Ask them something that you need will want or need to answer. You can ask them a question related to their business goals, what challenges they’re facing, or on the topic of their day-to-day workflow and work-related activities.

• • Lost something {{ first_name }}?
  • How can I help you {{ first_name }}?
  • {{ first_name }}, coincidence or not?
  • {{ [first_name }}, have you dropped this?
  • Quick question about {{ company_name }}
  • {{ first_name }}, ready to switch the game?
  • {{ [first_name }} are we at the finish line yet?
  • {{ first_name }}, broadening your horizons in 2022?
  • Is {{ company_name }} prepared for new challenges?
  • Are you ready to {{ simple value proposition }} in the very beginning of 2022?
  • Are you ready to kick start 2022 with the best {{ your solution }} for {{ company_name }}?
  • {{ first_name }} is {{ your solution }} one of your key strategies for creating success? 🤔

Make a business proposal

Closely following up on the previous cold email subject line category, making a proposal is also a great way to engage a prospect right at the start of the relationship and at the beginning of the conversation. Give them an idea of what you’re aiming to achieve with your email outreach, so they have a better understanding of what you can offer.

• • This is a sales pitch!
  • Ocean full of opportunities 🐬
  • Don’t boil the ocean, {{ first_name }}
  • The more contacts, the more contracts 🤝
  • 360° market overview for {{ company_name }}
  • {{ first_name }}, would love your take on this…😋
  • {{ first_name }}, would love to know your answer😊
  • {{ first_name }} are you ready to boost sales in 2022?
  • New Year new beginning for {{ company_name ]] 🚀
  • Sales.Rocks a B2B solution for {{ company_name }} 🤝
  • {{ first_name }} – let’s see if this will make you smile 😄
  • {{ their company_name }} <> {{ your company name }}
  • Reach {{their company_name }}’s goals in a blink of an eye!
  • {{ first_name }}, reason for contacting {{ company_name }} 🧐
  • {{ first_name }}, are you available for a quick chat tomorrow? 📞
  • {{Your company name}} + {{ their first_name }} = Vegemite + bread 🍞

Provide them with value

Giving your prospects value by providing them with free materials and resources, is how you can quickly establish and build up a strong relationship with them. Find out what they might be in need of how you can best relay that value. Take a look at their job title to get a sense of their responsibilities what type of sales tools they might be using and what are interests are.

• • Extinguish the fire once and for all!
  • All-in-one tool for {{ company_name }}!
  • Is this valuable for {{ company_name }}?
  • {{ first_name }}, I think you’ll find this useful 💡
  • Sales tools to skyrocket {{ company_name }} 📈
  • {{ first_name }} {{ relevant topic }} report for you
  • A faster way to unlock {{ company_name }}’s success!🔑
  • How {{ comppany_name }} solved {{ company problem }}
  • {{Your value proposition – e.g. Automating the sales process}}.

Send them a tailored offer

Although the FOMO tactic is the usual bread and butter approach, when sales reps want to incentivize their prospects in making a decision quicker, there are other ways of creating a sense of urgency in your cold email subject lines.

If your email recipients feel like they can miss out on a special offer, or a good opportunity they will be more likely to take action and open your cold email. The key is to find a way to capture their interest.

• • {{ first_name }} don’t miss out on this!
  • {{ first_name }}, the change awaits ⌛
  • {{ first_name }}, I will be short this time 🕐
  • 10 minutes to solve {{ company painpoint }}
  • {{ company_name }} – the growth master of 2022 💪
  • {{ first_name }} helping you achieve your business goals 🏆
  • Transform {{ company_name }}’s sales process in 1,2,3…. 🚀

What’s the next step?

Now that you understand the true power of your cold email subject lines, what about the email intro?

One of the usual pitfalls when it comes to cold emailing is to write a great subject line and only to follow up with a standard generic sales intro template.

If you’re pretty beat from flexing your creativity muscle on crafting your email subject and you’re having trouble figuring out a good ice-breaker for the email opener, no worries though we got it covered.

Our very own AI Assistant, part of the Bulk Extractor module, uses the information found on your target company’s website to generate a personalized one-liner, and get the conversation going.

Conclusion

The first step of making sure your email campaign is successful, is getting your prospects to open your cold emails. Your email subject line plays a vital role in drawing your prospect’s attention. Of course, this is easier said than done as many sales reps are already aware.

Hopefully the tips we included above together with the cold email subject lines examples, tried and tested by our own sales reps will point you in the right direction, when you’re creating the subject lines for your next cold email campaigns.