5 Surprising Cold Emails Subject Line Tips to Increase Open Rate by 93%

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1. Keep it under five words.

This is so simple, but the data shows that as cold emails subject lines get longer and longer, open rates go lower and lower. That doesn't mean you have to write one-word cold emails subject lines, but you should keep them under five words.

2. Avoid salesy language.

When writing cold emails subject lines, put yourself in your prospects’ shoes. They receive a flood of sales emails every day. What does sales language look like from their perspective? Phrases like, “Hey, can you chat?” are so salesy that they sound like, “Hey, can I take value from you?”
                               
3. Watch out for SPAM filter words.

This was a big area of improvement for our business. We’re in a space where we naturally use words like “sales” and “opportunity pipeline” — but in the context of cold emails subject lines, these words come across as spammy.
                               
4. Reference a common contact.

Referencing a common contact in your cold emails subject line doesn’t have to be about referencing a person — it could also be a company, a school, or some other common connection. If you have some kind of commonality shared with your prospect, reference it right in the subject line.  Your open rate is going to be way higher as a result.
                               
5. A/B split test subjects.

An A/B split test is where you use two different subject lines to test which one has the best open rate. There are now lots of programs and plugins such as Yesware that you can use to understand the open rates of the different emails you send. The key is to split test one subject line versus another.
                               
Bonus Tip #1: Send at 7AM or 8PM.

This is a little outside of what salespeople often do, which is exactly why it’s so effective. Most salespeople are sending cold emails between 9AM and 11AM or 1PM and 4PM. As a result, inbox competition is at its highest during those times.
                               
Bonus Tip #2: Test your email deliverability.

This is pretty technical, but stick with me. There are ways to test the deliverability of your emails to make sure that they're likely to get through to your prospects. MailTester.com is one example. If you send MailTester a test email, it will tell you if there are any issues with the deliverability of that email.
                               
Bonus Tip #3: There are no long-term rules.

This is key. Whatever is hot and trendy in cold emails subject lines at the moment is likely to be history a couple of months or a year from now. So you've got to constantly be testing new approaches, trying different ideas, and consistently split testing your cold emails subject lines to measure open rates.

So there you have it. Now you know 5 surprising cold emails subject line tips to increase open rate by 93%. I want to hear from you. Which of these ideas did you find most useful? Be sure to share below in the comments section to get involved in the conversation.