Want to know about follow-up email subject lines?

Congrats! You’re in the right place. This post is dedicated to the discussion of follow-up emails with 100 follow-up email subject lines. Now, let’s start the discussion.

A perfectly-crafted follow-up email subject line increases the odds of getting more and more opens plus positive responses in comparison with your initial cold email campaigns.

Cold email means no/minimum prior connection with your prospects that means you need to provide them with a valid reason for opening your cold emails. I hope you know the importance of subject lines in your cold emails.

But do you know its importance in follow-up emails?

Subject lines are the first deciding factor in both outreach emails and follow-up emails. Based on the email subject lines, people mostly decide which emails they should open.

Many times prospects unknowingly overlook many emails or just forget to reply. So, it’s your responsibility to design a compelling follow-up email with a catchy subject line. It shows your professionalism and dedication towards your work.

Do you know the power of follow up email?

Follow up is utmost important for every business- irrespective of their size. The competition is getting tough in each and every field. And most of the professionals are nowadays aware of the importance of following up.

But surprisingly, a lot of small businesses plus their salespeople don’t follow up enough to grab the deal. And what I feel is many people just stop trying after following up 2-3 times and having no response from the other side.

But do you know many times prospects just unknowingly overlook your email? As they are too busy professionals. So, when it’s your headache, you have no other choice but to send follow-up emails many times in some particular intervals.

When it comes to cold email campaigns, follow-up makes an integral part. You never expect a reply after launching your cold email campaigns. But, if you get that, you’re really lucky- I must say. However, preparing in advance for the follow-up emails is a wise decision.

Okay, now, you know that follow-up is very much important to get succeed in your cold email campaign.

Do you know the most significant part of a follow-up email?

It’s the “Subject Line.”
Surprised?

Why would a busy professional open your email if it doesn’t have a meaningful subject line?

Most of the people feel the urge to open a cold email after getting curious about its subject line.

Unfortunately, many people don’t know the importance of follow-up email subject lines.

Wondering how to design your follow-up email subject lines?

Don’t need to worry at all!

This post is dedicated to providing 100 follow-up email subject lines that guarantee a response from a cold prospect. But first, let’s discuss some important aspects of follow-up emails that will help you choose the most appropriate subject line.

How can you write an Insanely Successful Follow-up Email Subject Lines?

Actually, the whole process of crafting a subject – both for outreach email and follow-up email- is somewhat tricky.

Moreover, in the world of B2B business, a subject line that was successful for your friend might not work great for you. So, it’s better to follow the suggestions below that will help you craft an effective subject line, as per your requirements.

Always Include a Significant bit of Information in Your Follow-up Email Subject Line:

First, you have to include the key information in your follow-up subject lines. After all, it’s a subject line and so it should have some catchy subject to grab the attention of your prospects.

Specify the accurate reason for contacting the target prospects- it can be the marketing of your products/services, a new product launch or pitching for guest posting, or something like that. It can also for a job interview inquiry purpose.

Your follow-up email subject line shouldn’t be generic otherwise the email recipients will either mark it as ‘Spam’ or delete it in no time.

If it makes sense, use the Prospect’s Name in your follow up email Subject Line

Most of the time, you may want to use the recipient’s name in your subject line but when you don’t have it, just go for the company name instead. Alternatively, you can take help of reliable lead sources to get the name of your email recipient.

Actually, personalization matters a lot. The more personalize your subject line will be, the more advantages you’ll get.

Everyone appreciates personalization and the efforts you have done to collect those information pieces. Thus, you can leave a positive impression among your prospects.

If Possible, Ask Question (and provide its answer in your follow up email):

How could you know the pain point (s) of your prospects or the challenges they are going through?

By performing a thorough research

No one will arrange them in a platter for you.

First, make a list of your targeted prospects and then start checking their websites, blog posts or social media posts to have insights into their pain points for which you can provide a solution.

It’s very important to ask questions regarding your prospects’ business, company or industry and provide the detail solution to the same.

Don’t include any question if you are not able to provide its answer in the email- it will lower your reputation and credibility.

If your follow-up email subject line is catchy but your email body doesn’t provide any value, then it would affect your brand reputation.

Always Make a Strong Connection between Your Subject Line and Your follow up Email Message:

This rule is applicable to all emails- be it outreach or follow-up emails. But, you should especially take care of this aspect when it comes to the follow-up email subject lines.

A properly-designed subject line needs to create curiosity among recipients and the curiosity should be resolved in the email body.

Your question – raised in the subject line – should be answered properly within your email in a simple to understand way unless the respective prospect might not give you the second chance. So, be careful!

What is the main motivation to work on follow up Email Subject Lines?

Why are you working hard for your cold email marketing campaign?

To get success, right?

Now, how will you determine this success? Your first goal should be making your prospects to open your email.

And the fact is that effective subject lines receive high open rates. The reason for crafting a highly effective subject line is to motivate prospects to open your email with a positive impression.

It’s next to impossible to suggest the exact subject lines that will work for you. Actually, this is a trial and error method and you have to also personalize these lines after researching about your clients.

I’ll compile 100 follow-up email subject lines in the later segment of this post from which you can choose the most appropriate ones and personalize them.

However, some situations can compel you to use general subject lines. Suppose, you haven’t got specific information about your prospect but it’s important for your business to contact him/her. In this scenario, you can take the help of the general subject lines.

The conventional “Let’s Connect” method can work for you in some general scenarios. The follow-up email subject lines that receive high open rates are among the ones that include the prospect’s full name and their company’s name, along with the word “Introduction.”

Alternatively, you can write the prospect’s full name with the word “Introduction” and it works great as well. You can also mention both the company name and the word “Introduction.” You can also include the prospect’s name, professional skills including the phrase “trying to connect.”

For instance, ‘Sender’s name, PHP developer – trying to connect’, or “Prospect’s name, Software Engineer – trying to connect’

Compliments also work great but the condition is that they should be genuine. But, if there is something you really admire about your prospect or their products or services of their business, this tactic will give you positive results.

But, you need to be very careful because this tactic only works in case you are a genuine fan of your prospect, their services, or products.

Also, you need to genuinely craft your follow-up email from the standpoint that you like their work very much, you’re enthusiastic to connect with them, and like to provide solutions to their pain point (s).

Offering value to your prospects is also very important and it mostly applies to the pitching of joint ventures.

Suppose you run a web-design company and your prospects run a web-hosting company but if you need web-design leads, you can’t contact those people taking help for leads.

And now in the email, you should explain the number of your clients who are in search of good hosting and you like to know where and how you should send them.

Straightforward Followup Subject Lines:

Actually, writing impeccable outreach and follow-up email subject lines is an art. Mastering this skill will help you successfully reach out to your prospects and clients. Thus you can start or reshape your career. It’s obvious that as a businessman, you always look for increasing your customer base.

Simple is the best. Busy professionals don’t have sufficient time to go through and find the meaning of complicated email subject lines. So, always try to keep things simple when you’re going to craft your cold email or following-up.

Another thing is you have to be specific and straightforward with the reason- why you are reaching out to a person with your cold email or follow-up email.

Don’t include generic greetings in the subject lines, as most people don’t like this approach. Try to write your subject line within seven to eight words (including names) and jump to the key point as soon as possible.

Confusing subject lines can adversely affect your brand reputation so select your subject lines wisely.

It’s also important to be clear with your offerings and their values. Never forget that time is extremely precious in the business world. And no professional would like to waste time going through confusing and complicated subject lines.

Specify the Key Benefit of your Offerings:

Prospects are not bound to open your cold outreach emails or follow-up emails. It’s your responsibility to catch their attention and motivate them to open your emails.

And one of the best ways to do that is by including the key benefit of your products or services in your subject line. Or, at least you should point out the solution of their pain point in your email subject line- but you must include the detailed solution to their pain point in the email body.

Adding the direct benefit of your offerings would more likely catch your prospect’s attention and encourage them to open your email.

When designing your cold email campaigns, you must remember that all your prospects are only enthusiastic about what solutions are there in your email. But, they won’t find it out investing their time- it’s you who can compel them to go through your email to discover the benefits.

Now, many times we only take care of the Do’s but taking care of Don’ts is equally important. So, now, let’s check out some points that you should strictly avoid when crafting your follow-up email subject lines.

What should you avoid while writing Follow Up Email Subject Lines

Your Prospects are very busy individuals to go through each and every cold email of their inbox.
To save your cold email from being deleted or marked as ‘Spam,’ it is utmost important to write an eye-catchy and compelling subject line.

Many times, it seems that subject lines are important only in outreach emails but if your prospects don’t know you personally, they don’t bother to get back to you. So, following-up with appropriate subject lines is extremely important. But, taking a look at the Don’ts below will help you in your cold email campaign:

Strictly avoid “never-ending” Subject Lines:

A busy professional would never check a cold email with a never-ending subject line. Instead include a short, to-the-point, and informative subject line that can more effectively convey your message.

Remember, the subject line should be a teaser, not a story! Just give a hint of what’s inside the email. That’s it!
Nonetheless, most entrepreneurs nowadays check their emails on mobile devices and the usual inbox reveals approx thirty characters only- you have to keep the subject lines short around seven to eight words.

Avoid Subject Lines that don’t provide any reason to open and read your follow up email:

You already know that value-added subject lines can grab the instant attention of your prospects. So, you should always add a follow-up email subject line that will make your prospects interesting to open and read your email.

If the subject line (both in outreach and follow-up emails) is unclear, you can’t expect the success of your cold email campaign.

Never Include Misleading Subject Lines:

If you’re really serious about of making your prospects to open your cold email, don’t include any type of misleading subject lines in your cold emails and follow-up emails.

The most disappointing thing is to read an email that doesn’t even have a distant relationship with its subject line. Not getting the solution that’s specified in the subject line can negatively affect your brand reputation.

Want to know the best part?

You can easily avoid this situation- just be clear with your offerings and their benefits. That’s it!

Some Common Follow-up email Mistakes:

What is the most challenging part of your business?

Keeping up your sales to a high margin

And so it’s crucial to follow-up with your prospects. But, some common mistakes can ruin your all efforts for making the cold email campaigns a big success. To save yourself from these mistakes, remember the following points.

Not Following up Sufficiently:

The main problem in this regard is that people don’t do follow-up sufficiently. Many times busy professionals just overlook some cold emails in urgency or some professionals can simply forget to contact you due to their busy schedule.

What to do?

Just follow-up with those prospects

But, don’t send too many follow-up emails one after another, as it can annoy them.

Never follow-up if your prospect says “No”

You can start searching for other target prospects. But, until you don’t receive a definite reply, you can follow-up after regular intervals.

But, if you already have had a favorable communication with a prospect, following up is very much important until you get the next response.

Don’t send flash-based emails if they don’t have the “text only” option. As per HubSpot, 80.8% of users report that they read email on a mobile device. And many times, flash-based emails don’t load appropriately on smartphones as well as other mobile devices.

But, if you want to send a Flash-based email, don’t forget to provide your prospects with the option for viewing it as text-only. It would be best if you don’t send any Flash-based email at all.

Another mistake is sending mass, unpersonalized emails. First research about your prospect and then send them cold emails.

At least you should know their names and include it in your outreach and follow-up emails. Never include “Dear Sir or Madam,” “To whom it is important,” or such kinds of variations. And don’t forget to double-check the email address of your recipient before sending.

Moreover, cold email follow-ups are not the place to start writing about your work history. Just write short and informative follow-ups to convey your message.

And later, discuss your offerings in detail with your prospect in telephonic conversation or in a meeting. At that point, that prospect would be a potential customer for you and so he/she would be interested to know about your products/services in detail.

Another important point is, never expect your prospects to respond your cold emails and don’t just “Follow,” “Like,” or “Retweet” of their each and every update just to make sure they notice your activity.

You will be more encouraged to know that follow-up emails receive greater response rates, as compared to initial emails. According to one study, 18% response rate is received after sending the first email, 13% after the fourth email, and a 27% after sending the sixth email.

Eight Most Useful Follow-up Email Subject Lines

It’s time to discuss the most useful follow-up email subject lines that you can use as your cold email follow-up email subject lines but after proper personalization.

“Next Steps”

This follow-up email subject line is especially important after the initial meeting (through a call, email, or any other means).

It greatly works because it’s conversational, straight to the point, and short. Actually, curiosity is a built-in nature in human beings.

And most of the times, professionals can’t resist them from learning the next steps following a successful meeting.

Moreover, this trick is also a good idea to re-engage old prospects.

Yesware had already compared the “Next steps” reply rate in the form of a follow-up email subject line to that of their average reply rate. The received result was that “Next steps” can get the open rate of up to 70.5% and the reply rate of 49.6%.

“I forgot to specify…”

If you’re still waiting for a response after your first cold email, then this subject line can be an appropriate choice for you.

This line shows that you are a human being and forgot to mention something. Many times, prospects forget that there is a human on the opposite side.

It’s good to show the natural side, as it can help you create a fantastic first impression. Moreover, this line does not sound salesy but a serious professional. This line signifies that you’re susceptible to make mistakes like others.

The best pair of this statement can be some kind of informative content, provocative statement, any other thing your recipient might find helpful and valuable. You can also share some exclusive piece of content to help them to get rid of some particular pain point.

“My pleasure talking to you, [Prospect Name]”

This statement is especially useful if you have already done a conversation with your prospect and now want to stay in their good book.

This subject line reminds your prospect that he/she has already had words with you and you’re not a complete stranger.

Moreover, it shows your sincerity and dedication to your profession. A small line of gratitude will help you remain on their radar.

But, don’t forget to include your recipient’s name to make it meant for them. The more you can personalize your subject line, the more benefits you can expect from your cold email and follow-up email campaigns.

At least you should know the names of your prospects. If you get a chance to make a conversation with your prospects, try to know more about them, such as their likes, preferences, and so on.

Albeit the initial research to find out the mutual connection, possible pain points, and other vital areas do always help to catch recipients’ initial attention.

“Just tried to call you”

This statement is ideal if you think to apply an omnichannel strategy.

This subject line indicates that you have already tried to contact that person and it also shows your seriousness. Thus you can make your prospect aware that you’re not a spammer but you are a dedicated professional.

Do remember that sending 20 emails more than a two-week of duration will be regarded as spam. On the contrary, the omnichannel strategy shows that you like to make a genuine professional connection.

“Want to take a look?”

It works great if they told you to contact later.

If someone asked you to contact in future, you can include this subject line to your follow-up email. It signifies that you have already had words with them while it sounds friendly and professional.

Always try to add some new value-added information with your every outreach and follow-up email. It will encourage your prospects to open and read your email.

The statement is a better alternative to commonly used subject lines like “Touching base” or “Checking in” that actually hold zero value. These lines are known to be wasteful to the prospect’s time and simply they don’t work.

For your information, “Touching base” have been found to fail 50% of the case. You must always have a strong reason for sending follow-up emails to your prospects.

“Wednesday Meeting at 10:00”

It’s an attention-grabbing and friendly approach to follow-up with your prospect.

What is the main aim of your follow-up emails?

The main goal of your follow-up emails is fixing a meeting or call. So, it’s a great idea to throw a meeting date and time. So, if you haven’t received a response from a particular recipient, there is a good chance that you’d get a response after including this follow-up subject line.

Addition of urgency is an old school thought but it’s still significant. So, such added urgency will help you a lot catch their attention to your email.

This statement also shows your confidence and professionalism. Assuming this meeting before it’s actually fixed can catch your prospect’s attention to a great extent.

It is common to dismiss someone’s question it comes to a meeting or conversation but whenever someone just adds a date and time for a meeting or conversation, you’d most probably check your calendar. The same approach would work for your prospects as well.

“Can you help me out with this?”

This statement greatly works if you actually need your prospect’s help. By default, human beings are helpful even if they are very busy with their works. But, you have to be specific about your questions otherwise it can worsen your impression.

Actually, your follow-up email subject lines should encourage your prospects to respond. Moreover, it clearly indicates your interest about their opinion.

Moreover, this statement also shows that you are sending follow-up emails not just for the sales purpose, but for having their direction or advice.

But, be cautious! You can expect the success of your follow-up email if the request – added to the subject line – is enough sincere. You also have to research to find out where your products would be beneficial before crafting your follow-up emails.

“Getting tired of a salesperson who doesn’t give up?”

This statement with a proper follow-up email body would work great, Honesty obviously attracts but being frank touch actually touches the chord of your prospects.

This subject line can wonderfully work even after 4-5 failed touchpoints but the condition is that you have to add proper words in the email body. You can include a line like this: I promise to stop contacting if you say me ‘No.’

Just ping me if you are undergoing any of such common pain points like the following ones that people [of role, industry] typically do:

Paint point or issue 1

Paint point or issue 2

Paint point or issue 3

Now, let’s take look at the remaining 92 follow-up email subject lines. But, don’t forget to personalize after choosing the most appropriate subject line (s) for your requirement.

• [First Name], a quick question for you
• Ideas for a quick solution [a solution that addresses their pain points]
• I want your help
• Have you considered [recommendation]?
• Some thoughts about [title of their recent blog post]
• Don’t make these mistakes [related to their field]
• Here’s a quick fix for your problem [address their pain point]
• A quick question about your goal
• Who else want to fulfill business goals?
• Imagine [your goal] and follow these steps
• Don’t do these mistakes
• Never suffer from these problems
• You’re the winner
• See how it’s easy for you [desirable result]
• Get success fast
• How to get rid of the headache [some specific problem related to their field]
• Just for the confirmation
• My updated thoughts
• It was such an informative experience for me
• Avoid these minor mistakes
• Sorry to disturb you
• Don’t buy [A Product Name] before reading this
• A detailed Case Study [about a product]
• [Solved] The Most Burning Problems
• I’m Surprised
• You’re invited
• Ready to take a ride?
• The Survey result [of a campaign] is here
• Give me [short time period] to address your query
• Don’t miss such a heavy discount
• Bad news
• A warning for you
• Be cautious about these mistakes
• Big News! We’re expanding our business
• We are offering 75% discount [If applicable]
• Called you this morning
• Are you serious?
• Are you sure about your goals?
• This exclusive PDF is for you
• Help me
• The Biggest Surprise of the year
• You are about to miss out
• Your competitors are running
• [Newspaper/Media Outlet/Magazine] just recognized Us Company of The Year
• The biggest lie that you don’t know
• Revelation of the facts
• I’m here again
• How are you?
• Are you okay?
• It’s me! Your well-wisher
• Thank you so much!
• You are a genius!
• Let’s plan your success
• From your true friend
• An open note to a great professional
• Want to succeed?
• Your words were just awesome!
• Don’t miss out these opportunities
• Let’s shorten the struggle
• You’re welcome
• How about a meeting tomorrow, 1 pm?
• I’m stunned.
• A VIP invitation
• Congratulations for your grand endeavor
• A Big Celebrity Announcement
• Read this before doing any mistake
• It’s the conclusion but you’ll miss [state some value]
• A token of appreciation for you!
• BIG announcement!
• Sorry for disturbing!
• Why many people are doing this [some particular action], let’s reveal
• It’s not too late!
• You’re the genius
• Why so hurry?
• Plan your business with these tips!
• Let me help you [A pain point]
• The sooner you read the better
• A surprise is waiting for you!
• We are closing it soon!
• From a savior
• Just a small step and you’ll win
• Congrats for your victory
• We are closing in 2 days
• The last day for the biggest savings
• Great things don’t come again
• Help! Help! Help!
• May I come in?
• Sorry for the disturbance, but it’s urgent
• This is for a genius!
• My biggest professional mistakes
• It’s really wonderful
• Let’s solve your problem together

The Bottom Line

Achieving prospects via cold emails is tricky. However, following-up is its inevitable part because most of the timers, cold emails get ignored.

And when it comes to follow-up email subject line, always include short and to-the-point subject lines to your follow-up emails.

A golden chance for you!

Most of the professionals give up after just bone follow-up call while research says that it might take 5 or more follow-ups to convert a prospect.

What are you waiting for?

Just choose the appropriate subject lines, customize those lines (as per your requirements) and include in your follow-ups.