Here are a few examples of awful, ineffective (yet recommended) tips coming from sales automation software providers. Some even claim to have “secret formulas.”

Yeah, I’m serious. They say that.

Catchy, compelling email subject lines will vastly increase your email open rates and engage prospects. 

No they won’t.

Catchy fails terribly in sales prospecting messages. Attempts to compel also fail. See that word “vastly” up there in that recommendation? Copywriting tip: The author says “vastly increase” rather than just “increase” why?

Because they’re:

• trying to persuade you 
• probably lying

Don’t let me catch you inserting adjectives and adverbs in your emails to prospects. It’s a sure-fire way to sound persuasive. Want to convince someone to talk? Act like you care less. This is a terrific way to strengthen your words, make them stand out.

Using plain speak is a mental trigger.

If you ever catch me using too many adjectives or adverbs let me know. It’s a terrible habit and difficult to break. 

Back to the subject…

What software vendors don’t understand is customers are numb to catchy. They see right through it. They are also becoming excellent at spotting messages that try compelling them to open.

Catchy & compelling don’t work in sales. Marketing? Maybe, if it’s original. But it rarely is and it never works in sales emails.

Effective email subject lines are direct, straight to the point and crystal clear.

Wrong again.

Cold email arrives without context. Prospects have not opted-in to receive it. The more specific your subject is about message contents (and your goal) the lower open and response rate. Think about it. From your target’s perspective, they don’t need to open when the subject indicates, “this is a cold email about a subject that 15 sellers per day email me about… to sell me.”

They delete, without hesitation. Clarity is the enemy.

Performing email subject lines are personal, directly reference the company or the prospect’s name.

While this is true in a minority of cases it is a disingenuous statement.

Dropping names in subject lines is an old marketing ploy that doesn’t work in most (not all) B2B contexts. As time progresses this tactic is trending negative. Using a database merge from your list into the subject line is, actually, a tell-tale sign of spam for humans and machines.

Prospects and spam guard tools easily find and mark these subject lines as spam. Again, not in all cases but increasingly, especially in B2B.

In many cases inspiration for sales subject lines comes from marketing. Bad idea. 

Marketing is creeping into sales emails and it’s not helping. For example, calls to action. We are told:

Good subject lines include a call to action.

It’s a shame people take this to heart. I don’t know how anyone could… yet many folks are. Please don’t do this. Calls-to-action are inherently marketing-oriented. If you want your message to get opened, and read, do not include a call to action.

Using a call to action in your subject is a tired marketing concept, not appropriate for sales.

“RE:” and “FWD:” are powerful when used appropriately.

In other words, tricking your target prospect (into believing your cold email is, actually, part of an on-going conversation) is good practice, “when used appropriately.”

I didn’t make this up. A major software provider is handing out this advice. I don’t think they mean harm but it is causing harm.

Look… is there ever a time to trick your prospect into believing your email is part of a conversation that never took place? Forgive me. But only an inexperienced marketing person could suggest this filthy tactic. 

Do yourself a favor: Don’t use this technique. I know many people who do (and are successful at starting conversations through trickery) but be careful of negative consequences. I include forming a habit of trickery in the list of consequences. Ultimately, lying and trickery will sabotage your otherwise good communications habits.

Use your precious time to start honest dialogues with prospects. Don’t insult their intelligence. 

“[first name], quick call next Tuesday?” is effective at earning opens because prospects like to see their name & appreciate yes/no emails.

Truth is, in a B2B context this stopped working for 90% of us about 5 years ago. Most B2B decision-makers receive dozens of pre-mature, cold meeting requests per day. Some receive over 100 per day. If you’d like to send the message:  “I am one of the stream of reps asking for time to sell you something” feel free to use this subject line and subscribe to this outdated logic.

Bottom line: You won’t find a superior (let alone effective) way to start conversations by copying everyone else, based on what you found on Google. Avoid turning to software vendors claiming communication expertise.  

Our community of sellers reports these trends as helping increase open and response rates.

Avoiding:

• More than 4 words (sweet spot is 2)
• Capitalizing first letter of all words
• Using words commonly found in competitors’ messages
• Being clear: the sender wants a meeting
• Burnt out subject lines (e.g. “quick question, [first name]” in most spaces is no longer working)
• Pressing on pain points or obvious issues of concern to the client
• Words relating to area of responsibility for your target
• Trickery using RE: and FW:

Making sure to:

• Use odd words or non-traditional words
• Get far out of the box in terms of “what is allowed”
• When possible, use one word 
• Create a sense of curiosity by not revealing what the message is about
• Use trigger words to create “tension” creating urge to open
• Experiment with using lower case letters throughout (including first letter)

Is this easy? Nope. Is this as easy as Googling the latest “secret formulas?” Nope. It’s an experiment. If you’re not experimenting you’re not starting conversations using email.

Where do you/your reps turn for subject line formulation, experimentation and best practices? 

Why aren’t you part of our group of insiders yet? It’s free. Start finding out what actually works with cold and follow-up email subject lines.

Or a smaller group is assembling soon—in an online workshop+immersive coaching experience. We’ll be working with students on drafting complete strategies and email messages. It’s going to be intensive!

Please don’t take subject line advice from marketers or tips from your email software company!

Who do you trust with the email writing portion of your prospecting strategy?