How to Create Follow-up Email Subject Lines

It’s been said that “the fortune is in the follow-up”, and that’s especially true in email marketing. Sending a single email or trying to schedule an appointment just once is unlikely to work. Even the most eager prospects get busy, miss your email, or have other priorities. By staying consistently front-of-mind, you have a much higher chance of converting a prospect to a customer.

At Genie Automation, I am passionate about helping my clients to not only follow-up consistently, but to automate the process. And part of that process is creating follow-up email subject lines that get results.

What Are Follow-Up Emails and Why Do They Matter?

Sales is a process, not a one-time event. At most, 50% of your leads are likely to be ready to buy right away. If you don’t follow up, you’re leaving income from at least half of your leads sitting on the table. Depending on your industry, research shows that it can take 3 – 12 interactions, or “touches”, before someone is ready to buy. Follow-up emails create these interactions and are a critical part of the sales process.

The good news is that follow-up emails can be automated, scheduled to go out to non-respondents at specific intervals. When they do go out, they need great follow up email subject lines so that they get opened and give the recipient a chance to interact with you.

How to Create Effective Follow-Up Email Subject Lines

There are two parts to effective follow-up, whether it’s via email or another method. First, you want to remind the customer that you’re there and eager to help them. Secondly, you want to give a call to action that makes it very clear what the next step is, and creates an urgency to act now.

A great follow-up email subject line does both. You’ll also want to consider these tips:

• Keep it short. People are usually scanning email quickly, and you want them to be able to see the entire subject line in their inbox. Keeping it under 50 characters is a good practice.
• Ask questions. Questions activate the brain and encourage engagement. This is especially true if the question touches on a key pain point that your product or service solves.
• Include a deadline. Urgency is key to getting people to respond to emails. By having a deadline, you’ll inspire action sooner.
• Keep it personal. Using the recipient’s name in the subject line emphasizes that you know them and are reaching out to them specifically.

Examples of Great Follow-Up Email Subject Lines

Here are some examples of follow-up email subject lines that are highly likely to get opened. They all include at least one of the best practices above. But remember, the biggest key is persistence, so be sure to send several emails spaced a day or more apart, to keep yourself top-of-mind.

• Question about {goal}. Short and sweet, this should be a subject line that leads you into discussing a key goal that your product or service will help the prospect meet. It piques curiosity while also touching on a key pain point.

• Sorry I missed you! This is a great follow-up email after an attempt at reaching the prospect over the phone. You can include details about how to reach you and when you’ll call again.
• Our next steps. This indicates the email will be informative, which helps with open rates. Everyone wants to know what happens next, so it creates curiosity and urgency to open.
• X options to get started. This straightforward headline indicates the email gives information about how to purchase the product or service, which can include a free trial.
• Did you know this about {topic}? A question combined with a topic of interest will help your email get opened. You can use this to give more information about the benefits of a product or service.
• Only 24 hours left!! The “now or never” ploy is great for any time that you have a time-sensitive pricing deal. It’s often very effective!
• Should I stay or should I go? A play on song lyrics, this subject line can be sent near the end of the sequence. You can pair with a clever crafted breakup-style email to make one last attempt to induce the prospect to contact you.

As you can see, follow-up emails don’t have to be dull or have only one focus. You can educate, entertain, and sell, often at the same time. If you want to increase your sales, you must follow-up, and having great follow-up email subject lines is vital.

If you don’t have the time to keep up, I completely understand. I’d love to help you automate your follow-up sequence so that you can rest assured that your prospects will get the interactions they need while you focus on the rest of your business. Schedule a free strategy session with me today! Your bottom line will thank you.