Why No One Opens Your Emails and How to Change That
Have you ever been puzzled by the chilly reception of your cold emails? Contrary to what you might think, obtaining impressive response rates from cold emails isn't unattainable or a product of some mystical art. By honing in on a single, often neglected, element of your cold email, you can magnify your response rates beyond your imagination.
The Power of Subject Lines & How to Conquer Them
The role of the subject line in a cold email is paramount, and it is far from being a trivial detail. It's not uncommon for individuals to dismiss subject lines as minor components of their email strategy. Unfortunately, this mindset results in subpar emails that seldom elicit responses.If you aspire to extract maximum value from your cold email efforts, dedicating 80% of your focus on the subject line is a solid rule of thumb.Why does this matter?If you're battling dishearteningly low response rates, chances are your emails aren't even being opened, owing to lackluster subject lines. With unopened emails, you're battling against a zero-probability scenario of garnering responses.
Crafting High-Response Subject Lines
The creation of captivating subject lines requires diligent effort and a solid chunk of your time. In my practice, I often brainstorm an array of 20-100 potential subject lines when planning my cold emails. Admittedly, some are more potent than others.The goal here is not to strive for perfection, but rather to transform your ideas into written form. Dedicate around 5 to 10 minutes before writing your cold emails to conjure a list of subject lines. Post this exercise, you can revisit them, spotlighting the most striking ones. By choosing 3-5 outstanding subject lines, you can construct a series of compelling cold emails simultaneously. Occasionally, these subject lines can also find a place in the body of your emails.
Your subject lines should encapsulate these elements:
Brevity: Adopt a straightforward and concise approach. Aim for a word count of 6 or less.Personal Touch: Utilize custom inserts to incorporate the name of the company or recipient into the subject line with brackets. The format might resemble <<First_Name>> or [First Name], depending on your script.Value Proposition: Give your recipient a compelling reason to invest their time in opening and reading an email from an unknown sender. Successful subject lines are grounded in an understanding of the recipient and their priorities. Identify their challenges and value drivers. Your goal isn't to woo them with the subject line, but to incite an urge to explore your email further.Intrigue: Spark their curiosity but maintain a shroud of mystery to keep them wanting more. An enticing or atypical subject line will spur your reader to unravel the email in pursuit of answers.
Example High-Response Subject Lines
Here are some subject lines that have secured response rates exceeding 25%:
- <<First Name>>, what sets <<Company>>’s product apart?
- Increase <<Company>>'s clientele in 15 minutes
- An important update on <<Company>>’s website
- Who should I connect with? / Could you introduce me?
- Identified a discrepancy with <<Company Name>>
- Introducing: <<My Name>>/<<First Name>>
What makes these subjects stand out?They all incorporate the previously discussed components. Most are personalized using custom inserts, except for #4, which relies on intrigue and mimics typical emails the recipient encounters. Subjects #2, #3, #5, and #6 all dangle a clear value proposition; some more mysterious than others.
Struggling With Responses? Track Your Cold Emails
Are you convinced your subject lines are compelling, but still coming up short on responses?This is precisely where cold email tracking becomes instrumental. With modern marketing automation systems, such as Marketo or Pardot and sales engagement platforms such as Groove or Outreach, there are advanced email tracking tools are built right into these platforms and you can monitor the number of your emails being opened. If you're not currently utilizing tracking software, it's time to start.Tracking email opens enables you to gauge the efficacy of your subject lines and do A/B tests.High open rates coupled with low conversions (responses or clicking links) indicate a need for improvement in the body of your email. Conversely, low opens suggest your subject line needs tweaking.
The Critical Role of Timing in Email Response Rates
You've mastered the art of crafting captivating email subjects, yet your cold emails continue to be met with silence. What's next?Assuming your emails are not being filtered into spam (which you can verify by sending test emails to your personal or colleagues' accounts), your timing may be off. Certain times of the day and specific days of the week are more favorable for sending cold emails.Optimal delivery times are when your recipients are most likely to be checking their inbox and receiving fewer competing emails. Based on our internal analysis, Saturdays, Sundays, and Thursdays tend to be prime days for outbound emails. Interestingly, Saturday evenings have consistently yielded some of our highest success rates.
The Advantage of Saturday Evening Cold Emails
Why do we gravitate towards Saturday evening? There are several plausible explanations. Our targets often include startup founders, who are more likely to sift through their emails during this time, unburdened by weekday pressures and commitments. Moreover, Saturday evening emails might signal that the sender is equally hardworking.Note: Cold emails don't necessarily need to be manually sent on Saturday evening. Email scheduling tools and scripts enable you to plan your mail merges for various times.Each audience is unique, and testing different delivery times is key to optimizing your results.Every successful email campaigns needs custom enriched data to be able to maintain database accuracy for high open rates. Let LeadGenius introduce to a whole new depth of data accuracy through their proprietary data enrichment process. Get Demo
