From Inbox to Interaction: 15 Captivating Follow-Up Email Subject Lines

Are your follow-up emails falling flat, lost among a sea of unopened messages? It's time to break through the noise and capture your recipients' attention from the very start. 

The subject line of your email is the gateway to engagement, the first impression that determines whether your message gets opened or gets buried. 

In this blog, we present to you 15 captivating follow-up email subject lines that will make your recipients pause, click, and eagerly delve into the contents of your message. 

Get ready to unlock the secrets of effective follow-up communication and skyrocket your response rates with these intriguing subject lines. Prepare to captivate, compel, and conquer the inbox!

What are follow-up emails?

Most marketers forget that follow-up emails are different from cold emails - there’s a specific purpose to sending them, and the goal is to ensure the customer receives the message you’re sending across. 

Follow-up emails are the second or third line of communication sent to recipients who have previously contacted you. Some common reasons to send a follow-up include:

• requesting the recipient for some information
   
• garnering a response
   
• getting the recipient to take a specific action such as browsing your products and making a purchase

SUGGESTED READING: TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE A FOLLOW-UP EMAIL

How important are follow-up email subject lines?

Sending a follow-up email to a recipient often shows them you care enough to continue the conversation. It is a great way to depict your sincerity in requesting information or a response.

But in a world where the delete button gets pressed faster than lightning, how can you make sure that the recipient opens your follow-up email?

The answer is simple - by ensuring a well-crafted subject line.

A follow-up email subject line is the first thing that a reader notices about an email, so crafting it well is extremely crucial. Typically, marketers and companies personalize subject lines by using a variety of tactics to ensure that the follow-up email catches the recipient’s attention.

Follow-up email subject lines: Best practices

By now, it is apparent that subject lines can make or break the deal when it comes to a recipient opening up your email. 

A good subject line can help your e-mail stand out amongst the sea of emails in people’s inboxes. It acts as a great motivator to get the intended recipient to open the mail and engage with your business. This is especially true in the case of follow-up emails. A little more work needs to be put into them as these emails are often sent to those readers who have not paid attention the first time around.

Here are some practices you can follow while drafting follow-up email subject lines:

1. Keep it personal

Did you know that follow-up email subject lines can be personalized for the intended recipient? Instead of sounding like a generic email sent to thousands of users, your email can have the recipient’s name and other details. This helps grab their attention much faster.  

2. Keep it crisp

According to Walker Sands, subject lines that have less than 50 characters have a 12% chance of a higher open rate and a 75% chance of a higher click-through rate when compared to emails that have longer subject lines. So, focus on keeping the subject lines short and crisp.

3. Keep it interesting

Piquing your customer’s interest is something every subject line should do - after all, why would someone open an email if the opening isn’t too interesting? Unique subject lines help capture the audience's attention and motivate users to open emails.

4. Keep it valuable

Customers often open emails that promise them value. Hence, the follow-up email subject line needs to be so impactful that a customer feels convinced enough that it will offer them some value.

5. Keep it trustworthy

When it comes to establishing a business or a brand, it is crucial to forge a relationship based on trust with your customers. Since customers value engaging more with trustworthy entities, you must ensure that your subject line is aligned with the information offered in the email.

6. Keep it Clean

If you’re looking to build a good reputation in the market, ensure that your email subject line is free from grammatical errors and punctuation. Remember, this can be a huge turn-off to most people, and they may even associate your brand with spam in one look.

SUGGESTED READING: WHAT INGREDIENTS MAKE A GREAT OUTBOUND EMAIL?

7. Don’t Forget to Test your Subject Lines

Did you know that 90% of marketers don’t just send out their email with a subject line - they test it first?

That’s right. To ensure that a subject line works in the manner you intend it to, you need to test it out first. The old-school way to do that is to get feedback from a colleague, team member, or a friend. Alternatively, you can use subject line testers online or run campaigns with A/B testing.

When testing out a subject line, make sure you’ve gone through the grammar, spelling, and removed any unnecessary words.

15 Great follow-up email subject lines

Here’s a list of 15 well-crafted follow-up email subject lines, and reasons why these may work for you:

Subject Line #1: Hey Max, Wednesday meeting at 4 pm

Why it works: Such a follow-up email subject line is personalized and creates a sense of urgency, grabbing their attention and urging the reader to act promptly.

Subject Line #2: Great talking to you today, I wanted to share something else...

Why it works: A brief and to-the-point follow-up email subject line that thanks them for their time. The next part piques their interest by sharing some more information.

Subject Line #3: We heard you, and we want to talk.

Why it works: The human touch makes the email more personalized and incentivizes the reader to open it. Here, the subject line makes it apparent that the email is regarding following up on the engagement that the reader had initiated.

Subject Line #4: Regina, unlock this festive deal now!

Why it works: This creates a sense of urgency and uses an interesting pun to depict an ongoing festival/holiday.

Subject Line #5: Jim, what would it take you to switch to <your product name>?

Why it works: This subject line is simple yet effective as it becomes a conversation starter. As it is to the point it will come across as genuine and urge the reader to reply.

Subject Line #6: You’re not alone

Why it works: Such a follow-up email line offers a hook to the customer, enough to pique their interest in the probable subject of the email.

Subject Line #7: Here’s a story for you…

Why it works: This unique subject line offers customers value and gives them something interesting to think about.

Subject Line #8: Claim your product discount coupon today!

Why it works: Customers love freebies. Telling your customers about that in your email subject can exponentially increase the chances of the recipient opening your email.

Subject Line #9: Here are some benefits you can avail

Why it works: This gives the customer a peek into something they may be missing out on and intrigues them to open the email to find out the benefits.

Subject Line #10: Max, are we still on for 12?

Why it works: A strong subject line like this reinforces a message/meeting with the intended customer. It can also be used by e-commerce companies or brands that may be going live with a sale or a seminar.

Subject Line #11: Here’s how ABC closed more than X no. of deals in 1-month

Why it works: Such follow-up email subject lines offer the customer some value and lead them to think they can grow too.

Subject Line #12: We’re going live in 3 hours!

Why it works: This subject line creates a sense of urgency and reminds the user to be on time often works well.

Subject Line #13: How happy are you with the <current software>?

Why it works: Direct questions make customers think about the product or the item in question.

Subject Line #14: We missed you. Here’s a free trial to make your Wednesday better  

Why it works: Such a subject line tells the user that the brand wants to be in touch with them and cares about them enough to offer them value to return.

Subject Line #‍15: Having FOMO? You don’t want to miss this!

Why it works: Such a subject line creates a sense of urgency and makes the user want to open the email as soon as possible in fear of missing out on something.

Send High-performing Follow-up Emails With Outplay

While there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing follow-up email subject lines, it’s crucial to keep some best practices handy. It is easy to write subject lines the first time around, but it is highly critical to draft a good follow-up email subject line. Good subject lines often get passed, but great subject lines can motivate the reader to open the email.

Remember, the subject line is as important (if not more!) as the email itself. After all, if the prompt is not good enough, a user may not even consider opening the e-mail! So, the next time you’re sending out an email, keep these best practices in mind to draft high-performing follow-up email subject lines that will help keep your users engaged.

With Outplay you can send high-performing sales emails to your prospects. You can also create email campaigns, automate sequences, get insights, and set triggers to follow up. Curious to know how it works? Sign up for a free demo today.