Our firsts make the most impact. First impressions, first date, first love…
Sorry, I got carried away.
Or did I?
The first thing we see when we receive an email is the subject line, which we can think of as the front-line soldiers of B2B email marketing campaigns.
The subject line will make or break the success of your email marketing efforts.
You can craft the best email possible, if people are not opening it, it won’t have any impact.
In a few other instances, bad email subject lines can also send your emails straight to your recipients’ spam folders, or you’ll be treated with suspicion (even if you manage to land normally in their inboxes).
Even worse, you might have a super high open rate, but if your email content is deceptive vs. your email subject, you’ll have a high spam rate and people will unsubscribe to your newsletter.
Not the best signal either.
So, how you can do better than this, and improve your open rate thanks to subject lines for your B2B business?
Subject lines will set the tone for what’s to come next.
It’ll make those crucial first impressions.
How do you create the best email subject lines that make an impact, get those emails to do their job better, and get you the results you seek?
In this article, we’ll explore ways you can do this, give examples of B2B subject lines we like, and teach you how you can find best practices for your email subject lines.
Let’s dig in:
Be Specific and Use Personalization
What makes a subject line specific?
When it’s pertinent, timely, relevant, and exactly what your email recipients need.
Depending on double opt-in lead generation efforts and how you segment your customers and audiences (hopefully, you are doing these), you’ll know the following:
- First name of your customer
- Their demographics
- Their gender
- The exact stage of your overall marketing funnel your potential customer is in (Only an email subscriber? Purchased once? Repeat customer? VIP customer?)
- Sending time - which hour of the day are you sending this email?
- Sending day - which day are your sending this email?
- Sending season - which season/which close holiday is there? What are people usually are buying for right now?
- Behavioral data (number of emails opened, how they engaged with emails previously, the links they clicked on, and more) – for instance, the most popular datapoints to personalize your subject lines are:some text
- If they’re bought already from you or not
- If they opened/clicked already on one of your email or not (you might want to try more things for people who never ever opened one of your emails).
Using all of the data above, you’ll know exactly how to get specific with your campaigns.
This also goes for completely automated ones with features such as snippets, placeholders, and other advanced features that most email software providers give you.
Subject lines will set the tone for what’s to come next. It’ll make those crucial first impressions.
How To Keep Subject Lines Engaging For B2B Audiences
A B2B audience will appreciate engaging subject lines despite being a more professional audience than usual. Maybe they won’t respond to quirky emojis as much, but they are not robots.
You do not need to be boring because you’re “B2B”.
You can deliver value while being fun at the same time.
Well, even better:
You SHOULD deliver value to your audience while being fun at the same time.
Even for B2B audiences, you are still sending emails to people.
People have emotions. They might be professional and they mean business, but they are still human.
No one wants boring email subject lines regardless of their role or title.
Here are a few tips to make B2B subject lines for emails engaging (these also apply to B2C emails):
- Keep both subject lines and email body copy brief. No one wants lengthy stories.
- Even when leading with a story, make it short.
- Do use thoughtfully-chosen emojis within subject lines. Even a ❤️works.
- When appropriate, ask questions.
- Always leave a call-to-action in your emails.
- Use coupon codes and offers generously.
Best B2B Subject Line Examples
We came across some inspiring email subject lines within the B2B marketing space. Take a look:
WPMUDEV: Your Favorite Newsletters’ Favorite Newsletter
Why we like it: It’s quirky and invokes curiosity. We’d love to know what folks at WPMUDEV consider “their” favorite.
Adobe Stock: Dive Into a Dark Trend
Why we like it: We’d love to know what that dark trend is.
Loop: Want to Play Matchmaker?
Why we like it: What exactly is Loop talking about? Matchmaking? How? What?
Reply: 🚀Discover Revenue Growth Secrets -- Join B2B Growth Summit
Why we like it: If you mention how to discover a “secret”, we’ll open the email. Notice the use of emojis for B2B subject lines.
Moosend Marketing: Hauntingly Good Savings and Treats Inside!
Why we like it: Great example of seasonal email subject lines. Who doesn’t like treats? And savings?
How to Improve Email Marketing Over Time
You won’t get your email subject line mastery right away (like most good things, it takes time).
With time and smart implementation backed by data-driven learning, you’ll hit it out of the park every time.
Here are a few tips to get started.
- Start with smart lead generation like collecting first names, and using double opt-in
- Prepare to segment and personalize your email campaigns
- Keep experimenting with email subject lines, email copy, visuals within emails, calls-to-action, hooks, and angles
- It’s important to stay committed and keep sending emails. KPIs, numbers, data, open rates, click-through rates, results from email campaigns: everything else happens later.
- Some email campaigns are impromptu, seasonal, off the hook, and ad hoc. Others can be more sequential and created for specific reasons (like automations, retargeting emails, and others).
- Use the data you get (most email providers give you all the basics you need) and use it to improve over time.
- Get inspired. See what some of the best brands do (more below).
How to Find B2B Email Subject Line Inspiration
Are you looking for inspiration for email marketing subject lines?
Don’t want to spend hundreds of hours looking up the web or, God forbid, sign up for campaigns trying to see what email subject lines other brands are using?
Consider signing up with Panoramata.
Get insights on some of the best email subject lines used by brands (across industries)--and that’s just the beginning.
See the spam score for each subject line, a whole line-up of subject lines (especially for email series), and more.
Panoramata also gives you access to several other campaign types -- such as active landing pages used, websites, SEO profiles of each brand you look up, and more.
Create swipe files. Make lists of what you love. Have endless inspiration.
All these are in one platform. Try it out for free today and see for yourself!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What makes a good B2B email subject line?
A good B2B email subject line is clear, concise, and directly addresses a pain point or benefit for the recipient. It should grab attention without being overly sales-focused, often using actionable language or personalization.
2. How long should a B2B email subject line be?
Aim for subject lines between 6 to 10 words, or around 50 characters, so they are readable on both desktop and mobile. Shorter subject lines are often more effective at catching attention and avoiding cut-offs in the inbox.
3. Should I personalize B2B email subject lines?
Yes, personalizing subject lines with the recipient’s name or company can increase open rates by making the email feel more relevant. Personalization shows that your email is tailored to their specific needs, which is highly appealing in B2B communication.
