How To Write Cold Email Subject Lines - Prospecting For Business Development & B2B Sales

Summary

In this video, Patrick Dang emphasizes the critical role of subject lines in cold email campaigns, revealing that a compelling subject line is key to getting recipients to open and engage with the email. He shares four effective subject line templates: Desired Outcome, Pain Point, Reference, and Short & Curiosity-Driving. Each template is designed to resonate with the recipient's interests or challenges, increasing the likelihood of a response. Dang provides practical examples for each template and stresses the importance of aligning the subject line with the email's content to avoid misleading recipients and to foster genuine engagement.

Takeaways

• 😀 The importance of a good subject line in cold emails is paramount as it determines whether your email will be opened or ignored.
• 🔍 Early in his sales career, the speaker struggled with low response rates, which he later attributed to ineffective subject lines.
• 📈 Through experience, the speaker learned that compelling subject lines are critical for email engagement and has since developed successful strategies.
• 🎯 The speaker shares four effective subject line templates: Desired Outcome, Pain Point, Reference, and Short & Curiosity-Driving.
• 💡 The 'Desired Outcome' subject line taps into the recipient's goals, making the email relevant and enticing to open.
• 🤔 The 'Pain Point' subject line acknowledges the recipient's challenges, positioning the sender as a potential solution.
• 🏆 The 'Reference' subject line uses recent achievements or mentions of the recipient to create a connection and relevance.
• 🤏 Short subject lines like 'Hey' or 'Quick question' can pique curiosity, but the email's opening must quickly justify the recipient's time.
• ✅ The speaker emphasizes that subject lines should provide value and not deceive the recipient, to avoid damaging the sender's credibility.
• 📝 For those interested in deeper sales training, the speaker offers a free training and additional resources on crafting effective cold emails.

Q & A

Why is the subject line crucial for a cold email?

The subject line is crucial because it's the first thing that recipients see, and it determines whether they will open and read the email. Without a compelling subject line, the email may go unopened.

What was the speaker's initial challenge when starting their sales career?

The speaker initially faced the challenge of not receiving responses to the hundreds of emails they sent, which they later realized was due to ineffective subject lines.

What are the steps in a successful cold email strategy according to the speaker?

The steps include getting the recipient to open the email, read the first sentence, continue reading through to the end, and finally, respond to a call to action, typically to schedule a meeting.

What is the 'desired outcome subject line' and how does it work?

The 'desired outcome subject line' is a template where the sender empathizes with the customer's wants or needs and crafts a subject line that reflects these desires. It's designed to resonate with the recipient's goals, increasing the likelihood of the email being opened.

Can you provide an example of a 'desired outcome subject line' mentioned in the script?

An example of a 'desired outcome subject line' is 'Helping your team accomplish [Desired Outcome]', where [Desired Outcome] is replaced with the specific goal or need of the recipient.

What is the 'beat the pain subject line' and how does it differ from the 'desired outcome'?

The 'beat the pain subject line' focuses on the specific pain points of the customer, highlighting a problem and suggesting a solution. It differs from the 'desired outcome' by addressing a current issue rather than a future goal.

How does the 'reference subject line' template work in cold emailing?

The 'reference subject line' template makes use of recent events or achievements related to the recipient, such as a company award or a new hire, to build relevance and rapport. It shows that the sender is aware and appreciative of the recipient's recent successes.

What are some short and effective subject lines mentioned in the script?

Some short and effective subject lines include using the recipient's name, a question like 'Quick question', or simply 'Hey'. These are designed to pique curiosity without providing too much information upfront.

Why is it important to ensure that the first sentence of the email is compelling when using short subject lines?

When using short subject lines, the first sentence of the email must be compelling to justify the recipient's decision to open it. It should quickly convey value and explain why the recipient should continue reading, to avoid the perception of being tricked.

What is the final advice given by Patrick Dang regarding the use of subject lines in cold emails?

Patrick Dang advises to try out the provided subject line templates and to ensure that the content of the email aligns with the subject line to provide value to the recipient. He also encourages viewers to engage with the content and seek further training if interested.

Outlines

00:00

📧 The Power of Subject Lines in Cold Emails

Patrick Dang emphasizes the importance of crafting compelling subject lines for cold emails, as they are crucial for enticing recipients to open and read the email content. He shares his journey from sending hundreds of ignored emails to discovering the effectiveness of well-crafted subject lines. Patrick introduces four powerful subject line templates that can be universally applied across industries and product types. These templates are designed to resonate with the recipient's desires, address their pain points, reference recent achievements or events, and utilize curiosity-driven tactics. The video promises to deliver actionable strategies that have proven successful for Patrick and his students, aiming to significantly improve viewers' cold email open rates.

05:02

🔍 Addressing Pain Points with Email Subject Lines

This section delves into the second email subject line template, which focuses on highlighting the recipient's specific pain points. By identifying and addressing these issues, the sender demonstrates empathy and understanding, potentially offering a solution. Examples include subject lines that reference common struggles such as managing prospects on Excel sheets or dealing with complex expat tax situations. The strategy is to pique the recipient's curiosity, leading them to open the email and consider the proposed solution. Patrick advises researching a company's website to uncover pain points and to ensure that the email's body aligns with the subject line's promise of addressing those issues.

10:02

🎯 Leveraging Personalization and Recent Events in Cold Emails

Patrick introduces the third subject line template, which involves referencing specific, recent events or achievements related to the recipient's company or personal career. This approach builds rapport by acknowledging the recipient's accomplishments, such as being featured in a news article or winning an award. Examples include congratulating the recipient on making a prestigious list or enjoying their recent interview. This template capitalizes on the recipient's moment of pride and relevance, increasing the likelihood of engagement. Patrick stresses the importance of following up the subject line with a relevant and value-driven email body to maintain the recipient's interest.

🏃‍♂️ Driving Curiosity with Short and Simple Subject Lines

In the final section, Patrick presents a set of concise and straightforward subject lines designed to spark curiosity. These include using the recipient's name, posing a quick question, or mentioning both the recipient's and sender's company names. Despite their brevity, these subject lines are effective in capturing attention. Patrick cautions against creating a 'clickbait' effect, where the email's content does not live up to the subject line's promise. He insists that the email's opening sentences must quickly convey value and a clear reason for the recipient to continue reading. The video concludes with an invitation for viewers to experiment with these templates and observe the positive impact on their cold email response rates.

Keywords

💡Cold Email

A cold email is an unsolicited message sent to potential customers or clients who have not previously consented to receive communications from the sender. In the video, the theme revolves around improving the effectiveness of cold emails, particularly through crafting compelling subject lines to increase open rates. The script discusses strategies and examples of subject lines that can entice recipients to engage with the email content.

💡Subject Line

The subject line of an email is the brief text that introduces the content of the email and appears in the recipient's inbox. It is crucial for capturing the recipient's attention and prompting them to open the email. The video emphasizes the importance of subject lines in the context of cold emailing, suggesting that without a good subject line, the email content, no matter how well-crafted, may go unread.

💡Desired Outcome

In the context of the video, a 'desired outcome' refers to the goals or aspirations that a potential customer or client may have for their business or personal life. The script advises creating subject lines that reflect these outcomes to resonate with the recipient and pique their interest. For example, 'Helping your team accomplish [Desired Outcome]' is a suggested template for a subject line.

💡Pain Point

A pain point is a specific challenge or problem that a customer experiences, which they are actively seeking to resolve. The video suggests using pain points in subject lines to demonstrate empathy and understanding of the recipient's situation, potentially leading to a more engaged response. An example from the script is 'Tired of managing prospects on Excel sheet?', which directly addresses a common frustration for salespeople.

💡Call to Action (CTA)

A call to action is a prompt included in marketing or sales materials, including emails, that encourages the recipient to take a specific action, such as scheduling a meeting or making a purchase. The video outlines a step-by-step strategy for cold emails, where the CTA typically involves asking for a meeting, which is a common goal in sales outreach.

💡CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

CRM refers to the practices, strategies, and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle. In the script, CRM is mentioned as a solution to the pain point of managing prospects on an Excel sheet, highlighting the need for more efficient and organized customer data management systems.

💡Template

A template in this context is a pre-designed format or structure that can be filled in or customized for specific purposes, such as creating subject lines for cold emails. The video provides several subject line templates, which are intended to be adaptable to various industries and products, making it easier for salespeople to craft effective outreach emails.

💡Empathy

Empathy in the video is discussed as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, particularly in the context of understanding a customer's desires and pain points. It is suggested that by empathizing with prospects, salespeople can create more compelling and personalized subject lines that resonate with the recipient's needs and goals.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is a natural human tendency to seek knowledge and understanding. The video emphasizes the importance of driving curiosity in subject lines to encourage recipients to open and engage with the email. By crafting subject lines that pique interest, salespeople can increase the likelihood of recipients reading further and responding to the email.

💡Vagueness

Vagueness in subject lines is a deliberate strategy discussed in the video to create intrigue and prompt recipients to open the email to learn more. While the script warns against clickbait tactics that deceive recipients, it suggests that certain short and vague subject lines, when paired with a strong initial sentence, can effectively drive open rates.

Highlights

The importance of a good subject line in cold emails for getting recipients to open and read the message.

Personal experience of initially low response rates due to ineffective subject lines.

The realization that a good subject line is critical but often overlooked in sales.

The process of discovering effective subject lines through extensive email sending.

Introduction of the video's purpose: to share proven subject lines that yield results.

The necessity of the recipient opening the email as the first step in the cold email strategy.

The sequential steps in the cold email strategy: open, read the first sentence, continue reading, and respond to a call to action.

The role of the subject line in prompting the recipient to open the email.

Four powerful subject line templates that can be used across industries and for various products or services.

The first template: the desired outcome subject line, which aligns with the customer's goals.

Examples of desired outcome subject lines, such as 'Helping your team accomplish [Desired Outcome].'

The second template: the pain subject line, which addresses a specific pain point of the customer.

Examples of pain subject lines, like 'Tired of managing prospects on Excel sheet?'

The third template: the reference subject line, which references a recent event or achievement related to the recipient.

Examples of reference subject lines, such as 'Congrats on making the Inc. 100 list.'

The fourth template: short and vague subject lines that drive curiosity, like using just the recipient's name.

The importance of following up a short subject line with a compelling first sentence.

Encouragement to experiment with these subject lines and observe the increase in response rates.

Offer of a free training for more in-depth knowledge on selling and cold emailing strategies.

Availability of additional resources, such as a video on cold email templates, for further learning.

Closing remarks with well wishes for success in cold emailing and a prompt for the next video.

Transcripts

- You can spend countless hours

writing the perfect cold email,

but if you don't know how to write a good subject line

to get people, to actually open it and read your email,

nobody's gonna take a meeting with you.

I know when I first started my sales career,

I would send hundreds of emails and nobody would respond.

And I really couldn't figure out why.

But over time, after sending more and more emails,

I realized that it was because of my subject line.

You see, if you don't have a good subject line,

no one is gonna read your emails.

And that's why it's critical.

But a lot of times overlooked by a lot of salespeople.

Now, after sending thousands of thousands of emails

during my sales career,

I figured out some of the best subject lines that you can

use to start getting results.

So in this video, I'm going to show you

some of my best subject lines that have worked

for me have worked for thousands of my students

that I've trained.

And I'm confident they're gonna work for you.

(upbeat music)

What's going on everybody.

It's Patrick Dang here.

Make sure you get this video a like,

subscribe and turn on notifications.

If you want to see more videos like this.

So with that said, let's go ahead and dive in.

Now, before I go ahead and give you

some of my best cold email subject lines

that you can start using right away,

you first need a better understanding

of the cold email strategy.

So when it comes to the cold email strategy,

step number one is you want to get the person

to actually open your email, right?

Because if they don't open it,

then they're not gonna read your email.

It doesn't matter what's inside.

Step number two, get them to read the first sentence.

Step number three, they're gonna read the second sentence,

third sentence, and then the entire email.

And at the end, you're gonna have

some type of call to action.

Usually it's to ask for a meeting

and then you schedule your meeting using a cold email.

So why the subject line is going to be so important is

because, well, the subject line is used to get the person

to actually open the email, right?

If they don't open the email,

then everything else doesn't matter.

So that's why I'm gonna show you

some of the best subject lines right now.

So what we're gonna do is I'm gonna walk you

through four different, powerful subject line templates

you can use for your business right now.

It doesn't matter what industry you work in.

T doesn't matter what product or service you are selling.

This is gonna work for you. All right.

So the first email subject line template we're gonna use

is the desired outcome subject line.

And essentially what you wanna do is you want to imagine

or empathize with your customer and think about, okay,

what exactly do they want in their business

or in their life, and how can we take those desires

and put them into a subject line, okay?

So let me go ahead and give you some examples.

Example number one.

A subject line can be Helping your team accomplish

[Desired Outcome], right?

Whatever it is, whether it's to develop an app,

generate more sales, get more customers, you know,

whatever the case is, what is the desired outcome?

And just put it into there. So, right.

Helping your team accomplish [Desired Outcome].

Another example, this is another specific example, right?

It could be something like Fill Your Webinar Funnel

with YouTube Ads.

So this would be for people who use webinars

and I use webinars myself, and, you know,

a lot of times we need more people to come into our webinars

and watch it.

And we might use different sources of traffic, right?

So if you're messaging someone and you have an agency

that does Facebook ads, you message to someone and you say,

hey, do you need me to fill your webinar funnel

with Facebook ads?

And so that's a catchy subject line

that if you're sending it to the right person,

they're gonna open it because they're curious,

and it's their desired outcome that they want

in their particular business.

Another example for you is Looking

to increase your sales team's closing ratio?

Okay, so this is another desired outcome.

You might be messaging a, you know,

sales director or a VP of sales,

and maybe they need to get their sales up

and bring the morale up for their sales team.

And you might message them,

hey, you know, we may have a solution

for that, if looking to increase your sales team's

closing ratio and, you know, help them close more deals.

And that might be something that people will open.

One more example would be Turn your raving fans

into brand ambassadors, right?

And I'm working with a client who is selling SAS software

for brand ambassadors,

for companies to manage their brand ambassadors.

And, you know, that's the subject line

that he can use to start reaching out

to potential customers because if he's selling a software

that helps does this,

and it's the desired outcome people want,

then the people who read this are gonna be interested

because it's already what they want.

So you have to, to make the strategy work.

You really have to empathize with your prospect

and really think about what they want,

what their desired outcome is

and what their current objectives are in their businesses.

And if you can align yourself to those desired outcomes,

your open rate is gonna be crazy because they feel like,

wow, this guy really understands me.

Now we're gonna move into the second email template

you can use.

And that's going to beat the pain subject line.

This one, we're going to focus on a customers

or prospects specific pain point

by pointing out their pains.

We're showing that,

hey, we understand who they are, what they're going through.

And potentially we might have a solution for them.

And that would mean that if they want to move forward,

then they can take a meeting with you.

So essentially this is the template

or format you want to use.

All you gotta do is bring up the pain.

For example, Having trouble,

and then you insert your specific problem or specific pain.

So it could be something like, hey,

Tired of managing prospects on Excel sheet?

So that would be an example where if you're selling

a CRM, customer relationship management system,

how a lot of salespeople, when they reach out to people,

they might keep track of everybody on an Excel sheet.

Well, there's technology for that.

So if somebody was selling that and they sent a subject line

like this, Tired of managing prospects on Excel sheet,

that drives curiosity

because you understand the person's problem.

And then they're gonna take your meeting, right?

Another example, Expat taxes are confusing...need help?

Right?

So if someone lives abroad and they have to do tax

and they don't know what to do

'cause they live over here,

but they have to do taxes here, an accountant

may message them and say, hey, expat taxes are confusing,

you need help.

And they're gonna open it because they might need help

during tax season.

Another example of pain subject line,

Need a better way to manage brand ambassadors, right?

So again, it's just driving pain of like,

what pains do people have?

What do they probably struggling with?

And you can do a little research on a company's website

to see where they are at in their business.

And then you just want to talk about that pain

in the subject line.

And then the email, the actual email that you're writing,

you just want to that pain and show that you solve it.

All right, so now we're going to move

into the third email template

and that is gonna be the reference subject line.

And this is where you're referencing something specific.

Like maybe the company was featured in a news article

or maybe they won an award,

or maybe someone just got hired at the company

and you want to build a relationship with them.

This is the format you wanna use

to start building that relationship.

So it can be something like Congrats on making

the Inc. 100 list.

And then you put the company name, right.

Or Congrats on the new role at company.

So another one would be enjoyed you're interview on,

and then insert podcast, right?

So let's say the founder of a company you want to work with,

he was on the podcast,

you listened to it and you want to work with that person.

So you can say, hey,

enjoyed your interview on this podcast

just want to connect about XYZ.

So the reference subject line is very powerful

because it's very relevant in that moment for that person,

because maybe they just did something,

won an award or made it on whatever list.

And they feel proud about themselves.

Like, yeah, man, I did it.

I worked really hard to get to a certain point.

So when you bring this up,

people are a lot more likely to read what you have to say,

because they're like, oh,

who's this person who's messaging me, right?

And a lot of times, you know,

when people do things to be on interviews, podcasts,

or they're trying to join certain lists,

they do it to get more publicity and to get more people

to reach out to them for something, right?

So there are a lot more keen to read emails that references,

even if it's the sales email,

because they did the publicity for a reason,

and now they're getting the publicity that they wanted.

So now we're gonna go into the final cold email template

subject lines that you can use.

And these are gonna be a few quick,

short subject lines that are super effective.

I know they're short and they might be vague

when you first read them.

But trust me, they really do work.

So the first one is you just put the person's name in there.

So like John, hoping to help you out.

It's not really specifically saying

what you're gonna help them out with,

but it drives curiosity so that they're going to open it

and read the first sentence to see if they should hear

what you have to say.

Second one Appropriate person, like you say,

appropriate person, first sentence, hey,

I'm looking for the person who handles marketing.

And if that's you let me know if you want to talk.

And that actually works very well.

Quick question is another one.

Again, these are vague, but at the same time they drive

a lot of curiosity, right?

So when you do use these short subject lines,

like I'm sharing with you make sure

that whatever your first sentence is,

it has to be really good and tight and make it clear

why the person should continue reading on.

Another one I've seen that works really well

is you put the prospect's company name.

So let's say it's Salesforce.

And then you put your company name, you know,

like GG Media and you just put the little symbols

over there and then it just drives curiosity, right?

'Cause it looks like, you know,

like you're supposed to have a meeting or something, right?

And one last one is just putting Hey, right?

So this one, surprisingly, it actually does work.

Even though it's so vague you just put, Hey,

and then in your first sentence, explain why you want to,

you know, have a conversation.

So when you're using these short subject lines

and a really important lesson is that you don't want

to feel like you're tricking somebody

into reading your email.

'Cause that's the worst thing you can do, right?

So like clickbait someone, they open it.

They're like, oh, this is a complete waste of time.

I hate this person, right?

That's exactly what you do not want to do.

When you use these short subject lines,

yes, it gets people to open.

But at the same time, your first one or two sentences

have to be extremely tight in.

And what I mean by that is it has to really drive value

and explain why someone should continue to read on

and explain what value you're trying to provide

for that specific person.

But pretty much do these subject lines work?

Absolutely, try it out for yourself.

And you'll see your response rates go up.

Now, those are gonna be the four different

subject line templates that you can use right away

in your business.

It doesn't matter what you're selling.

I gave you a few examples and all you gotta do

is plug and play, and start using them right away.

So if you enjoy this video,

make sure to give it a like, subscribe,

turn on notifications,

if you want to see more videos like this.

And let me know in the comments,

which subject line you found most useful or relevant

for your business right now,

I'm curious to know what you guys think about this video.

And do you want a more in depth training on selling

and how to sell anything to anyone?

I got a free training,

click the link in description for that.

And if you want to learn more about cold email and you know,

now that you understand subject lines and you want to know

what to actually write in your cold emails,

I got a perfect video on my best cold email templates.

And I'm going to show you exactly what you can write

in the body.

Go ahead and click the link somewhere on the screen

or in the description and check out that video.

So with that said, my name is Patrick Dang.

I wish you the best of luck when it comes to sending out

your cold emails.

And I'm gonna see you guys in the next one.