Follow-up emails can help you maintain relationships, move conversations forward, and boost your sales process.
But, crafting a compelling email is only half the battle. An equally convincing subject line can further improve the effectiveness of your message, considering that it determines if the email will be opened in the first place.
So, in this post, we’ll share top-performing follow-up email subject line examples and why they’ll work for you.
Before that…
Why is it important to craft effective follow-up email subject lines?
It’s important to craft effective follow-up email subject lines because they ensure your emails are opened, read, and acted upon.
Email marketing stats reveal that 47% of email recipients decide to open an email based on the subject line, and 69% report email as spam solely based on the subject line. This proves that subject lines can improve or hinder your email open and click-through rates.
The stats aren’t surprising. After all, effective subject lines help to communicate the purpose and importance of your email. If you craft an effective subject line, recipients will understand why they need to prioritize your message. That’s a big thing, especially when you’re competing against hundreds of other emails in their inbox.
Best practices for creating follow-up email subject lines
Now that you know why effective follow-up email subject lines are important, here are some best practices for creating them:
Be clear and specific
Vague phrases could lead to email follow-up campaigns to getting ignored. At a single glance, your audience should understand the purpose of your message. Avoid using a confusing subject line or one that misrepresents what you intend to communicate.
Jibble’s subject line below is a good example. You can easily tell that they’re seeking feedback from the recipient.
Adding clarity to your subject line can also help the recipient determine its relevance and increase the likelihood that they will engage with the email.
Add value
Consider how you can add value to the recipient and infuse that into your email subject line.
You can highlight benefits, solutions, or specific outcomes. The example below also works because it highlights the lead’s pain point:
A value-infused subject line can get your leads more interested in your email.
Keep it concise
Avoid overly long subject lines for follow-up emails. You need to be specific and concise. We found email subject lines with 90-119 characters yield the highest open rates.
It’s a good idea to test or preview your email before sending it so you’re sure the subject line is displayed well.
Personalize when possible
A personalized subject line makes the reader feel like the email was written explicitly for them, so it carries a stronger sense of relevance.
You can personalize your follow-up email subject line by including the recipient’s first name. Or, like the example below, simply refer to a specific detail from your previous interactions.
A note of caution: Avoid taking personalizations too far, or trying to force it into the subject line if it doesn’t fit. Our recent benchmarks show that overusing personalization can make emails perform worse.
Use professional language
A professional subject line is particularly important for business communications.
Professional language is more straightforward and avoids overly casual phrases or words. For instance, phrases like “What’s up chap?” or “Hey dude” are not ideal.
Even when you want to use a conversational tone, leverage clear and respectful language in your email follow-up subject line. Doing this allows you to make a good impression on your recipient.
Follow-up email subject line ideas for different scenarios
Here are some remarkable subject email follow-up lines that can improve your email open rate.
1. After a meeting
Emails you send after a meeting can help reinforce that previous conversation–your subject for email follow-up–and ensure that all participants are on the same page. You can also get feedback with these emails.
If it’s a first-time meeting, you can use a simple “Thank you” subject line like the example below:
Other examples of meeting follow-up subject lines:
- “Takeaways from the [event/project] meeting”
This subject line is concise and to the point. It’s a good option if you want to provide a high-level summary of the meeting conversations.
Another variation could be “Thank you for your time today— here’s what we discussed.” Although this subject line is a little long, the appreciative tone is nice.
- “[Name], I forgot to mention this in our last meeting”
This is a more personalized alternative that works if there’s any additional information you wish to communicate with your target audience. The subject line creates a sense of urgency, which encourages the right person to open the email.
- “Next steps from [meeting subject]”
This is more like a follow-up discussion email subject line. It’s useful when you want to communicate specific actions participants need to take after a recent meeting. It’s a good option for ensuring that everyone is aware of their responsibilities.
Alternative variations could be: “Action items from (meeting name),” “Based on our previous meeting,” or “Here’s what to do next.”
- “Clarity needed”
Pull this out when you need to clarify some uncertainties from the meeting. It’s always a good idea to address outstanding questions from a previous meeting.
2. Post-sending a proposal
After sending a proposal, it’s nice to follow up on your prospects, especially if you sent cold emails. The recipient may have missed your last email, forgotten to respond, or hasn’t sent feedback for some other reason.
Here are some post-proposal follow-up email subject lines to try:
- “Did you receive my proposal?”
This subject line is straightforward and immediately addresses your concern about whether the client received the initial email with your proposal. It also acts as a warm reminder that could prompt the recipient to respond quickly.
- “Do you have a couple more minutes?”
Use this if you want to take a more conversational and friendly approach. It works if you want to highlight some benefits of working with you based on your proposal. Your email content can then encourage the recipient to check your previous email.
- “Following up on the proposal for [specific project or service]”
This is an outright follow-up subject line. It’s not aggressive, yet it signals that you’d like to get a response to the proposal you sent.
An alternative could be: “Quick check-in: proposal for (project name or task)”
- “Have you had a chance to review our proposal?”
This subject line is a nice way of telling the recipient that you’d appreciate their feedback. It’s not so pushy but still conveys a sense of urgency.
3. Checking the status post a job interview
Following up after a job interview can help you scale through the application process. You send these emails to find out about the status of your application, especially if you have not received feedback after a while. Subject lines for post-interview follow-up emails should be more professional.
- “Thank you for the [job role] interview”
This subject line works for a follow-up email you’re sending within 24-72 hours after your job interview.
- “Following up regarding the [job title] position”
The email subject line is clear and explicit about the purpose of your email. It’ll allow the recipient to quickly understand the email context. You can use this for follow-ups after 1 – 2 weeks of not getting a response.
Another option is: “About the [job role] interview.” or, “Checking in on my application status for [ job role]”
- “Still interested in the [job role] position at [Company Name]”
This post-interview follow-up subject line is more positive. It also indicates to the recruiter or client that you’re still interested in the role.
You can also rephrase this as “inquiring about next steps for [Job Title] position”, particularly if you have a good feeling about how the interview went.
4. Expressing thoughts after a networking event
Sending a follow-up email after a networking event is good for building and maintaining your professional relationships.
Recipients may appreciate that you took the time to send a thoughtful email to them. These emails also provide an opportunity to continue a previous conversation and explore some possible collaborations or even referrals.
Some post-event subject line examples include:
- “Hi [name] enjoyed seeing you at [event]” or “Pleasure meeting you at [event]”
This subject line is a warm and friendly way to start an email conversation after a networking event. However, you’ll rely on your email body content to provide more context and share your thoughts.
- “Still thinking about [ specific event]”
This subject line suggests that the event had a lasting impact on you. Your recipient is likely to find this relatable if they also found the event meaningful.
This email subject line– “Why is the event still on your mind?”–also has an intriguing touch. It could trigger the recipient to open your email.
- “Some thoughts after [event] or “Some insights from [event]”
Well, this one is likely to work as it suggests that you have something valuable to share.
If you use this subject line, ensure that you have rich insights to share in the first place. You can also encourage the recipient to respond with their own perspectives.
5. Follow-up on a customer inquiry
After addressing a customer inquiry, you may want to send a follow-up email just to ensure that they were satisfied with your previous response.
You can also use the email to find out if the customer needs any further assistance, especially if they have not taken any action after your initial response. The aim is simply to show that you’re willing to provide the support they need.
Subject lines for these follow-up emails include:
- “How’s it going with [problem name]?”
This subject line is quite friendly and encourages the customer to share feedback. It also shows the customer that you’re intentional about helping them find a solution.
- “Do you still need help with [action]?”
This subject for email follow-up directly addresses what the customer needed your help with and allows you to confirm if the inquiry was fully resolved.
In your email, you can encourage the customer to respond if they still need further assistance.
- “Still here to help [name]”
This is a more personalized post-inquiry follow-up subject line. It works because the subject line shows that you’re available and willing to provide more help.
6. A reminder
Reminder follow-up emails are effective as they help customers or partners not to miss important events, deadlines, offers, etc. A friendly reminder email helps to keep the recipients informed so they prepare early enough for your event or meeting.
Examples of reminder subject lines include:
- “A quick reminder about [event]”
This is a direct email subject line and it’s quite specific. Recipients know at a glance that there’s an event approaching.
- “Don’t forget: [event or deadline] approaching soon”
The subject line creates a good sense of urgency. It’ll encourage the recipient to prioritize your email. Pair it with an actionable email body encouraging the recipient to save the event date on their calendar.
- “Upcoming: [event/meeting] on [date] – Mark your calendar!”
This one captures all the important information. So, even if the audience does not read through the email, they have the essential information and can quickly take action.
There’s also a bit of urgency, which is quite important for something that’s time-sensitive.
7. Giving out information
You can send emails that share specific information about a project, product, or event.
Emails like these are needed when leads or customers need to be informed about changes, milestones, or other important details on the subject of interest.
Here are some examples of email subject lines to use:
- “Important information about [event, product, or project]”
The subject line clearly indicates that the email contains “important information.” That’s enough to trigger an email open. Including the project or event name allows the receiver to quickly identify the relevance of your email.
Another variation could be: ”Important announcement: update on [event or product]”
- “Update on [project/ product/ event]”
This email subject, like the one above, is short and to the point. It grabs the reader’s attention because a glance tells the reader what’s in the email.
- “Did you see this?”
Use this follow-up subject line to call the recipient’s attention to an email you sent before. You can then include additional information in the body of your email.
- “Have you tried [product or new feature/service ]?”
This works when you have a new product, feature, or service that you want to inform your target audience about.
The subject line is nice because it has a personal touch, and it plays on the recipient’s curiosity.
8. At the end of your sequence
After sending a series of email campaigns without getting a response, the last sequence is more like a final attempt to get an action or some form of feedback.
Some subject lines that could work include:
- “Would anything change your mind?”
Not responding to your multiple follow-ups could mean that the lead is just uninterested in your offerings. So this subject line allows you to engage them, and get a response about what the customer really needs.
The email subject line also has a slightly emotional touch that could appeal to your audience.
- “Should I stop, [name]?” or “Want me to stop contacting you?”
Well, this subject line is quite direct. It seems hard, but could ultimately get the recipients to finally respond. It works particularly in cases where the lead wants to work with you but has been procrastinating on reaching out or taking any action.
See this variation that Schneider Electric used: “Do you still want to receive our emails?”
Also, adding the recipient’s name could further improve the impact that the subject line has.
- “[Client name], here’s what I’ll do”
This subject line is a great email-open trigger. It’s assertive and gives you one more opportunity to convince your prospects about how you can help them. Simply include an equally convincing CTA in the email copy, and you can get a response for yourself.
9. Post-running a demo
A post-demo email can be quite powerful for speeding up the client’s decision-making process.
Sending a prompt follow-up allows you to reinforce your value proposition, ask leads for feedback, or push them further into your sales funnel.
This email subject line from Teespring (You’ve taken the first step to success) is a good example to adapt.
The subject line is assertive and implies that the lead can “take more steps.”
Try these other examples too:
- “Your opinion counts” or “What do you think about [product] demo?”
What better way to keep prospects engaged than to tell them you value their thoughts?
There’s a good chance the lead has some feedback to share, so these follow-up subject lines tell them that you genuinely want to know what they think.
- “[Client name], did you have any questions?
This is another subject line that can prompt an email to open. It’ll work for leads that like your product but still have concerns before the big buy-in.
- “What’s next, [name]?”
This one’s an actionable and confident subject line. It helps to give clients a clear direction on the next step to take if they want to adopt your product. The subject line can work for emails that aim to close a sale.
10. For recipients who ghosted you
These last email subject line examples are for leads that ghost you.
So, if you’re in an ongoing conversation with a prospect and they simply stop responding for a long time. Here are some subject lines to use in the follow-up emails you send.
- “Given up on your project?” or “Given up on your search for [solution]”
This is a good subject line for scenarios where you want to know if the client is still interested in working with you. It’s direct, but not intrusive. The second option could read something like “Given up on your search for a good CRM?”
The subject line also works as a good reminder that they were in a discussion with you.
- “Is everything okay [name]?”
This subject line is friendly and shows actual concern for the client. It suggests that your intentions are good and you prioritize their well-being even though you want them to do business with you.
- “I’d like to hear from you again”
This subject line is another warm approach to reopening a dusty conversation. It simply shows the client that you value and want to hear from them. It’s a nice subject line that can emotionally appeal to the recipient.
Conclusion
Follow-up emails allow you to keep conversations going and boost your chances with potential clients, collaborators, or partners.
Effective follow-up email subject lines should be clear, specific, concise, personal, and professional. You should also use subject lines that indicate the value of your email content.
If you’re looking to maintain good email conversations, simply modify and adapt the follow-up email subject lines we’ve shared in this post. Good luck!