Always write an email subject line.
10’000 Hours/Getty Images
Your email subject line could determine if a hiring manager will even consider your resume.
This is especially relevant now for thousands of Americans who were recently laid off.
To make your email stand out, keep your subject line short, specific, and personalized.
With a number of layoffs in recent days, including at Twitter, Meta, and possibly Amazon, thousands of Americans have likely found themselves looking for a new job.
If you find yourself hit by these layoffs, or are just in the market for a new position, it’s important to not only dust off your resume and cover letter, but also to craft the right email subject line if you’re reaching out to a hiring manager.
A bad subject line can land your important note in the trash, while a well-crafted one increases open rates, a 2019 study published in Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal showed.
Insider spoke with career experts including Amanda Augustine and Dmitri Leonov to learn their secrets on crafting the perfect email subject line. Here are their top tips.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
Experts said that not including a subject line is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.
The subject line often determines whether an email is opened and how the recipient responds.
An email with a blank subject line will likely get deleted, lost, or immediately irritate the recipient, who is forced to open the email to figure out what it’s about.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
For many professionals, the subject line is an afterthought that you add just before you hit send. But Amanda Augustine, a career expert at TopResume, told Business Insider that it can be the most important part of the email.
Write the subject line first, so that it sets the tone and you don’t forget.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
A typical inbox reveals about 60 characters of an email’s subject line, while a mobile phone shows just 25 to 30 characters, said Augustine. Get right to the point in about six to eight words.
According to research from software company HubSpot, 46% of all emails are opened on mobile devices, which means your subject line shouldn’t be much longer than a few words. Longer subject lines will get cut off.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
Dmitri Leonov, a VP at email management service SaneBox, told Business Insider that a whopping 50% of emails are read on mobile phones. Since you don’t know how much of the subject line will be viewable from a smartphone, it’s important to put the most important information at the beginning. Otherwise, compelling details could get cut off.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
With such precious space, don’t waste it with unnecessary words like “hello,” “nice to meet you,” and “thanks,” which can easily be included in the email’s body, the experts said.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
The subject line should communicate exactly what the email is about so that the recipient can prioritize the email’s importance without having to open it, the experts said.
For example, writing “Do you have a sec?” is vague, said Augustine, since the reader will have to open the email or reply to figure out what you want.
If it’s a job application, she suggests including your name and the position, and if it’s to another coworker, you should identify the project that the email refers to.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
Especially if you’re sending a marketing email, Kipp Bodnar, a VP at marketing software platform HubSpot, told Business Insider that it should be focused on one action, which should be communicated in the subject line.
Offer one takeaway, indicate how the reader can make use of it, and specify how you will deliver it.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
Most professionals have filters and folders set up to manage their email and probably won’t focus on your message when they first see it, said Leonov.
That’s why it’s important to include keywords related to the topic of the email that will make it searchable later.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
“People want to know whether they really need to read this now and if they have to respond,” said Augustine. If you need a response, make it clear in the subject line by saying “please reply” or “thoughts needed on X topic.”
If not, simply start the line with “Please read,” or tack on “no response needed” or “FYI” to the end.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
Especially if you have a lot of information to convey in the email itself, the experts said that including a deadline right in the subject line exponentially increases the odds that readers will respond.
For example, after the email’s topic, you could say: “Please reply by EOD Friday.”
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
If you’ve been referred by a mutual acquaintance, do not save that for the body of the email, said Augustine. Put it in the subject line to grab the reader’s attention right away. Moreover, she suggests beginning the subject line with the full name of the person who referred you.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
If sending a cold email to someone you don’t know, “you need a subject line that indicates value and communicates what they’re going to get,” said Bodnar. Pique the reader’s interest by offering them something that’s helpful.
Whether you’re providing a speaking opportunity, a discount, or a service, make it clear in the subject line what’s in it for them.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
You have to know who you’re sending the email to, and they have to recognize that it’s about them or a subject interesting to them, Bodnar said. Using their name or company name is one of the best ways to do that, he says, and makes the recipient much more likely to open the email.
For example, you might write, “Increase Company’s sales by 25%,” or “John, see how you compare to competitors.”
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
To grab someone’s attention and persuade them to reply, the experts suggested creating a deadline for your proposition. Common ways of creating urgency include “respond now,” “register today,” and “limited space available — reply soon.”
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
If you begin a thought or question that ends in the email, then the reader is forced to open the email. It’s annoying, and since clarity and being respectful of the recipient’s time is the goal, it’s not very helpful, said Augustine.
Consider whether instant message, a call, or an in-person chat might be a better medium for your question.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
Augustine also warned against copy-and-paste errors. Sometimes when people are sending a similar email to multiple people, they forget to tailor it to each reader and end up with the wrong name or title in the subject line. The easiest way to avoid this is to reread the subject line before you hit send.
Marguerite Ward/Business Insider
If you’ve met the recipient, exchanged emails before, or had a phone call, mention that in your subject line.
“In your follow-up email subject lines, be sure to reference your past meeting or conversation. This helps your recipient remember who you are, and what steps you had hoped to take next,” writes Sujan Patel, a marketer and entrepreneur, in a blog post email outreach tool MailShake.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
Using all caps may get someone’s attention, but in the wrong way.
“This is email 101, but people still break this cardinal rule,” Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of “The Humor Advantage,” previously told Business Insider. “Putting any phrase in all caps is the equivalent of shouting.”
Your job is to make the email as easy as possible for the recipient to read rather than giving them anxiety, said Leonov.
Instead, use dashes or colons to separate thoughts, and avoid special characters like exclamation points.
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
A line of punctuation does not an email subject line make.
As Inc. contributor Amanda Pressner Kreuser wrote, “‘?????’ and its cousin ‘!!!!!’ are unnecessarily aggressive, and — perhaps worse — don’t actually communicate the problem (or anything).”
Allana Akhtar/Business Insider
For a job application:
Referred by Jane Brown for Technical Writer position
Human Resources Assistant Application — John Smith
For an interview follow up:
John Smith Following Up on Sales Position
Marketing Manager interview follow up
For a work request:
Requesting Project X idea submissions — Due Jan 15
Employee Survey: Please take by EOD Friday
For a meeting invitation:
Meet about social media strategy Tuesday?
Free to catch up over coffee next week?
For an introduction:
An Introduction: Ed Wingfield Meet John Smith
Potential collaboration on TV marketing plan
For a marketing pitch:
Mastering Digital Media Webinar — Register Today
John, see how you compare to competitors
For requesting information:
Inquiring about your design services
Request for information on NY venue
Jenne Goudreau, Áine Cain, and Rachel Gillett contributed to an earlier version of this article that originally published in 2015.