So how can you make funny subject lines?
This very much depends on the person and their sense of humor, both of your
outbound team and of the lead in question. But there are a few overarching subjects that you can start thinking about when crafting your email subject line that will never fail you.
Sales joke There is a type of humor known as self-deprecating humor. In sales, this can come in handy so long as you don't come off as overbearing or like you're digging for compliments.
Recognizing that you are a salesperson approaching a lead from the get-go can generate a positive impression as you are not trying to trick your lead into a conversation.
Something like "{{first name}}, I'm just an SDR living in a lonely world" acknowledges the relationship you expect to have with your lead and is likely to produce a chuckle. Furthermore, the use of a well-known song lyric can help you find common ground with them.
If you couple that with a
sales cadence that includes a
follow-up phone call, you can identify yourself pretty readily: "Hey it's {{your name}}, that SDR living in a lonely world!".
This way, even if they didn't open the email, the subject line will remind them that you did indeed reach out to them, as it is unique and pokes fun at you. It helps you break the ice a lot more than your average approach.
Personalized joke As part of your job, you've
researched your prospect or lead.
Take some time studying their LinkedIn and see what they like or who they follow, and personalize your subject line with a bit of humor. You can use great tech tools to help you do this as well.
For instance, if they're a sports fan of some kind and seem to be a white whale for you to get, research their team and their standings or history.
I somewhat follow football, so something along the lines of "{{first name}}, don't lose on sales like Barcelona lost Messi" would work on me. It would make me chuckle and, at the very least, open the email to give it a read-through because it so clearly matches my interests.
Even with my peripheral knowledge of the situation, I understand what you are going for, and that I should be keen on finding out more.
Industry joke Another great approach is to know your industry well and to poke fun at it. It demonstrates that you are comfortable with selling in your space and have extensive knowledge if you are willing to make a joke from the get-go.
For example, if you are aiming for folks marketing you've got several options. Anything from "{{first name}} like Nike just does it, so could you" to "{{first name}} SERP-rise for you!" could work. They display basic to specific knowledge in the area, and all of it might draw attention to your particular email.
If you want to aim for bankers or brokers, something along the lines of "{{first name}}, you're not a loan" can serve to demonstrate that you're at least aiming for a specific type of conversation and that you are familiar with what your lead is doing.
Ask your colleagues for brainstorming help here, or listen to what they go through in a day for inspiration. It might surprise you what you can come up with from your surroundings when it comes to industry jokes!
Pop culture joke Finally, a pop culture joke always works.
You want to make sure it is something that is widely relevant to as many people as possible, or that you are certain your particular niche or industry will relate to.
From as wide-reaching as "{{first name}}, swipe right on us!" to as specific as "{{first name}}, say Beetlejuice 3 times!" can both work to let your audience know that you have sent them something interesting. Something that might pique their interest a bit more.
Trying to aim for the current pop culture subject matter is one way of doing this, for instance referencing a TV show that is currently very popular such as Stranger Things: "{{first name}}, no more Demogorgon's for you!"
But this can also backfire depending on cultural reception to something like this. Something the Game of Thrones memorabilia creators found out the hard way.
A better strategy is to go for established pop cultural phenomena.
Star Wars (a joke about the Sales Force never goes wrong here!), Back to the Future, or Marvel are franchises you could rely on, or even a little more niche but finished TV shows like The Office or Arrested Development. A subject line related to the banana stand would definitely make me personally appreciate the sender more.
Another idea is to use song lyrics, as we saw in the first example which was a blend of a sales joke with a pop culture reference. Any variation of "hello it's me" or "hello is it me you are looking for" provides some chuckles, as would funny subject lines with anything from Whitney Houston's
I Will Always Love You as part of the follow-ups.
Mixing pop culture knowledge with personalization or industry jokes could also be the way to go - try it as a base and then start mixing and matching, just like you do with clothes!