Have you tried sending your guest post pitch and waiting for a reply for weeks? Guest blogging is an effective strategy to gain online exposure and increase your website traffic by building backlinks on other sites. However, chances are you might not get a reply to your first email. This is where following up with your recipients becomes crucial for the success of your guest posting campaign.
Backlinko studied 12 million outreach emails and established that guest post outreach has an average response rate of 24.7%. It can be increased by 65.8% by sending one follow-up only and doubled by sending three or more messages. How can you make sure that this approach will work for you as well?
Close to 50% of recipients judge an email and decide whether to read it, depending only on the subject line. It’s what can make your contacts open or ignore your message, and you need to craft it accordingly. We’ve collected effective tips and inspiring examples to help you create your email follow-up subject lines for guest post outreach.
Let’s dive right in.
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Tips for writing great follow-up email subject lines for guest posting
Well-thought and targeted follow-up email subject lines can boost your open rates. Here are some best practices to help you get your message across.
Make it brief but not too brief
81% of users regularly use their smartphones to check their emails. So, too-long subject lines will get cut off. At the same time, using less than 15 characters results in a lower response rate.
The best practice is to keep your subject line between 36 and 50 characters. According to Backlinko’s research above, this will increase the chance of receiving a reply by 32.7% compared to using the shorter option. It enables you to be more specific without being cut off by the inbox.
For example, compare a subject line, such as “Quick follow-up”, which is too general and unlikely to provoke any interest and response, and “Quick follow-up on a blog your readers will love .” The latter is more reader-focused and gives a particular idea of what value the email body provides.
Be natural and conversational
Neither too friendly nor too formal. Instead, opt for a friendly and conversational tone, showing your genuine interest. This will make the recipient open and more likely to reply. So, you should avoid subject lines like “Good Day. I would like to talk to you about topics for your blog.”
Don’t be too pushy
Pushy and overly sales-driven subject lines can be marked as spam and overlooked. Options, such as “Why didn’t you respond?”, “I know you’re busy, but…”, and “I’m waiting for your reply…”, imply impatience and forwardness that can significantly reduce your chances for collaboration.
Personalize your subject line
It’s been found that the open rate of personalized subject lines exceeds that of non-personalized ones by 22.2%. Consider adding your recipient’s name or company name. This is an effective icebreaker that can add a human touch and build a personal relationship with your recipient.
Also, we tend to trust like-minded people. So, think of ways to highlight common interests or mutual connections. You can find relevant information on LinkedIn or other social media. Such a strategy will help you pique your recipient’s interest.
Go live and fun
Craft lines that arouse your reader’s curiosity and encourage them to read your message. Using emojis can make your subject line more attractive and enticing. Ideally, you’ll catch their eye and invite them to open your email – after all, it’s just a single click, and it won’t cost a fortune.
However, make sure to not overdo it. Knowing more about your target recipient can help you decide on the right way to balance fun with to-the-point content. You can try a subject line that is not too risky and still intriguing, like “Some more great topic ideas to expand your blog.”
Use handy tools
There are various tools that can make your guest post outreach more efficient and easier to manage.
You can make use of specially-developed software like BuzzStream that offers customizable templates and enables you to adjust the subject lines. This allows you to use the same email template for different recipients.
Also, any typos and grammar mistakes are likely to impair the impact of your message. This makes it essential to check both the subject line and the body of your follow-up email. Installing the Grammarly app can help you avoid grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. You will get suggestions of the best possible ways to improve your message.
Stay away from the spam folder
No matter how much effort you’ve put in creating the subject line of your guest blogging follow-up email, there’s a chance it lands in the spam folder. How can you make sure you make it through spam filters and have your message well-delivered into the recipient’s inbox? Use a subject line tester tool to boost your open rate. It will help you:
- Avoid spammy words
- Make sure the length of your subject line is within the limit
- Format your subject line correctly
- Evaluate the reading grade level
These are the most important parameters to take into account when writing your follow-up subject line. Depending on the functionalities of the particular tool you’re using, there are a lot more customizable options to help you avoid the spam folder.
Conduct A/B testing
Test your subject lines to see which one performs better. For example, create two versions of a follow-up subject line (“A” and “B”) and send each of them to 50% of the receivers. Which one has a better open rate? Which copy gets more response rate? Observe carefully and use the best performing follow-up subject line pattern.
Now that you know the name of the game, let’s get some hands-on ideas.
21 examples of follow-up email subject lines for guest posting
Here are some great and inspiring subject line ideas organized in five categories so that you can simply copy, paste, and adapt them to your specific goals.
Personalized subject lines
Establish a friendlier conversation by thinking of a subject line that makes your email look like a message from a teammate. You can include your recipient’s name, company name, shared connection, or personal experience. Use some of these ideas:
- {Recipient’s first name}, I thought you might like these blogs
- Did I get stuck in your inbox, {recipient’s first name}?
- ✍️Some more great guest post ideas for {website name}
Starting with your recipient’s name will help your follow-up email subject lines for guest posting stand out in their inbox and increase the open rate.
Subject lines provoking curiosity
Grab your recipient’s attention by reminding them of your last conversation, implying that there’s valuable information they may be missing. This will make them want to know more. An effective strategy is to add personalization to such curiosity-arousing subject lines. Incorporating the examples below into your guest post outreach follow-ups can help you catch your reader’s eye:
- Re: [Original Subject Line]
- Is there anything else I can do for your blog?
- Ready to continue our discussion, {recipient’s first name}?
- I forgot to mention…
- Some additional ideas your readers will love
- Did you miss this, {recipient’s first name}?
Such subject lines can go a long way in attracting your recipient’s attention, establishing a personal relationship, and prompting them to respond to your guest post request.
Subject lines highlighting the value of your email
It’s all about delivering value to your recipient. Clearly indicate the potential benefits that reading your message will bring. This will significantly increase your follow-up email open rate and the chances of getting a positive response. Here are some ideas you can use and build on:
- High-quality guest post request
- Here are some extra topics on [topic you talked about]
- Resources list for {business name}
- {Your company} wants to contribute to {targeted website}
- Following up on a collaboration possibility with {Company}
- The blog post (or any other helpful resource) on [the topic] that I promised
Implying that your message is following a previous discussion stokes curiosity. Also, indicating that your recipient will find additional valuable information and resources is a great way to induce them to read your email. Just remember that it’s essential to deliver on your promise and provide the content you know your reader needs in your email body.
Concise and clear subject lines
You can create short and sweet follow-up subject lines that trigger urgency and intrigue, such as:
- 👋Circling back around
- A friendly reminder
Suggesting that the recipient might have forgotten or missed something can be an effective way to make them open and read your follow-up.
Subject lines that openly communicate your goal
Even when your guest post pitch didn’t get a reply, you shouldn’t try to confuse your reader and hope that they’ll be tricked to read your message and respond to it. Indicating exactly what your email is about will help the recipient decide to invest some time in opening it. Here are some examples of communicating your goal clearly:
- Following up on my guest post inquiry
- In case you missed my last message and blog ideas
- Someone else I can reach out to with my blog ideas?
- In case my original guest blog inquiry got lost
You can use these ideas and combine different categories and strategies to maximize your follow-up email response rate.
Ready to follow up and bring your blog post to life?
Follow-up email subject lines for guest blogging can let your message get a reply or land in the spam or trash folder. The better you know your recipient, their company’s culture, mission, and goals, the greater your chances to make an outstanding impression and grab their attention.
Whatever strategy you choose, keep in mind that honesty and open communication are attractive. They can help you create relationships of trust and start the conversation off on the right foot. Pique the recipient’s interest with emotion-provoking language and personalization, and make sure to sound natural and human instead of salesy and robotic.
✍️Time to get started and put your ideas into action.
