The subject line is probably the most important part of the email marketing strategy since it’s the first thing the recipient will see, and that makes it a key success factor for a networking email.

The math is quite simple: if the subject line is not attractive enough = the email won’t be opened. So the first thing to do to succeed in your networking attempt is to think about the subject line carefully.

We’re going to walk you through the process of subject line creation and share a little bit of data about it. Plus, our goal with this article is to discuss  the following topics:

• Best Practices and tips to create good introduction email subject line

• A carefully screened list of 150 networking follow up email subject line

• Networking through mass email and the subject line for an introductory email

Image Source: Campaign Monitor

We’re going to focus on email because it’s known that the way people interact has changed over the years and exchanging messages has become the most common one. Most people won’t even care to answer their phones anymore; it’s more about texting and emailing.

So if you choose to do networking, go with emails, especially if you are reaching out to millennials, as they do not like phone calls.

Networking Goals

The first step to creating a good subject line is to understand the goal of a networking email because it should definitely not sound like a sales strategy since networking is about exchanging information or creating a connection for learning purposes or just based on similarity.

Here are a few examples of opportunities to send a network request:

1. Alumni from the same institution

2. Common connections

3. Job Offer or Job Hunting

4. Business 

5. You met at an event

6. To ask for referrals

How to create a networking email is a topic for another time, but for now, we are going to discuss the creation of a good network email subject line.

Networking email and its subject lines

Although some people believe that networking should be done for job-seeking purposes, the truth is that networking can be beneficial in many ways and for each reason, there is an excellent way to create a fruitful subject.

A networking email is different from a sales one but both are very important in their own ways and the subject lines must be catchy and drive people to take action: 

• Open the email

• Add as a connection

• Reply to the message

Let’s start by going over the different networking email types that are commonly used:

1. Introduction email

2. Follow up networking

3. Email after meeting in person

4. Networking referral

Introduction email. This is the first contact, and your introduction to someone you don’t know in person, so it should show who you are, why you are contacting them and something about what you can offer. Be as friendly as possible and share information that will confirm that you are trustworthy: the business profile, company website, etc.

Follow up networking. It’s ok to send a follow-up email after a few days if the person doesn’t reply to your first request, but don’t be too pushy. Wait at least seven days to reach out again, as the person might be on vacation or just busy during that week.

Not everybody is always online and technology savvy, so remember to be patient.

Email after meeting in person. Always send a connection request after you meet someone in person. It’s most commonly done through Linkedin, but you can reach out via email first and include your Linkedin profile for them to connect. Check out our guide on best practices for a LinkedIn email signature.

Another option is to gather all the emails from people you met in person and create a list to send an automated campaign.

Networking referral. Sometimes networking is about getting someone to introduce us to a third party, and in this situation, it is essential to be extra careful about the content and how you behave online. 

The email, in this case, has the goal to reach out to someone you don’t know in person but who is a friend or colleague of someone close to you, and since you will be mentioning somebody else as a common connection the subject line for networking email referral needs to be extra good.

Image Source: Daily Gazette

Useful tips and best practices

For each subject line, there is a different trigger that can be used and personalization that can be done according to the momentum or the networking goals. Writing the subject line can be hard in the beginning, but after a while, you get used to it, and some of them can be used more than once.

These are a few tips to make your subject line stand out. Some of them include:

1. Making it short

2. Using simple language

3. Getting personal

4. Not asking for favors

5. Not overselling it

6. Getting the timing right

7. Asking a question

Make it short

Just like a sales email you need to go straight to the point and add the right words to create interest generate enough interest for the person to open the email. It’s advised to write an average of 50 - 60 characters.

Use simple language

Don’t try to be fancy or to use complicated words, make it as simple as possible, and think about how you would like to be approached. Would you open an email that begins with a word that’s not commonly used? Probably not, because it would not catch your attention or seem interesting unless it’s followed by very good copywriting.

Get personal

A networking subject line request has to be personal to show the connection that your interest is to actually exchange knowledge or something like that. The best way to make that happen is to personalize with the person’s name at the beginning of the subject line, like this:

“[name], I’d love to connect” or “Hey, [name],”

Do not ask for favors

When it comes to networking, never ask for favors, ask for advice instead. It’s more polite and thoughtful to try to create a connection than just asking for something, so make sure you take small steps.

Don’t oversell it

This is not a Call To Action opportunity, because if you add a CTA, the subject line will sound like a sales line and not a networking connection request. In this case, the CTA can make the subject line sound rude.

Best time to send emails

Watch out for studies about the best times to send emails as they usually share insightful information about higher opening rates, best days, and even times to send emails. 

We compiled data about the subject:

Another useful best practice to follow is to wait a few days after you meet someone in person before sending them a networking request. This is not a rule as it depends on each situation, but we advise you to wait so you won’t seem desperate.

Make a question

If there is a chance to use a question mark, do it! Subject lines that have questions work like a trigger, as the question makes the reader curious to learn more about why the person is asking that and how they can help answer it.

A quick tip to improve the whole networking process: look up some email signature templates to take your networking email to the next level.

What not to do 

This topic is more about how to behave than about what not to say. Think about networking online just like a meeting in person and how do you behave when you meet someone for the first time?

Some things seem obvious, but it’s a good idea to go over details that can be avoided. 

We already mentioned a few things that should not be done, like adding a CTA to the subject line or asking for favors in the first email. Below you’ll find a few other examples of what not to do:

• Email ID: choose a professional email to send your networking requests, preferably with your full name. Never send a business purpose email from a ‘personal like’ email.

• Vague messages: make sure you add the reason why you are reaching out to the recipient, otherwise the person won’t even care to get back to you

• Oversharing: You don’t need to tell your life story, just add what’s essential for the networking request

• Unclear subject line: Don’t create ‘spammy’ content like “hey, you!”

• Don’t forget to thank the person for their time and make yourself available to them

• Promotional lines: Avoid adding catchy phrases and sounding like a salesperson. It has to sound personal.

Top-notch subject lines for networking

We scraped the internet and picked some experts’ brains to compile a list of networking email subject line examples that will help and inspire you to create your own.

We based our list on a few topics mentioned in the introduction of this article:

There are also other networking categories that you might come across during your career and personal life:

Make sure to use these suggestions as inspiration, but try to create your own, unique and creative email subject lines.  

How to create a networking email list

In case you need to do networking, but you haven’t been to any events or don’t know who to reach out to you should check the possibility of creating a networking email list by extracting emails from Linkedin. 

Some tools have the feature of extracting emails based on criteria you choose and they also offer functionality to save email list templates, which makes it easier to create the networking email subject line and the email content according to the list’s goal.

Image Source: Office Aide

When the emails are extracted and you haven’t met the person or is not a referral the approach is a bit more like a “cold email subject line networking” and you need to get a little bit more creative to really get the person to connect with you.

Mailing lists are a fantastic idea for B2B networking focused on:

• Knowledge sharing

• Business expansion

• Connection with alumni from the same institution

• Fellow club members

It’s a great way to reach people on a large scale and get higher chances to succeed in expanding your network.

Since this is a cold networking email, it’s important also to create a follow-up strategy and make a list of follow up email subject line after networking. Here are a few suggestions:

Although the list was based on cold email subject lines, the subject line, in this case, can be more personal because it’s for networking purposes. Plus, you can use these subject line suggestions to add people directly on Linkedin for networking.

Subject lines and networking email content

You don’t need to be a content specialist to know that the first few seconds of reading are crucial for conversion and if the phrase is not exciting or is out of context, the chances are that your email will be deleted or marked as spam.

In order to succeed in your networking attempt, you must remember to follow the best practices we mentioned. A quick recap to keep it fresh in your head:

• Keep the subject line short

• Make it personal and add the person's name

• Don’t ask for favors. Go for advice

• Offer to share knowledge or anything else you can put on the table to add to the networking

Finally - to truly succeed - it’s essential to craft a great message, and it has to be just as good as the subject line. In order to do that, you can also apply some of the tips we mentioned in the article, but to go beyond you can: 

1. Research about the person you’ll be contacting

2. Write up to 4 short paragraphs

3. Start by introducing yourself

4. Finish with a question whenever possible

5. Add a signature. You can use an email signature template for this.

We created two templates just as a quick overview of what the email could look like:

Template #1: Reaching out to someone you admire

Hi [name],

I’m [your name] and I’ve been following your work for a while now. Your new blog post motivated me to finally get in touch. I loved how [add something you enjoyed about their point of view] and people are enthusiastically commenting. 

It’s been great to read all the opinions and see how you interact with the fan base. I intend to be as good as you are when it comes to [add the similarity here].

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and inspiring us.

Kind regards,

[signature]

Template #2: Follow up and thank you after successfully connecting

Hi [name],

It’s been a great pleasure exchanging notes about our experiences in the [industry or about expertise]. I already feel like I’m a better professional because of the tips you gave me. 

Thank you very much for your time and thoughts. I do hope you also found our chat useful and that we can continue collaborating about [hot topic]. You mentioned you attended the [event name] 2018. How was it? 

Would you be available for a coffee or tea next week? I’d love to hear all about your experience at [event].

In case you are busy, do let me know when you would be available and I’ll gladly accommodate my schedule. Otherwise, we can continue this email as a knowledge thread and collaborate online.

Thank you once again for your time.

Sincerely,

[signature]

Template #3: For Business Purposes

Dear [name],

My name is [your name] and I’m a [expertise or role]. I’m currently involved in a project related to [subject] and I saw that you have worked in something similar to it and is currently engaged in [hot topic].

I’m reaching out because your expertise is incredible and I’m impressed by how well you managed the projects and the results achieved. It would be amazing if we could connect to discuss better ways to improve [hot topic].

You are very inspiring to us who work in the field and it would be great to hear what your thoughts are about the future trends in the market and how we can grow stronger as colleagues and experts in [expertise].

How do you feel about grabbing a coffee? Or we can just have a quick phone call. Let me know if it works for you as I’m happy to organize my schedule around it. I live close to [reference] and there is a very good meeting spot at [suggest a place] with a delicious apple pie.

What do you think?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,

[Signature]

There are many more ways to create great networking email content and it’s definitely something to focus on in this digital world.

Conclusion

If you have a content specialist available to help with networking email strategy, you’re one step ahead. Otherwise, you just need to dedicate some time and effort to understand how to approach people and what is ok to say.

Take advantage of the tools available to help with content creation and list-making.

Have fun networking!