Sending sales emails can often feel like shouting into the void that is other people’s inboxes.

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Well, we’ve got some good news for you — there's a treasure trove of data that tells us exactly what makes a prospect open an email, read it, and hit reply. From looking at studies on thousands of actual sales emails, you can learn how long your message should be, when to send your follow up, what the content of your message should look like, and much much more.

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In this article, we'll explore dozens of fascinating takeaways from the most recent email studies that will make your sales emails more effective and help you win more in the inbox.

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In this article we’ll cover:

• Email Behavior Statistics
• Subject Line Statistics
• Email Personalization Statistics
• Email Follow-up Statistics
• Sales Outreach Trends Statistics
• Closing Thoughts

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Let’s dive in – and start leveling up your outreach emails.

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Email Behavior Statistics

Understanding how your prospects interact with email is the key to crafting messages that they’ll read, love, and respond to. Let’s take a look at how your buyers are using email in 2023:

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• Most buyers prefer email. It’s no surprise that 80% of buyers prefer being contacted by email. Email is an easy, convenient platform for introducing you and your product or service and allows you to connect with prospects when it works for them.
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• Sales email open rates. Just 23.9% of sales emails are opened. Remember, prospects read the emails that matter to them. Focus on your subject line and email preview to give yourself an edge that compels an open.
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• A great subject line makes all the difference. Your subject line can be the make-or-break factor in your outreach campaigns. After all, 33% of email recipients decide to open an email based on the subject line alone. 
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• You don’t have much time. You've got less than 10 seconds to get your reader’s attention. That's the average amount of time spent looking at an email in 2022 and our guess is that’s probably dropped again this year. That makes it all the more important to make an impact quickly, especially on mobile as readers tend not to scroll.
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• Most sales emails are opened fast. 75% of email opens and 42% of email replies come within the first hour of sending. And 98% of opens and 95% of replies come within the first day. If you’re waiting days for a response, it’s time to send a thoughtful follow-up.
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• Craft your emails for mobile. With 46% of email opens now occurring on smartphones, it’s critical to craft short, easy-to-read messages that can be read on mobile devices.
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• Writing emails is a huge time drain. Sales reps spend about 21% of their time on writing emails alone. That’s where using AI solutions like Regie.ai can dramatically speed up the research and writing process and give your team more time back in the day to do what they do best; build relationships with buyers and close deals.

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Subject Line Statistics

As mentioned, the subject line is the key to a great cold email getting opened. It's the first thing your prospect sees – and if it’s not great, it’ll be the last thing they see. Let’s look at what the numbers tell us about crafting an amazing subject line:

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• Diction is everything. Many reports will tell you to “never do this” or “always do that” when it comes to subject lines. We ran a sales email benchmark survey with over 55 million emails and surprisingly, the best open rate (42%) came from subject lines with 9 words. Choosing the precise words to use matters far more than whether it’s 35 characters or 40.
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• Personalization is magic. Personalizing your subject lines in the inbox is like shouting someone’s name across a crowded room – it instantly gets their attention. Personalizing the subject line with the recipient’s name, company name, or pain points they’re experiencing can increase average email open rates by as much as 50%. 
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• Use the recipient’s company name. Including the recipient's company name in your subject line is a great way to personalize messages, getting open rates of 35%. It’s a great way to be relevant and elicit your reader’s interest.
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• Addressing pain points. Subject lines that speak to the reader’s pain points or challenges are also highly effective, with an average open rate of 28%. They’re ideal for grabbing your reader’s attention and showing how you can solve their problem.
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• The power of emojis, numbers, and questions. Sprucing up your subject lines is a time-tested way to get more opens. Adding emojis can increase open rates by 8%, while using numbers result in an open rate of 20% and asking questions has an average open rate of 48.39%. Just be careful with emojis; too many might trigger spam filters.
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• Steer clear of negativity. Negative subject lines can decrease your open rates by 34%. While it can be tempting to use negativity or fear to grab attention, in general it’s best to keep your communication positive and solution-oriented.

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Email Personalization Statistics

Crafting a customized message is where your email can really shine. Let’s take a look at what the numbers tell us about creating a personalized message that will really resonate with your prospects:

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• Boost Deliverability. Deliverability is one of the leading metrics for success in email marketing. If you’re just sending out a mass email with the same subject line, and / or stock message template, you’re going to end up being one of the 21%+ commercial emails that don’t even end up in users inboxes. Take the time to personalize and you increase the chances that your emails won’t end up caught by spam or promotional filters.
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• Personalize your email content. Don’t just stop with personalizing your subject line. Giving your readers a personalized experience in your body copy makes all the difference – and taking the time to personalize your message can increase average response rates by 32.7%.

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The Regie.ai Chrome extension can personalize emails for your prospects in seconds, directly inside of your sales engagement platform or email inbox. Try it for free today!

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• Just be nice. Remember your manners! Including friendly, cordial greetings may not seem that important, but it actually increases your chance of booking meetings by a staggering 24%.
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• The more personalization, the better. Don’t just settle for “Hi {{FIRSTNAME}},” – after all, when you include multiple personalization fields throughout an email, reply rates can shoot up by a ridiculous 142%.
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• Focus on quality, not quantity. It’s not unusual for a small, highly personalized campaign to pull in reply rates as high as 40%, while larger “spray and pray” campaigns might struggle to achieve 1%. Take the time to get personal and you’ll reap the benefits.

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Email Follow-up Statistics

Now that we’ve talked about your initial email, let’s look at what really makes the difference in a successful campaign: the art of the follow up. A strong follow up game can really raise your response rates – if it’s done tactfully and strategically. Here's how:

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• Don’t forget to send a follow-up. It’s incredible, but true: 70% of cold emails don't receive a follow-up at all. By just sending a simple follow up, you’re way ahead of the game.
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• Persistence pays off. If you don’t hear back, send a follow-up. It’s as simple as that. Sending a first and second follow-up email can increase the chances of getting a reply by 21% and 25%, respectively.
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• Don’t guilt trip your reader. Following up is critical, but never act like your reader owes you anything. Saying "I never heard back" in your follow up is a common mistake that can decrease your chances of getting a meeting by 14%. 
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• Timing is everything. As we saw earlier, 98% of outreach emails are opened within a day after you send them. Don’t jump the gun and follow up the same day – but if you haven’t gotten a response within a day or two, it’s time to follow up.
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• Don’t be afraid to send multiple follow-ups. Persistence matters. Our Q1 2023 sales email benchmark data shows that over the course of a sequence, people continue to reply at a fairly steady rate because of the so-called Stacking Effect. In fact, cold email campaigns with 4 to 7 emails per sequence receive three times as many responses as campaigns with fewer than 4 emails per sequence.

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Did you know Regie.ai can generate persona based sequence and cadences, threading your value prop and buyer pain points consistently throughout in a matter of minutes?

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Sales Outreach Trends Statistics

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It’s essential to stay on top of the latest trends and practices to maximize your success as the sales landscape evolves. Let's take a look at some key trends that will help you stay ahead of the curve:

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• Video is more popular than ever: Video content is one of the best ways to engage with prospects and drive better reply rates. Using solutions like Loom or Vidyard to include video content in your emails can increase click-through rates by 65%.
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• The power of using LinkedIn: With response rates 3X higher than regular email, LinkedIn InMail is proving to be an effective platform for outreach that in many cases can outperform standard cold email outreach.
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• Share valuable information: When you reach out to prospects, share sales assets that are informative to your buyers. 80% of business decision-makers prefer getting information from articles over advertisements, emphasizing the importance of working with your marketing team to create useful, valuable content.
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• Growth of social selling: While the most prevalent communication channels for salespeople remain email (78%) and phone (70%), LinkedIn is becoming increasingly popular (32%). Sales reps who use social selling techniques find on average 45% more opportunities, proving the effectiveness of this approach.

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Closing Thoughts

Staying on top of the latest sales outreach statistics can ensure your team is leveraging best practices to reach prospects in today’s competitive inbox. 

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If you’ve got the taste for more data and insights to boost your results, we’ve got just the thing. Each quarter, we gather data from tens of millions of emails and compiled those insights in a Sales Email Benchmarks Report.

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We think there’s a 100% chance you’re going to love it so get your copy today.