You’ve spent hours crafting the perfect email sequence, but all you hear is crickets. Sound familiar? For staffing firms, low response rates aren’t just frustrating—they represent missed connections with potential candidates and clients who could be perfect fits for your opportunities and services.
Here’s the good news: when done right, email marketing can transform your outreach efforts. Whether you’re connecting with passive candidates or engaging potential clients, strong subject lines and preheaders can turn your emails from ignored to irresistible. Let’s dive into how you can make that happen.
Why Email Marketing Still Rules
Email remains one of the most powerful digital marketing tools for staffing firms. Why is it so powerful? Email marketing offers unique advantages that other channels can’t match. Email marketing gives you higher engagement rates than social media and paid ads, making it a more effective channel for achieving a better ROI.
In fact, around 52 percent of marketing professionals reported a two-time improvement in their email marketing campaigns’ return on investment (ROI) rates.¹ This should tell you enough about email marketing’s effectivity.
Do you want to reach people directly, without competing for their attention on social media? Email marketing is your go-to method of doing that because, despite the popularity of other marketing channels, e-mail still has 4.81 billion users globally.² Email delivery is done directly to the recipient’s inbox without an algorithm dictating who sees your content.
Email is your secret weapon. It helps you reach passive candidates who aren’t browsing job boards but check their inbox daily. It’s also perfect for staying top-of-mind with clients; delivering market insights and workforce solutions right when they need them. Best part? Email lets you nurture both these relationships without being pushy or overwhelming.
Read More: Staying Top-of-Mind: 9 Ways to Optimize Your Staffing Firm’s Email Marketing Strategy
Crafting Subject Lines That Get Results
Here’s how to create subject lines and email preheaders that boost email open rates, grab attention, and drive engagement:
1. Skip the Mystery: Be Direct or Be Deleted
Think of subject lines and email preheaders as a headline for a news article—it needs to grab attention and convey value in seconds. People read the contents of an email based on what is conveyed in the subject line and preheader because straightforward subjects are easy to scan and capture attention.
Be clear about what the email contains whether it is job opportunities, exclusive offers, or actionable insights. Use keywords like “Remote Jobs,” “Hiring Now,” or “Industry Updates that your recipients search for. Avoid using clickbait or generic subject lines and preheaders.
For example, subject lines like “Big News Inside!” or “Can’t Miss Opportunity” can make your target unsubscribe from your mailing list because their expectations are not matched when they open such email.
Your preheader text should complement the subject line, not repeat it. It should be your hook and give the recipient enough insight to want to know more.
While clarity is preferred, don’t sacrifice creativity. You can still show what the recipient will gain from opening your email and a sense of exclusivity or urgency. A line like “Exclusive IT Jobs: Apply Before They Close!” can convey clarity (IT jobs) with urgency (apply before they close).
Remember: Don’t overuse urgency in your emails. If everything is “urgent,” nothing is. Keep the “act now” messages for truly time-sensitive opportunities—your audience will trust you more for it.
Pro Tip: A/B test different subject lines and preheaders to know which works best. Sometimes, small tweaks can go a long way to boost open rates.
Read to boost those open rates?
2. Time Smart Subject Lines That Get Opened
Your subject line should match when your recipient is most likely to engage. Early morning emails? Use subject lines like “Start Your Day: New Tech Opportunities in [City]” with a preheader “Quick 2-minute overview of today’s best roles.” For clients checking email first thing, try “Morning Market Intel: [Industry] Hiring Trends” with “Your 5-minute staffing update is ready.”
For candidate emails during lunch breaks, lead with casual, quick-read subjects: “Lunch Break: 3 Hot Jobs in Your Field” paired with “Take 5 minutes to explore roles at [Companies].” Evening sends to passive candidates? Use “Evening Read: Your Next Career Move?” with “Browse latest opportunities in [Industry] while you unwind.”
Pro Tip: Test different time-based phrases in your subject lines. “Morning,” “Afternoon,” and “Evening” can boost relevance when timed right.
3. Make It Personal
People open emails that feel personally relevant. Group your list by key factors: for candidates, think job type and experience level; for clients, consider industry vertical and hiring volume. Use this data smartly—”[Name], Your Next Tech Role Awaits” for candidates, or “Custom Staffing Strategy for [Company]’s Q4 Goals” for clients.
But remember; personalization isn’t just mail merge. Reference past interactions, shared goals, or specific challenges they’ve mentioned. Don’t overdo it; research has shown that recipients dislike overly detailed personalization. Recipients can feel invaded, especially when they haven’t shared some details with you.³
Pro Tip: Test personalized elements like company names or industry references in subject lines against more general versions to find what drives better engagement.
Read More: Database and Pipeline Re-Engagement: Refresh Your Network for 2023
4. Master the Technical Details
What good is a well-crafted email If it ends up flagged as spam, buried under lengthy subject lines, or poorly formatted for mobile? When your subject lines and preheaders contain spammy words like “Act Now!!! Huge Discounts!”, the email is filtered as spam. A long subject line and preheader might also get cut off, especially when opened on a mobile device.
Avoid using spam triggers and excessive punctuation in your subject lines and preheaders. Use tools like Mail Tester or Litmus to spam-check and refine your emails before sending. Instead of “Apply Now!!! Only a Few Spots Left!!!” you can try a subject line with “Your Next Role in [City]: Applications Close Soon” and Preheader: “Exciting job opportunities tailored to your skills—apply today!”
Make your subject line and preheader text concise to deliver value at a glance of a mobile phone. Tools like Postmark and SendForensics can help you verify that emails sent reach inboxes instead of spam folders.
Pro Tip: Spam filters go beyond just scanning for keywords; they also monitor recipient behavior after receiving your emails. If recipients engage with your content, it signals to email providers that your emails are trustworthy.
Use A/B tests to identify the types of content that resonate most with your audience. Additionally, consider adding interactive elements like polls or quick-response buttons to encourage interaction and boost engagement.
Read More: 5 Hacks to Keep Your Emails Organized. Reduced Email Mess, Reduced Stress!
5. Scale Smartly
Use automation to personalize subject lines without losing impact. Instead of generic “New Jobs Available,” create templates like “[Name], [Company] is Hiring [Role]” for candidates, or “[Name], [Industry] Staffing Report for [Company]” for clients.
Set up dynamic subject line elements that automatically update based on recipient data:
- Location: “Tech Jobs in [Recipient’s City]”
- Industry: “[Industry] Hiring Trends for Q4”
- Role Level: “Senior [Role] Opportunities”
- Company Size: “Staffing Solutions for [Size] Companies”
Pro Tip: Create a library of proven subject line templates that you can mix and match with personalized elements. Track which combinations drive the highest open rates for each audience segment.
Unlock Higher Open Rates with Allied Insight!
Email marketing is still one of your most effective tools to reach candidates and clients. Think of your email as a conversation starter. When your subject line and email preheader are clear, timely, and relevant, recipients are more likely to engage.
No, you don’t have to overhaul your strategsies. Take small steps to test subject lines, preheader text, and timing to see what works best. Track the results, refine your strategy, and boost your open rates. Contact Allied Insight today to improve your marketing efforts and boost your overall engagement. We are your trusted partner for all things market. Reach out to us for the best marketing strategies.
References
- John, Leslie K. “Targeting Ads Without Creeping Out Your Customers.” Harvard Business Review, 21 Dec. 2017, hbr.org/2018/01/ads-that-dont-overstep.
- Statista. “Number of E-mail Users Worldwide 2018-2027.” Statista, 16 Sept. 2024, www.statista.com/statistics/255080/number-of-e-mail-users-worldwide.
- Statista. “ROI Improve Rates in E-mail Marketing Campaigns Worldwide 2023.” Statista, 20 Feb. 2024, www.statista.com/statistics/1376015/email-roi-improve-rates.
