How to write B2B emails that actually get read, clicked, and drive revenue

Most B2B email copy is boring and soul-numbing. Corporate jargon, feature lists, and “we’re excited to announce” nonsense that nobody cares about. No wonder open rates hover at 20% and click rates at a pathetic 2-3%.

The truth? Writing emails that convert isn’t complicated. It’s ruthlessly focusing on what works and cutting everything else.

According to Experian, targeted emails generate 58% of all revenue yet 89% of marketers still send the same content to their entire list. The gap between mediocre and exceptional isn’t knowledge – it’s execution.

Subject lines: you have 3 seconds to earn attention

Subject lines determine whether your email gets opened or deleted. Period. Up to 40% of your email success hinges on these few words.

Three formulas consistently outperform everything else:

1. Curiosity gap: “The surprising reason most CRM implementations fail”
2. Value proposition: “5-minute setup for 30% more leads”
3. Personalization: “[Name], quick question about [Company]”

Keep subject lines under 45 characters. Mobile devices cut them off, and research shows the first 25 characters matter most. Testing by email expert Jen Jennings found putting offers or personalization in the first 25 characters delivers a 43% lift in response rates.

Emojis? They neither help nor hurt significantly. Use them if they match your brand voice, but don’t stack multiple emojis before text – screen readers will recite each one by name, creating a terrible experience.

B2B subject line psychology differs from B2C. Business audiences respond to:

• Problem-solution framing: “Stop losing leads to poor form design”
• Time-saving promises: “CRM setup in hours, not weeks”
• Insider knowledge: “What top SaaS companies know about retention”
• Data-driven claims: “How we increased demo bookings by 47%”

Test subject lines ruthlessly. A 10% improvement in open rates creates compound growth across your entire email program. Most ESPs offer A/B testing directly in their platforms – use it for every major campaign.

For cold emails specifically, ultra-personalized subject lines referencing recent company news or achievements consistently outperform generic templates. This takes more work but delivers 2-3x the results.

Preheaders: the neglected conversion lever

Your preheader is the preview text that appears after the subject line in most inboxes. Treat it as a combo package with your subject line.

When subject lines and preheaders work together, engagement can double. Don’t waste this space with “If you can’t see this email, click here.” Use it to extend your subject line’s message or add supporting details.

Preheaders appear differently across devices:

• iOS shows up to two lines (~90 characters)
• Gmail desktop shows ~90-100 characters
• Outlook shows ~35-55 characters depending on window size
• Mobile Gmail shows ~30-40 characters

Most B2B companies completely waste this opportunity. Audit your own inbox – you’ll see countless “View in browser” or blank preheaders. This represents significant wasted potential.

Strategic preheader approaches:

• Extend the subject line narrative: “Subject: 3 pricing strategies that increased revenue | Preheader: Without losing a single enterprise customer”
• Add urgency to offers: “Subject: Your custom growth assessment | Preheader: Only 5 spots available this month”
• Preview the value: “Subject: Q3 SaaS Benchmark Report | Preheader: Discover how you compare to companies growing 2x faster”

One tactic for lengthier preheaders: start with your main message, then add invisible spacers to push generic text (“View as webpage”) beyond what shows in most inboxes. This technique keeps your message clean while still including necessary elements.

Body copy: clarity beats cleverness every time

People spend 4-8 seconds scanning your email. They’re not reading every word. They’re skimming for value.

Make your emails scannable:

• Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences max)
• Bullet points for key information
• Bold important sentences
• Use subheadings to break up text
• Include visuals that explain concepts quickly

Orbit Media Studios does this brilliantly. Their emails use bold text for key points, include simple graphics that instantly communicate the main idea, and keep paragraphs tight.

Remember: your email’s job isn’t always to get a sale. Sometimes it’s just to get the click. The landing page has infinite space for details. Be concise in email copy.

Copy structures that consistently convert for B2B:

1. Problem-Agitation-Solution (PAS)
   • Identify a specific pain point
   • Amplify the consequences of that problem
   • Introduce your solution as the answer
2. Before-After-Bridge (BAB)
   • Describe current situation (Before)
   • Paint picture of ideal outcome (After)
   • Explain how to get there (Bridge)
3. Question-Answer-Explanation (QAE)
   • Ask a compelling question
   • Provide direct answer
   • Expand with brief explanation

Writing for different B2B funnel stages:

• Top of funnel: Educational content, industry insights, broad problem framing
• Middle of funnel: Solution comparisons, specific use cases, implementation considerations
• Bottom of funnel: ROI calculations, customer stories, specific offers, trial opportunities

Use power words that trigger action: discover, unlock, avoid, prevent, guarantee, proven, exclusive. These words activate psychological triggers that drive engagement.

For paragraph structure, front-load value. Put your most important point in the first sentence of each paragraph. If readers only scan the first line of each paragraph, they should still grasp your core message.

Call-to-action buttons: what actually drives clicks

Buttons almost always outperform text links. Our eyes naturally gravitate toward blocks of color that stand out from body text.

Button copy matters enormously. “Buy Now” consistently outperforms clever alternatives for conversion-focused emails. For educational content, “Learn More” works well.

Don’t cram paragraph-length text into buttons. JP Morgan made this mistake with a button reading “Call 1-800-555-5555 Monday-Friday 8am-8pm EST” – this looks like a banner ad, not a CTA.

For offers, test putting the specific value in the button: “Save $5 Now” versus generic “Shop Now.” But if your offer is complex (“Get $105 appetizer with $130 purchase”), simplify to “Get the Offer” or “Start Your Order.”

Clarity trumps cleverness. People spending 4-8 seconds with your email need to immediately understand what happens when they click.

CTA performance varies dramatically based on:

1. Size and prominence: Buttons should be 45-57px tall for optimal clickability. Anything smaller creates frustration on mobile. Ensure 10-15px of whitespace around buttons.
2. Color psychology: High-contrast colors consistently outperform subtle tones. Red, orange, and green buttons typically generate 20-30% more clicks than blue or black in most tests.
3. Button position: Primary CTAs should appear “above the fold” (visible without scrolling) on both desktop and mobile. Secondary CTAs can appear lower. Testing shows repeating the same CTA 2-3 times in longer emails increases total clicks by 25-50%.
4. Action-oriented language: Start button copy with strong verbs:
   • For reports/content: Download, Get, Access
   • For services: Start, Try, Schedule
   • For purchases: Buy, Order, Secure
5. First-person framing: “Reserve My Spot” vs “Reserve Your Spot” can increase clicks by 25-90% in some tests. First-person language creates ownership psychology.

A/B test your button copy systematically. Even small changes can drive significant improvements – “Start Free Trial” often outperforms “Get Started” by 15-20% for SaaS companies.

Storytelling: the secret weapon most B2B emails lack

Human-centered stories drive engagement. Even “boring” B2B products have compelling human stories behind them.

Motel 6 created a powerful campaign during the pandemic about babies meeting grandparents for the first time. The emotional connection drove bookings far more effectively than discount offers.

Your stories can come from:

• Customers whose problems you’ve solved
• Team members behind your product
• The founding story of your company
• Real-world impact of your solution

Even if you’re not telling stories about customers you’ve helped, there are always human stories within your brand. Find them and tell them.

Story structures that work in B2B emails:

1. The Hero’s Journey (abbreviated)
   • Customer faced significant challenge
   • Tried multiple solutions without success
   • Discovered your product/service
   • Overcame challenge with measurable results
   • Achieved transformation
2. The Contrast Tale
   • “Before” scenario with pain points
   • “After” scenario with resolved problems
   • Specific turning points that made the difference
   • Measurable outcomes that resulted
3. The Expert Reveal
   • Common industry belief/practice
   • Why it’s actually flawed
   • New approach your company discovered
   • Proof points demonstrating superiority
   • How readers can implement

Storytelling specifically helps with complex B2B sales because:

• Stories create emotional connection to rational decisions
• Stories simplify complex concepts
• Stories are 22x more memorable than facts alone
• Stories reduce objections by addressing them naturally

For email specifically, use “story snippets” – condensed narratives that introduce the story and drive clicks to read the full case. These work well when you lead with the outcome: “How [Company] increased sales pipeline by 43% in 60 days.”

Research shows emails containing customer stories get 52% higher clickthrough rates than product-focused emails with identical offers.

Design elements that strengthen your message

Design isn’t decoration – it’s communication. Strategic design elements make your copy more effective:

1. The inverted pyramid: Start with full-width elements at top, narrowing down to a focused CTA button. This naturally draws the eye down the page. This works because it follows the F-pattern reading habit that eye-tracking studies consistently confirm.
2. Urgent banners: Repeating words like “SALE” in a colored banner creates urgency and importance. These work especially well when they establish pattern interruption – the visual break captures attention.
3. Price anchoring: Show the original price crossed out next to the sale price. This psychological trick makes discounts feel more valuable. The contrast between old and new price creates perceived value beyond the actual discount amount.
4. Strategic faces: Use images of people looking toward your CTA button. This subtly directs the reader’s attention. Eye-tracking studies show readers naturally follow the gaze direction of faces in images.
5. Visualize key points: Made in KC used a simple graphic showing that $0.93 of every dollar stays local when shopping with them versus $0.01 with Amazon. This visual instantly communicates their value proposition better than paragraphs of text.

Advanced design considerations:

• Visual hierarchy: Establish clear content priority through size, weight, color and spacing. Most important elements should visually dominate.
• White space psychology: Increasing white space around key messages improves comprehension by 20%. Don’t crowd your most important points.
• Line length: Optimal readability occurs at 50-75 characters per line. Wider text blocks decrease reading speed and comprehension.
• Contrast ratio: Text should have at least 4.5:1 contrast ratio with background for readability. Dark gray on white (not pure black) often provides optimal readability without eye strain.
• Typography weight: Use font weight (bold, semibold) rather than ALL CAPS for emphasis. All caps reduce reading speed by approximately 10%.

A particular B2B design challenge is balancing brand guidelines with email best practices. Work with your design team to create email-specific interpretations of brand guidelines that maintain identity while optimizing for the channel.

Mobile optimization: non-negotiable

Up to 80% of B2C emails and 30% of B2B emails are opened on mobile devices. If your email looks broken on phones, your results will tank.

Mobile optimization essentials:

• Minimum 14pt font size
• Buttons at least 40-45 pixels tall
• Single-column layouts
• Plenty of white space around elements
• Limited image use (they may not load)

Test your emails on multiple devices before sending. What looks perfect on your desktop can be unreadable on mobile.

Common mobile rendering issues to address:

1. Touchability: All interactive elements need adequate spacing. The average adult fingertip covers 45-57 pixels on a screen. Links placed too close together create “fat finger” frustration.
2. Content prioritization: Mobile screens show 1/3 the content of desktop at first glance. Front-load critical information and CTAs within the first 350-400 pixels of vertical space.
3. Load time: Mobile connections can be unstable. Each second of load time increases abandonment by 12%. Optimize images aggressively – aim for total email size under 100kb.
4. Responsive behavior: True responsive emails adapt layout based on screen size. Elements stack, resize, and sometimes hide depending on device. Most modern ESPs offer responsive templates.
5. Dark mode compatibility: 55% of email users have dark mode enabled. Test how your emails appear in dark mode settings, particularly for logos and images with transparent backgrounds.

The average executive checks email on mobile 3-4 hours daily, often during transit or between meetings. These mobile sessions are typically brief (15-30 seconds) scanning sessions. Design accordingly.

The 60:40 rule for text-to-image ratio

Balance text and images carefully. Too many images trigger spam filters and create problems when images don’t load.

Maintain at least a 60:40 text-to-image ratio. This improves deliverability and ensures your message gets through even if images are blocked.

Remember that 25% of subscribers may still have images turned off by default. Your email must make sense without them.

Technical implementation considerations:

1. Alt text: Every image needs descriptive alt text. This serves dual purposes – accessibility for screen readers and context when images don’t load.
2. Image blocking: Test how your email appears with images disabled. If the message becomes incomprehensible, restructure using more HTML text.
3. File formats: Use JPG for photographs, PNG for graphics with transparency, and GIF sparingly for animation. Modern formats like WebP aren’t consistently supported.
4. Image dimensions: Set width/height attributes to prevent layout shifts during loading. Mobile-friendly images are typically 600-650px wide maximum.
5. Bulletproof buttons: Use HTML/CSS buttons rather than image buttons to ensure clickability even when images are disabled. These are typically created using table cells with background colors.

Rich media considerations:

• Animated GIFs can increase clickthrough rates by 42% according to Experian, but limit to 1-2 per email
• First frame of any GIF should communicate complete message (many clients only show first frame)
• Video thumbnails with play buttons increase clicks by 55% compared to static images
• Embedded video rarely works in email – use thumbnails linking to hosted videos instead

Remember that even “image-light” emails can have strong visual impact through strategic use of HTML formatting, background colors, and typography.

Implementation: where most B2B emails fail

The gap between mediocre and exceptional email copy isn’t knowledge – it’s implementation. Companies seeing 3-5x industry average results execute methodically with discipline.

Start with these high-impact areas:

1. Rewrite subject lines to focus on the first 25 characters
2. Create subject line/preheader combinations that work together
3. Make body copy scannable with short paragraphs and bold text
4. Test button copy against text links
5. Add one customer story to your next campaign

Don’t try to fix everything at once. Implement one improvement per campaign and measure the results.

Implementation frameworks that drive results:

1. The 90-day optimization plan:
   • Month 1: Audit current performance and establish benchmarks
   • Month 2: Implement template improvements and copy structure changes
   • Month 3: Begin systematic A/B testing program
2. The quick wins approach:
   • Day 1: Fix most critical deliverability issues
   • Day 7: Implement improved subject line formulas
   • Day 14: Revise CTAs and button styling
   • Day 30: Introduce basic segmentation and targeting
3. The content matrix strategy:
   • Map your content types to buyer journey stages
   • Create templates for each content type
   • Establish copy frameworks for each template
   • Build systematic testing rotation

For in-house teams, create an email swipe file documenting:

• Subject lines that performed above average
• Copy structures that drove highest clicks
• CTAs that generated best conversion
• Headers and formatting that improved engagement

For agencies and consultants, develop client-specific playbooks that document successful approaches, brand voice adaptations, and performance baselines.

Testing framework for continuous improvement

Establish a systematic testing program:

1. Test subject lines first (they have the biggest impact)
2. Then test CTAs and button copy
3. Next test layout and design elements
4. Finally test content length and format

Document everything. Build a swipe file of what works for your specific audience.

Advanced testing approaches:

1. Multivariate testing: Test multiple variables simultaneously to identify winning combinations and interactions between elements. Requires larger send volumes (10,000+ subscribers).
2. Segment-specific testing: What works for one audience segment may fail for another. Test the same variables across different segments to identify audience-specific preferences.
3. Time-based testing: Test the same email at different send times to identify optimal engagement windows. B2B specifically shows dramatic differences between early morning (6-8am) and mid-day (11am-1pm) sends.
4. Progressive optimization: Start with big variable changes (completely different approaches), then refine through increasingly subtle variations of winning concepts.
5. Long-term impact testing: Measure not just immediate engagement but downstream metrics like sales velocity, deal size, and customer retention based on early email interactions.

Statistical significance matters. For most B2B lists, you need 1,000+ recipients per variation to draw valid conclusions. Smaller lists should focus on dramatic tests rather than subtle variations.

The companies dominating their markets don’t have secret email formulas. They test relentlessly, document what works, and apply those insights consistently.