It’s obvious that cold emailing is a great way to reach out to potential clients, but many business owners don’t know how to get started.
There are so many tips and tricks out there that it can be overwhelming, but here are some of the most important things you need to know to get your first clients using cold email:
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Personalize subject lines and emails for each recipient. |
| 2. Craft a concise and compelling value proposition. |
| 3. Research and understand your target audience’s pain points. |
| 4. Segment your email list for more targeted outreach. |
| 5. Use social proof and testimonials to build credibility. |
| 6. A/B test different email elements to optimize results. |
| 7. Create a clear and engaging call-to-action (CTA). |
| 8. Leverage follow-up emails to increase response rates. |
| 9. Use a professional and friendly tone in your emails. |
| 10. Provide valuable content or resources upfront. |
1. Personalize The Email
Don’t just copy and paste an email that you send to everyone, because it will sound generic. Instead, use their name in the subject line and mention their company or title between the lines of your pitch.
The more personalized your emails are, the better chance you have of them responding to you!
When it comes to mastering the art of cold email outreach, there’s a lot to learn. If you’re looking to boost your response rates, our guide on A Simple Guide to Cold Emailing can provide valuable insights and help you achieve a 5x increase in your email response rate.
2. Focus On The Benefits, Not Features
You should be selling benefits and not features or functions. The difference is subtle but important: a feature is the “what” of your product, while a benefit is the “why”.
For example, saying that you have an app with no bugs does not inspire confidence in potential customers.
However, promising that your app will save users time and money by making it easier to find parking spots near their destination would interest them more because it explains how they are going to benefit from using your product or service.
3. Keep It Short
Keep it short. Short email = good. Long email = bad.
Short emails are more likely to be read because they are easy to digest and quick for your reader to get through.
They also leave room for a longer response if you’re looking for one, which is always better than a long-winded answer that doesn’t even address the original question or topic at hand.
4. Make It Easy For Them To Respond
One of the most important things you can do to make it easy for a client to respond is to make it EASY.
Make sure that your subject line is clear and concise. It should include the words “cold email,” “proposal,” or something similar so that they know right away what they’re opening.
Include an offer in your message that’s irresistible enough for them to want to respond, but not so good that they feel like they have no choice but to buy from you (or even worse, get angry).
An example could be something like: “If you’re interested in learning more about how I can help your company increase its revenue by 20% this year, let me know!”
Make sure nothing is confusing about where/how the reader can contact you if he/she has questions about your offer or has any other concerns before committing fully.
For example: “Feel free [INSERT YOUR CONTACT INFO HERE].” This makes it clear as day what action needs taken next and also avoids any awkward pauses during which someone might forget who sent them this first email!
Crafting compelling cold email templates is a skill that can greatly impact your success rate. Explore a variety of templates that have been proven to convert in our article on Cold Email Templates That Convert. Make your outreach more effective with these proven templates.
5. Use A Professional Email Address
A simple step to make your emails more professional is to use a professional email address. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to use an alias, or something that makes you think is clever, but this can hurt your chances of getting the job.
You don’t want the person you are reaching out to see “blahblah12345@gmail.com” as their first impression of you and your business!
Several things make for bad email addresses:
Using a personal email such as Gmail instead of an @gmail domain name will not work well in this situation because it looks unprofessional and spammy.
That being said, even if someone has an @gmail account they should still avoid using it unless they have an established client base or are running their own business full-time (and thus need the flexibility).
In general, I would recommend against using any type of free provider like Yahoo!, Hotmail/Outlook, etc., as these do not project professionalism like Gmail does (although there is always some kind of exception).
6. Write Better Subject Lines
The subject line of your email is extremely important. It’s the first thing potential clients will see, and if they don’t like it, they won’t open it.
Your subject line should be descriptive and relevant to the message within. For example: “I Can Help You With Your Tax Return” or “I’m Looking Forward To Working With You.”
This way, you can quickly capture their attention by making sure they know exactly what they’ll get out of reading your email (i.e., tax help).
The subject line should also be short enough to fit in as much information as possible but not so long that it looks like spam (which is never good).
Make sure that whatever you write fits within the character limit for mailboxes on different platforms this means checking Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Microsoft Outlook, and others; some have longer character limits than others (so keep that in mind when crafting!).
The last thing you want is for someone who doesn’t know either one of us the sender or recipient to think my message might be spam instead of something we’ve carefully crafted together over months upon months past its conception date!
Leveraging cold email effectively can lead to fruitful results in client acquisition. Discover how one marketer achieved success using innovative strategies in our article, How I Leverage Cold Email to Get Real Fruit in the Basket. Learn from real-world examples to enhance your own email outreach approach.
7. Avoid Spam Words
This is a great rule of thumb for any email you send, but it’s especially important with cold emails. Avoid using any word that has anything to do with making money or how much money you can make.
I’ve seen people use the word “profit” in their subject lines and get immediate unsubscribes from my clients’ email list because they thought it was an actual pitch from an affiliate marketer or someone trying to sell something.
You never want your email through the eyes of the recipient, so avoid these words:
- Free
- Money (or dollars)
- Pay (or payment)
- Profit (or profits)
- Make (or made)
There are other people out there who are also trying to get clients using cold emails. Don’t let yours be mistaken for spam!
8. Use A Postal Address In Your Signature
One of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is by using a real postal address in your signature. Do not use a PO box or other address type that can be easily dismissed. You want to make sure they know they are dealing with a real person and not some fly-by-night scammer.
Here’s what you need:
- Use a real street address, not a PO Box
- Use an actual city and state, not just “Anytown, USA”
9. Prospect In Batches
When you’re first starting, it’s important to prospect in batches. If you try and do everything at once, it can feel overwhelming and discourage you from continuing to work on the business.
Instead of approaching people all at once, do it in batches of 10-30 clients at a time. This will give your pipeline some breathing room, and help keep things manageable for the long term as well as short term.
10. Test Everything And Be Willing To Change Things Up
You should test everything when you’re cold emailing. That includes:
- Subject lines
- Email templates
- Time of day to send emails (this one is important!)
Increasing your client base through cold emailing requires a strategic approach. Dive into effective tactics and techniques in our guide, Effective Cold Emailing: How to Get More Clients Using Email. Enhance your client acquisition skills and see improved results in your outreach efforts.
11. Split-Test Your Copy And Offer, Again And Again
Split-testing is a way to test different versions of your cold emails and landing pages.
It’s also one of the most important parts of your marketing strategy because it will help you figure out what works and what doesn’t work, which means that it can help you save time and money by getting rid of bad ideas from the get-go.
What does split-testing involve? It’s testing two or more versions of your email or landing page (for example A vs B) to see which performs better.
This allows you to see which version gets higher open rates, clickthrough rates, and conversion rates so that you can make changes accordingly.
For example: If version A has a higher open rate than version B but a lower conversion rate than version C – then maybe version C should be used instead!
12. Do Something Crazy / Remarkable / Unusual
Sometimes, the best way to get a client is to do something crazy.
There’s no reason why you can’t use an unusual format for your email. Try using a different color, font size, or message. Perhaps offer something completely different than what other people are doing. A call-to-action in an unexpected place might work too!
13. Find And Send Warm Leads
Warm leads are people that you have already engaged with in some way. For example, they have already visited your website or contacted you through social media. Cold leads are people that haven’t been exposed to your product or service before, making them much more difficult to reach out to than warm leads.
Hot leads are a step above cold because they’ve either engaged with your company in the past or had a positive experience with someone who worked for it (like an employee).
Hot leads can be easier to get a response from than colds and usually won’t waste time on companies that don’t interest them. However, hot leads may still not be interested in what you’re selling if there isn’t enough rapport between the two of you yet!
14. Ask Questions At The End Of The Email To getting Response Rates Up
Once you have asked the reader to take some form of action, it is important to get them to respond. A good way to do this is to ask questions at the end of your email.
These questions should be relevant to their business and their industry, but should not be too personal or difficult for them to answer.
If they are too complex, then it can make it seem like you are fishing for information that isn’t needed at this point (and may even put people off).
The same goes if they are too vague (e.g., “What do you think about our product?”) or specific (e.g., “When will we receive our order?”).
15. Use Numbers And Bullets Lists In Your Copy
For example, you might want to make a list of steps or benefits in your copy. The email below is a great example of this and it works so well because the reader can easily scan the headline and then jump into the details.
- Use Numbers And Bullets Lists In Your Copy
If you have a lot of information to convey, use numbers and bullet lists to make your email more readable. You can also use them if you’re selling multiple products or services at once!
16. Try Reaching Out Via Phone Or Skype If You Don’t Get A Response Via Email
If you don’t hear back, try reaching out via phone or Skype. Sometimes, a voice message will get your email noticed more than an email. It’s also a good idea to try several different mediums; if they respond to the email but not phone calls, try that next time.
The key is to be persistent and personal. Since you’ll be contacting them at their office and/or home number, make sure it’s okay for you to do so before calling or messaging them (or else this could be considered harassment).
Consider using their name in the message as well this helps the recipient feel recognized by someone who knows them personally (i.e., not just another generic cold-caller).
You should also tailor your message based on what kind of relationship you have with them:
If it’s close friends or family members then keep it lighthearted; otherwise, keep things professional until they’ve been able to get feedback from others about how well they liked working with you before approaching this topic seriously again.”
Cold email templates can be a game-changer when it comes to sparking engagement and driving meaningful conversations. If you’re in search of practical templates to improve your outreach, explore our collection of 13 Cold Email Templates that you can start using today to enhance your email marketing efforts.
Conclusion
These strategies will help you get your first client. They can also help you get more clients in the future, by providing valuable insight into what works and what doesn’t work when contacting potential clients.
Further Reading
Cold Outreach: Strategies for Effective Client Acquisition Short Description: Explore strategies for successful client acquisition through cold outreach and expand your business reach.
Winning New B2B Customers with a Cold Email Template Short Description: Learn how to win over new B2B customers with a highly effective cold email template that brought in 16 customers.
Dos and Don’ts of Cold Email Outreach: Expert Tips Short Description: Discover expert dos and don’ts for successful cold email outreach to maximize your outreach efforts.
FAQs
How can I improve my cold outreach success rate?
- Answer: Improving your cold outreach success rate involves crafting personalized emails, targeting the right audience, and offering value that resonates with recipients.
What are some key elements of an effective cold email template?
- Answer: An effective cold email template should have a compelling subject line, personalized introduction, clear value proposition, and a strong call-to-action.
Is cold email outreach still relevant in today’s digital marketing landscape?
- Answer: Yes, cold email outreach remains relevant when done strategically, as it can provide direct communication with potential clients and customers.
What are some common mistakes to avoid in cold email outreach?
- Answer: Avoid sending generic mass emails, overusing sales language, and neglecting to research your recipients’ needs and pain points.
How can I measure the success of my cold email campaigns?
- Answer: You can measure the success of your cold email campaigns by tracking metrics like open rates, click-through rates, response rates, and conversion rates.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.