If you’re like most people, you’ve probably had an email account for years, and it’s easy to forget how exciting it can be when the first message arrives in your inbox.
If you haven’t already heard of cold emailing, let me give you a quick rundown: it’s exactly what it sounds like; except instead of sending out emails to people who have signed up on your website or requested information through other channels (like social media).
This is when you’re reaching out directly to potential customers who haven’t interacted with your brand before.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Cold email marketing can be a powerful tool for business growth. |
| 2. Crafting personalized and relevant cold emails improves engagement. |
| 3. Utilize effective templates and strategies to increase response rates. |
| 4. Building a strong value proposition helps capture recipient’s interest. |
| 5. Follow up strategically to maintain engagement and nurture leads. |
| 6. Avoid spammy tactics and ensure compliance with email regulations. |
| 7. Continuous testing and refinement are essential for success. |
Before You Begin
Before you begin, you’ll want to set some goals for your email marketing campaign.
Consider how many emails you want to send and how often, what kind of results you’d like to see from the campaign (sales? new leads?), as well as any other metrics that are important for your business.
Once you’ve created a goal and decided on a schedule, it’s time to start building out your list. You can use tools like Mailchimp or Ahrefs’ free email lists if you’re just getting started with cold emailing.
However, if you have an existing list of contacts who already trust what you have to say and buy products from your company regularly or even better your best bet may be creating a premium opt-in list through Leadpages or ConvertKit (with its built-in landing page builder).
Once that’s done, plan out the content of each message; this will help ensure that every communication is consistent across all channels.
Once these steps are complete, it’s time for the fun part: setting up an automated sequence so that new subscribers get added automatically!
What to say in your first email
Now that you know who you want to reach out to, it’s time to figure out what exactly you will say.
Be relevant: Your email should be relevant and personalized for the customer. This means their name, company name, and location should all be included in your message if possible.
For example, if you’re targeting a company based in New York City then use “Hello [Company Name] New York office” instead of just “Hello [Company Name].”
You can even include something as simple as “I’m writing from Boston” at the top of your message if someone from another city reached out to them first with no specific mention of where they were located.
Be polite: I’ve seen many cold emails that are so rude that they turn away potential customers before they even read what was said! Be polite and respectful when reaching out through email;
Always remember that this person has no idea who or why they’re being contacted let alone what kind of interaction is coming next (and unfortunately there might be hundreds more like yours!).
The tone should still match the tone used on social media channels though – keep it casual but professional while also showing respect by including proper punctuation/capitalization, etc…
Looking to enhance your business through cold email marketing? Learn the ropes with our comprehensive guide on A Simple Guide to Cold Emailing: How I Got 5x Response, and discover effective strategies to boost your response rates.
Don’t Be Afraid To Follow Up A Second Time
Just because a person doesn’t respond to your first email doesn’t mean you should give up on them. The best thing you can do is follow up with another email that continues the conversation. You may want to make sure that there’s a good reason for sending another email, though.
If they haven’t responded in two days, then definitely send out another email; if it’s been less than two days.
If they still haven’t responded (and don’t think they will), then reconsider sending out another one or even just calling the person on the phone instead of sending them an email.
If you decide that it’s okay to send more than one follow-up message, here are some tips:
Make sure it’s clear what your intentions are when following up after getting no response from someone who initially replied within 24 hours of receiving your initial cold email campaign.”
Why Your Subject Line Is So Important
The subject line might be the most important part of your cold email. It’s the first thing recipients see, so it needs to strike a chord with them immediately. A good subject line will also help you avoid getting marked as spam.
The best subject lines are short and descriptive: “I want to speak with you about X” is better than “I am an entrepreneur who wants to meet you.” Your goal is to get the person interested enough in what you have to say that they open your email and read more which means writing something catchy, but not overly clever or gimmicky (unless, of course, it’s appropriate).
You should also make sure that the content of your message is relevant; if I’m looking for business advice on how to run a successful startup, don’t send me an email about marketing strategies for small businesses!
Cold email marketing can bring “aha” moments that transform your approach. Explore 10 illuminating revelations in our article on 10 Cold Email “Aha” Moments, offering insights to refine your outreach strategy.
If Your Cold Email Is Long, Make Sure You Include A Summary Of Your Email At The Top Of It
If your cold email is long, make sure you include a summary of your email at the top of it.
This way, the recipient can easily scan through what they need to know and find the part of your message that’s relevant to them. In this case, “relevant” means something like “We want to offer our services.”
You could also summarize by saying something like “I’ve been researching various options for an IT consultant,” but only if that’s really important information in context and not just filler text.
If you’re sending attachments with your cold email campaign (and I would never advise doing this), then make sure they are relevant to both the subject line and body content too! For example:
If someone owns a bakery shop and has posted about wanting some new equipment for their kitchen equipment suppliers website design project landing page on Facebook groups such as Small Business Owners.
Professional Networking Group or Food Service Professionals Online Networking Community…then I might send them links to relevant vendors or other companies whose products/services could help him/her achieve their goals faster than others’
So he/she can get back into business quickly after being closed down due to lack of funds caused from lack of sales when trying different ways online advertising campaigns online marketing strategy management software solutions….
When Sending Cold Emails, Always Use A Signature
A signature is a small but important part of every email that you send. A signature should include your name, title, and contact information; links to your social media profiles; links to your website and blog;
An email newsletter signup form (if you have one); a link to download your latest white paper or ebook; and any other relevant details.
Keep To One Call-To-Action In Every Email
It’s a good idea to keep your emails simple and easy to read. You want your call-to-action (CTA) to be clear, so readers know what they should do next.
The most important thing is not to confuse the reader with multiple CTAs or give them too many choices.
If you send out an email with two or more CTA buttons, it will confuse people who are just trying to find their way around your website for the first time.
It also means that you’re missing out on opportunities because some people won’t click on any of them if there are too many options available.
New to cold email marketing? Get started with our comprehensive resource, Cold Emailing 101: A Beginner’s Guide, designed to equip you with fundamental knowledge and tactics for successful campaigns.
Audience Segmentation Is Essential For Effective Cold Emailing
When you’re working with your list, it’s important to understand that the more specific you can be with your audience segmentation, the better your results will be.
One of the most common mistakes people make when they begin cold email marketing campaigns is sending messages out to their entire list at once without taking into account who their customers are and what they might be interested in reading.
It may seem easy enough just to send an email blast or two and hope for some kind of response.
But if you really want to get results from your cold emails, then you must take time beforehand thinking about how best to reach out specifically to each individual on your list (or even within each group).
You Don’t Always Need To Offer Something For Free In Your Initial Cold Email
As you may have guessed, not all cold emails need to be free. For example, if your product is a tool for designers, send them a link to an article about the best design tools for their industry.
Or if your business is in the fitness space, you can send them information on how exercise can help reduce stress and improve sleep quality.
In some cases, offering something of value is enough to get people interested in what you have to say. For example:
Discount code/coupon – Offer something like a discount or coupon when they buy from your store or sign up for an account with you. This way they will feel like they’re getting something out of it too!
Just make sure that whatever offer you make is relevant and interesting to the recipient so that it doesn’t seem spammy (we don’t want anyone writing off our emails right away).
Link – You could also send links or articles related to what it is that made us contact them in the first place (for example: “Here’s an article that explains why we thought this would be helpful”).
This type of offer helps build trust because we’re showing that we care about providing value instead of just trying to sell something immediately.
This usually isn’t great because most people aren’t interested in buying things directly after receiving unsolicited emails asking them questions about themselves without any context beforehand…
Always make sure you proofread your emails thoroughly before sending them out.
Proofreading your email is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your message is clear, concise, and professional.
Before you send an email out:
Use a spell-checker. If you still find that it contains errors after this step, then revert to step 1.
Run it through a grammar checker (if available). If you still find that it contains errors after this step, then revert to step 1 or 2 as necessary until all issues are resolved!
Crafting effective cold email templates is key to capturing attention. Explore our insights into creating Cold Email Templates That Convert and boost your chances of engaging recipients with compelling messages.
Be Careful When Reaching Out To Customers On Social Media
When you’re trying to build a relationship with your customers, it’s important to remember that they’re not just numbers or products. They’re people. And people have feelings and opinions and thoughts!
So when you reach out to them on social media, don’t be too pushy. Don’t spam them with promotional posts at all times of the day that’s annoying as hell and probably not going to get you very far in terms of building those relationships.
Instead of spamming your followers’ feeds with sales pitches every day, try posting useful content (and sometimes advertising) once or twice per week instead.
This is especially important if you have a big following on Facebook: there are lots of brands out there asking for “likes” all the time and most people don’t want more than one brand in their newsfeed at any given moment.
So if your message seems like just another promotion from a company trying desperately for more reach (without giving anything back), then it won’t go over well with these potential customers!
Always Have A Tracking System In Place
It’s crucial to have a tracking system in place so that you can see who is opening your emails and who is clicking on links within the email.
This will help you to determine which subject lines are more effective at getting people to read the content of your email, as well as which links are working well and which aren’t.
It also allows you to see if certain people are more likely or less likely to open an email that includes a particular subject line or link than others.
Make It Easy For The Person To Unsubscribe From Your List When They Want To Unsubscribe
While cold emailing can be a powerful way to get in touch with potential clients and customers, it’s important to make sure that you are not spamming people. This means that you should do everything possible to make it easy for your recipients to unsubscribe from your list.
There are several ways in which you can do this:
Make sure the unsubscribe link is visible in every email you send out. You may have heard that there is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email sent by MailChimp (and most other email services).
While this is true, most people don’t see this link until they scroll down to the bottom of their inboxes.
So make sure yours stands out! It’s also important that this link appears with each message so that readers know where they can find it if needed later on down the road when scrolling through old messages may not be as convenient.
Give The Customer An Incentive To Respond Right Away. (Mention An Early Bird Discount Or Give Them An Exclusive Vip Ticket Offer)
This is a great way to encourage your customer to respond right away.
If you mention an early bird discount or give them an exclusive VIP ticket offer, it will help encourage the customer to respond quickly because they want to make sure they can secure the deal before anyone else does.
Make sure you’re offering something of value that they would be interested in! For example: if someone is looking for marketing services, maybe offer them a free consultation call with one of your experts?
If you can think of something relevant and helpful for your customer, then include it in the cold email template. Make sure it’s clear what they will receive as soon as they respond with their interest level (e.g., “I’ll send over our client success stories within 24 hours”).
- For best results with cold emails, stick with text-based emails instead of HTML-based ones.
- HTML-based emails are harder to read and unsubscribe from.
- HTML-based emails are harder to track, which means you’ll have a hard time figuring out who is opening your email, what they’re clicking on, and where they’re going after reading it.
HTML-based emails take longer to load and that’s before the reader even opens them! Users will see this as SPAM and will likely delete your email without even looking at it. That’s why we always recommend using text-based cold emails (like .txt or .html).
A Simple Roadmap That Will Help You Build Your Business Through Cold Email Marketing
When you’re writing an email, it’s easy to let yourself get distracted by all the things you could be doing. You want to make sure that every word you write is perfect and that there are no typos, so your initial draft might take a while.
But the reality is that your first draft probably won’t be great and even if it were, many people would likely still delete or ignore your message without reading past the first few sentences.
In order to make sure that people actually read what you’ve written, follow these steps:
- Make sure your offer is compelling and creates enough interest in readers so they’ll want to learn more about it from you.
- Write in such a way that makes sense for your audience and clearly explains why they should engage with what it is your business does (or how).
Focus on short, direct emails that are easy on the eye and provide enough information for readers but don’t try too hard at being witty because often this can come across as forced humour instead of genuine warmth towards customer needs/interests.
Which could turn off potential customers who would otherwise have engaged with content if only slightly different wording had been used instead!
Effective email marketing strategies can revolutionize your business. Dive into our article, Email Marketing Strategy: What I Do and How I Do It, to gain valuable insights and techniques for optimizing your email campaigns.
Conclusion
We have covered all the basic information you need to get started with cold email marketing. It’s a great way to reach out to potential customers in an effective manner, but it does take time and effort.
Be patient with yourself during this process; it might take some trial and error before you find what works best for you. As long as you keep following these tips, we’re confident your business will grow!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to further explore the world of cold email marketing:
Cold Email Strategy That Converts: Expert Tips and Templates Learn from experts about crafting a cold email strategy that converts leads into customers, along with useful templates to get you started.
How Cold Email Marketing Can Grow Your Business Forbes Communications Council discusses the potential of cold email marketing in expanding and enhancing your business.
The Power of Cold Email Marketing WordStream presents insights into the effectiveness and power of cold email marketing, providing you with strategies to make the most of this approach.
FAQs
How can I create an effective cold email strategy?
Crafting an effective cold email strategy involves researching your target audience, personalizing your messages, providing value, and having a clear call-to-action.
What are some key tips for improving cold email open rates?
To improve cold email open rates, focus on crafting attention-grabbing subject lines, utilizing personalization, and avoiding spammy language.
Is cold email marketing suitable for all types of businesses?
Cold email marketing can be effective for various businesses, but it’s crucial to tailor your approach to your industry and audience for optimal results.
How do I avoid having my cold emails marked as spam?
To avoid being marked as spam, ensure your cold emails are relevant, personalized, and comply with email marketing regulations. Also, make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe.
What are some best practices for following up on cold emails?
Following up on cold emails should be done strategically. Send friendly and valuable follow-up messages, reminding recipients of your initial email and providing additional information.
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.