What is a Cold Email?
A cold email is when someone sends an email to a person or company they don't know.
The sender has no relationship with the receiver and the receiver doesn't expect or ask for the email. That's why it's called "cold" - it comes out of nowhere.
People send cold emails when they want to start a conversation, sell something, or ask for a meeting or call.
For example, salespeople may cold email potential new clients. Job seekers may cold email companies to ask about job opportunities. Entrepreneurs may cold email people to grow their professional networks.
However, cold emails are sometimes seen as spammy or annoying if not sent carefully. Many people just delete or ignore them.
Difference between cold email and spam email?
The main difference between a cold email and spam is whether the receiver agreed to get the email or not.
A cold email is sent to someone the sender doesn't know, but it's a real try to start a talk or build a connection. A spam email is sent to tons of people without caring if they want it.
Spam emails are usually unwanted and not related to the person getting them. They often try to sell questionable things or services, blasting out to giant groups without worrying about people's needs or interests.
They can be harmful, which is why many email services automatically block or filter them into spam folders.
How are cold emails important?
Cold emails can be effective in many ways:
Reach New Customers
Cold emails allow you to contact potential new customers who haven't heard of your business before. This helps you grow your customer base.
Personalize Messages
You can research who you're emailing and write personalized notes that are more likely to get a good response.
Affordable
Emailing is an affordable marketing tactic compared to other types of advertising. You can reach a lot of people without spending too much.
Track Results
Using email marketing tools, you can see open rates, clicks, and other data. This allows you to measure what works and improve your future emails.
Network and Collaborate
Cold emails can help you connect with industry leaders, partners, and influencers. This can provide new opportunities.
Time Efficient
Email allows you to carefully craft one message and quickly send it to many people. It saves time compared to cold calling each person.
Purpose of sending cold emails
There are several main reasons people send cold emails:
Make Sales
To introduce a product or service to potential new customers. Cold emails try to start a sales discussion.
Network
To reach out to industry leaders, experts, or other professionals who may be helpful contacts for business goals.
Find Jobs
People email recruiters, hiring managers, or other job connections to ask about possible job opportunities.
Build Partnerships
To search for potential partners, collaborators, or sponsors for a business or project.
Conduct Research
Experts may cold email scholars, researchers or specialists to request insights or advice on some topic.
Raise Brand Awareness
By emailing new groups about your brand in a personalized way, you can increase brand recognition and trust.
Generate Leads
Compelling cold emails with strong calls-to-action can produce promising new leads, especially alongside other marketing tactics such as social media and content marketing.
Expand Email List
Offering free content in exchange for contact info allows you to add interested recipients to your email lists.
Forge Relationships
Personalized, valuable conversations via cold email can begin relationships with future customers or partners.
Are all cold emails opened and read by the recipients?
People do open cold emails, but it depends on a variety of factors.
The subject line - Does it grab the person's attention?
Is the sender familiar or credible to the recipient?
Is the content relevant to what the recipient cares about?
According to various studies, the average open rate for cold emails is way below 50%.
For a campaign to be successful, experts recommend striving for over 50 per cent open rate. Under 50 per cent usually means the campaign did not work well and most emails were ignored.
Is there a favourable time to send cold emails?
The ideal timing depends on several factors. But there are some general guidelines:
Avoid extremely early morning or late night - Many people read emails between 8-11 am during normal office hours. Those tend to be good hours for cold emails.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays tend to work best - Studies show the middle of the workweek is less chaotic, so people may have more time to read and reply.
Avoid major holidays and weekends - People often focus on family/personal activities then, so cold emails may be ignored.
Consider the recipient's time zone - If emailing someone in a drastically different time zone, target times convenient for them and their typical working hours.
What decreases email deliverability?
Several factors hurt email deliverability:
Bad Reputation - If your domain, IP address or the sending email address itself has previously sent spam, future emails stand a high chance of being automatically filtered out.
Incorrect SPF/DKIM Setup - SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records are used to verify the authenticity of emails sent from a domain. These authentication methods verify domains/emails. If these records are incorrectly configured, red flags go up.
Exceeding Sending Limits - Each email provider sets limits on how many emails or what volume can be sent over time from a domain or address before it is marked as potential spam.
Spammy Content - Emails could get flagged if they have too much sales language, all-caps text, repeated symbols, or strange file attachments.
Too Much Volume - Finally, simply sending way too many emails or sending them too frequently can cause providers to label you a spammer.
How to create a valuable cold email?
You need to follow some steps to create a valuable cold email:
Preparing your email address and domain for cold emailing
To warm up your email address and domain, start by sending small batches of emails to engaged subscribers, gradually increasing your email volume over time.
This helps establish a positive reputation with email providers and improves your deliverability rates.
Finding and researching your target audience
Creating a buyer persona and identifying your target audience helps you find the right leads for your business.
Use tools like LinkedIn and Google to research potential leads and gather information about their interests and needs.
Once you have a list of leads, segment your list based on factors like industry, location, and interests to improve your targeting.
Selecting the best tools for your email marketing strategy
Look for an email marketing platform that meets your needs and budget. Features like list segmentation, automation, and analytics can help you improve your email marketing strategy.
Some popular options include:
Mailchimp
Constant Contact
HubSpot
Woodpecker
Amazon SES
Making your cold emails relevant and engaging
Personalizing your emails can greatly increase your response rates. Use the recipient's name and personalize the content based on their interests and needs.
For example, if you're reaching out to a business owner, mention their company name and discuss how your product or service can help their business specifically.
Grabbing attention and encouraging opens
Your subject line should be short, attention-grabbing, and relevant to the recipient's needs. You can experiment with different subject lines and track their performance.
For example, try using a question, a benefit statement, or a call to action in your subject line to see what works best for your audience.
Crafting effective messages that provide value
It can be difficult to craft an effective message that gets their attention and leads to a response.
Here are some best practices that can help you create compelling cold emails that get results.
Personalize your message
The first step to creating an effective cold email is to personalize your message as much as possible.
This means doing some research on the recipient and tailoring your message to their specific needs or interests.
Use their name and reference any recent news or events related to their industry or business.
Keep it concise
Cold emails should be short and to the point. Most people receive dozens or even hundreds of emails each day, so you need to make your message stand out.
Keep your email within appropriate words and focus on the most important information.
Be clear and specific
Make it clear what you are offering and how it can benefit the recipient. Avoid vague or general statements and be specific about how your product or service can help solve their problem or meet their needs.
Use a clear and compelling subject line
As discussed earlier, the subject line needs to be clear and attention-grabbing because it is the first thing the recipient will see.
Use language that is specific and compelling, such as "10% off your first order" or "Introducing a new product that will transform your business."
Provide a clear call to action
Your email should end with a clear call to action that encourages the recipient to take action. This could be a request for a meeting, a call to try your product or service, or an invitation to learn more about your business.
What does a well-crafted email look like?
Let’s be clear, there is no one-size-fits-all template for a cold email, as the best approach will depend on the recipient, their industry, and the specific purpose of the email.
However, here is a general template that can be adapted for different situations:
Subject: [Clear and compelling subject line]
Dear [Recipient's Name],
I came across your company's [specific project or initiative] and I was really impressed by what you have accomplished. My name is [Your Name], and I am reaching out to you because I believe that [your product or service] could be of interest to your business.
[Personalize your message by mentioning something specific about their company or industry, such as recent news or events.]
We have helped [similar companies or clients] achieve [specific results or benefits], and I believe that we could help your business achieve similar success.
[Provide a clear and specific offer or solution, and explain how it can benefit the recipient's business.]
If this sounds interesting to you, I would love to schedule a call or meeting to discuss this further. Please let me know what dates and times work best for you.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
Use segmentation
Segmentation means dividing your subscriber list into smaller groups based on certain qualities - like demographics, past behaviours, interests, or brand interactions.
The goal is to send more relevant cold emails by customizing messages for each type of recipient.
Tailored outreach performs better. Start by identifying unique groups among your subscribers and what appeals to them or their pain points.
For instance, if you are marketing a new line of cosmetics, you could create a specific email campaign for women over 40, highlighting products that cater to their skincare needs.
Sending cold emails at the right time for maximum impact
Timing matters. Use available data on your target audience's habits to decide optimal timing.
For instance, if emailing corporate professionals, aim for their typical business hours when they're often checking inboxes.
Whereas evenings or weekends may be ineffective for reaching office workers, but better for consumers.
Nurturing relationships with recipients who don't respond
Follow up with recipients who don't respond to your initial email.
Use auto-responders to efficiently send initial follow-up messages. But have customized, non-automated replies ready if they do write you back.
Send a couple more emails over time to show you sincerely want to connect. But don't bug them too much or be overly pushy.
Testing your cold emails for better results
Use A/B testing to experiment with different versions of your cold emails and track their performance.
Test different subject lines, copy, and calls to action to see what works best for your audience.
Use reporting tools to analyze your data and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Look at metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to see how your emails perform and make improvements as needed.
Conclusion
Cold emailing is still an important method for getting leads and forming relationships in the modern business world.
But the way effective cold emailing works has changed quite a bit. It now focuses much more on personalization, targeting specific groups, and offering something valuable to recipients.
Through careful strategy, sales teams can make cold emails that gradually build genuine connections with potential customers.