Learn how to write cold emails that will authentically encourage a response

Cold emailing is an effective way to gain new clients, but it can be very difficult to get right. The whole process can get exhausting when you just aren’t getting as many responses as you expected. There is, however, still a huge market for cold email campaigns as they are still used as a sales tactic in almost every single industry. So, if you’re considering trying your hand at cold emailing, keep reading to find out the most important — and lesser known — things you should know before you embark on your first campaign.

1. Don’t Focus Too Much on Your Product or Service

Though this may seem counterintuitive, you need to focus on your recipient rather than your business when writing cold emails

Your email shouldn’t feel like a sales pitch, it should feel like an offer.

Imagine you receive a cold email in your inbox and it’s showing you a new, wonderful, and cutting edge piece of technology that is sure to dominate the next year in popular tech. “That’s great!” you might be thinking, “but what does it have to do with me?”

There has to be a reason why you received this email, and if that is not immediately clear, you are far less likely to respond. That’s why you need to relate your message to the recipient right off the bat. Avoid introductory phrases like “Nice to meet you!” that demonstrates that the email is, in fact, cold. To grab your reader’s attention you should give a compliment or an offer that relates specifically to your intended audience. A great example of this kind of introduction or subject like is something like — ”We noticed you are looking to grow your online presence by X%,” or “I can help you decrease your site load time.” These direct phrases have a clear offer that is designed to entice your reader. Remember, you are not selling to your recipient, you are presenting them with an exciting offer. 

The most important thing to remember when writing a cold email is to make your goals clear. By including a persuasive CTA in your message, your reader will know exactly how they should respond to your email. The clearer you are in your message, the more responses your emails will garner. 

2. Don’t Worry About Subject Line Length

There are a lot of things to consider when writing your cold email — but subject line length is not one of them

Don’t waste your time getting the perfect character length.

It is a fairly common misconception that there is an ideal character length for your email subject lines. This is not the case. What really matters is the content of your subject line. When you are writing your subject line, you want to keep our previous points in mind. That is to say, make an offer, not a sales pitch. To determine which subject lines are more effective than others, you can A/B test your messages using a mass emailing service.

3. Automate as Much as You Can

Personalizing your cold emails is absolutely necessary to garner responses

Automated email follow up will save you time and headaches down the line.

Speaking of mass emailing services, the right one easily can help you personalize and automate your emails. Mass emailing services have the capability to automatically personalize mass emails based on data input from your contact spreadsheet. That means, each email you send can be personalized by name, occupation, location, and a whole host of other automation options.

You can also automate follow up emails that will be sent at predetermined intervals, as it is unlikely that your first email will get an immediate response. This way you won’t have to manually follow up with every person listed in your address list. 

Automation, however, is still something you need to get the hang of, otherwise you could make your life more difficult. Avoid embarrassing automation mistakes like missing names in an email, or worse, getting the name wrong in the email. To prevent these potentially embarrassing mistakes, double check your address list and make sure all information is entered properly.

4. Keep Your Data Up to Date

Your data is your most important resource for cold emailing automation

Your address list isn’t worth much if you don’t keep it updated.

Previously we’ve referred to your address list or spreadsheet where your recipient information is stored. This is your most important asset for cold emailing, so it is a big mistake to let your information get out of date. Recently, people have been moving and changing jobs more quickly than ever before, meaning you need to pay extra attention to your address list. Once again, it is better to prevent potential embarrassment by mentioning an irrelevant previous position in your message. 

If you’re just getting started with cold emails, keep these 4 points in mind before you decide to hit “send” on your first message. By following our advice, you can create persuasive emails that will mutually benefit both your business and the recipient.