Every salesperson would love for every lead to be warm so they could have an easier time starting off the relationship. But we can’t always get what we want, can we?
Cold outreach is just a part of the process, and it’s often done through cold email. But how do you do it right.
What Is a Cold Email?
You’re familiar with cold calling, right? Same principle, different channel.
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Any time you email someone that you don’t know for a specific purpose, you’re cold emailing. Whether you’re looking to gain a sale, asking a favor, or opening an opportunity, that initial email to an unaffiliated person counts.
It can feel a bit odd utilizing this practice, but it has its advantages – especially in sales.
Cold Email Best Practices to Follow
Now, it’s absolutely critical that you follow best practices for this tactic. Otherwise, your cold email results will suffer and you’ll likely just pester your audience. Here are some tips to keep in mind when sending them out:
Subject Lines Should Be Enticing.
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Your subject line decides whether your email will be opened or not, and with cold emails, that’s a pretty heavy bet. In order to get the recipient to engage, you need to strategic and creative when deciding on a line.
Focus on sparking curiosity in order to encourage and entice them to open it.
Email Body Copy Should Be Lean.
Assuming the receiver was struck by the subject line and opened the email, the next goal should be to make sure that they don’t immediately leave it. And it can be almost guaranteed that they will if they see a wall of text.
You should keep your email body as short as possible, while still maintaining proper structure:
- Introduction: Greet the reader and introduce yourself.
- Body: State your purpose quickly and clearly.
- Salutation: Wrap it up with a thank you and your contact info.
Allow for an easy read with white space, short sentences, and content that’s purposeful but not overly verbose.
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Even Cold Emails Should Be Personalized.
You want your email to be short and sweet, but don’t ignore the emphasis on sweet.
Personalizing an email can validate a prospect and make them feel more comfortable engaging with you. No one wants to be generalized as just another lead or sale.
Use whatever information you may have on the prospect to warm them up: their name, position, company, etc. It’ll let them know that you have a true interest in them as an individual.
Every Interaction Should Be Relevant.
If you’re reaching out to a prospect, you should already have some insights on what their interests are. In the same way that you want to personalize the email, you should also customize it to be related to how you can help them or vice versa.
It only takes a quick click to delete an irrelevant email. Of course, you want to avoid falling into that trash bin, so make sure that you’re getting straight to the point that the prospect is going to be interested in.
Credibility Should Be Built In.
No matter what you are offering or asking for, your pitch only carries as much weight as the credibility you establish.
Providing your name and company isn’t enough to validate your email hitting their inbox. This is especially true if you’re asking the recipient to feature or endorse your content or brand in any way.
Include some sort of credentials or social proof to display what value there is to building a relationship between the two of you. Do you have a high subscriber count? Have you worked with other respectable businesses in your industry?
Don’t be afraid to name drop or highlight your successes, but make sure you don’t come across as a braggart.
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Following Up Should Be a Habit.
It’s nearly impossible to spark a lasting relationship within just a single interaction. In order to establish trust, learn more about one another, identify goals and desires, and build rapport, you’re going to need to follow up. Multiple times.
It’s hard to remember everything you consume online nowadays, and the same goes for your email recipients. It’s ok to touch base and send a reminder.
And it doesn’t always have to be a sales pitch either. If they’ve mentioned a significant event in conversation at some point, that’s an excellent opportunity to reach out also.
Being conscious of all of these best practices when crafting an email can be a bit of a task, so if you’re looking to save more time, then cold email templates may be your best bet.
15 Cold Email Templates You Need to Try
Email templates can take out a step or two for you as you pursue new leads, saving you time and helping you stay organized. These cold email templates will get your campaigns headed in the right direction toward success.
General Cold Email Templates
These examples work best for those initial emails sent out with the purpose of starting a conversation.
Example 1:
Example 2:
Example 3:
Example 4:
Example 5:
Templates for Cold Emails to Decision Makers
Sometimes, if you've done your research, you know how to get straight to the top. Here are a few examples of emails that are tailored more toward business decision makers.
Example 6:
Example 7:
Example 8:
Example 9:
Example 10:
Follow-Up Email Templates
It isn't all that rare to have a lead go quiet on you. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're no longer interested though. Win their attention again with one of these templates.
Example 11:
Example 12:
Example 13:
Example 14:
Example 15:
Even if you don’t use these exact cold email templates, hopefully you can use them to pull some inspiration and spark your creative juices. Just make sure that you’re always customizing and tailoring them to match your voice and your brand.
Cold outreach can be tricky, but it’s that "you" aspect that will warm your leads up.
Micah Lally
I’m a Content Writer at Bluleadz. I’m a big fan of books, movies, music, video games, and the ocean. It sounds impossible to do all of those at the same time, but you’d be surprised by the things I can accomplish.