A Step-By-Step Guide to Winning at Cold Emails 💪

Cold emails. 

They are like a 2:00 am text asking if you are interested in buying a car when you don’t know the ABCs of driving or getting a proposal when you have been happily married for years. 

Unwanted and to be honest, cold. 

But they don’t have to be.

So, here’s the magic formula to warm cold emails up. Let’s decode step-by-step!  

What Are Cold Emails?

Cold emailing is like knocking at a stranger’s door. 

You basically send a message to someone you do not know, and that person has not even asked to hear from you.

So, you might be thinking why even bother sending one? 

Makes sense.

It’s your secret weapon, being a marketer, especially when you have a tight budget and time. Here’s why cold emails pack a punch:

🎯 Help you showcase your product or service to target individuals and businesses and even those who can’t find you otherwise.

🎯 Find your promising leads and turn them into valuable customers.

🎯 Bring you a better Return on Investment (ROI) as compared to other outreach methods. 

🎯 Save your time by automating your outreach efforts.

🎯 Cut your cost as compared to traditional advertising methods like print ads, radio, TV, etc.

5 Powerful Use Cases of Cold Emailing 

Are you curious about where cold emails work wonders? Here you go:

1. Business partnerships

If you are interested in partnering with other businesses, we have a hack. 

Do cold emailing.

Let’s say you own a bakery and want to partner with a coffee shop. Find out popular coffee spots nearby and create a list of your potential partners.  Once you are done with it, send them a friendly email briefing them on how your muffins and fresh pastries would complement their coffee menu. 

Your next partnership could be a cold email away; you never know. 

2. Lead generation

Cold emailing is your go-to strategy to generate leads. 

Suppose you are running an XYZ business and want more people interested in your product. So, you should do a little homework - identify your target audience, build a list of prospects, and understand their needs and preferences. Once you are done with this, send a personalized email to as many prospects as you want addressing their needs and pain points.  

Doesn’t it sound magical that with a single click, you can start conversations with hundreds of thousands of prospects, build trust, and eventually turn them into loyal customers? 

3. Recruitment 

Who said cold emails are just for sales? They are one of the smartest ways to recruit top talent too.

For example, you need to hire an exceptional marketing content writer for your company. You are done finding talented writers in the market, but the catch is that they are not actively looking for jobs.

So, what you do is send them a tailored email highlighting why they should choose you and why you should choose them. 

Who knows? One personalized cold email could catch your ideal candidate’s eye and get your next star employee on board. 

4. Link building

Cold emailing is your best buddy if you want to generate some good backlinks for your website.

Let’s say you have put your heart and soul into writing a comprehensive guide on email marketing strategies. Now, you want to get a few backlinks to boost your blog post's SEO.  

Start by searching websites or blogs that cover topics like email marketing. Make a list of sites that might find your piece of content valuable. Reach out to them through a tailored email explaining how your content could provide valuable insights to their audience. 

And ta-da! You have actually opened the door to more traffic and better website ranking with this simple yet effective outreach strategy. 

5. Networking

Cold emailing is a genius way to build your professional network. 

For example, you are a budding entrepreneur who attended a startup pitch event and met a few inspiring leaders there. Now, you want to keep your conversation going. 

Are you going to wait and wait for another event to reconnect? 

Absolutely not. 

You can do a little homework, search their email address, and craft a thoughtful message mentioning the event, what resonated with you, and why you would love to stay in touch.

A well-crafted cold email could transform a quick handshake into a lasting collaboration. 

6 Steps to Perfect Your Cold Email Outreach

Now that you know how cold email can work its magic, let’s dive into how to make it happen.

Step 1: Identify your audience and build an ICP

First, figure out your target audience. Only then you will be able to send a personalized email to those with whom you want to connect.

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) defines businesses or individuals who would benefit from what you offer and are more likely to close a deal. 

For example, you are a home chef selling freshly baked cookies. Your ICP could be:

1️⃣ Event organizers planning corporate events or birthday parties.

2️⃣ Busy parents looking for fresh cookies to prepare their kids a delicious lunchbox.

3️⃣ Coffee shop owners who want baked items to complement their coffee.

Step 2: Build your lead list

Once you are done with building ICP, it’s time to turn that ideal customer profile into a specific list of people to contact.

For example, for that cookie business, you have to find the contact details of:

1️⃣ Event organizers

2️⃣ Busy parents

3️⃣ Coffee shop owners 

And you have to build a lead list containing information like:

But where to get their contact details is the actual deal.

Well, there are two approaches to building a lead list.

1. Trigger/Intent-based

👉 Identify triggers such as product launches, leadership changes, etc.

👉 Track triggers using tools like Google Alerts or extract info from existing databases such as Lusha.

👉 Compile a lead list to reach them through personalized cold emails.

2. General Prospecting

👉 Find potential customers through websites, databases, or communities.

👉 Collect their contact information.

👉 Compile a general lead list for outreach.

📌 Note: Whichever approach you may choose, there are four ways to build your lead list:

1️⃣ Manually: Conduct online research and collect data yourself. This method is time-consuming and is only best for specific and small niches. 

2️⃣ Through email scraping tools: Use tools to scrap emails. This is a fast method to collect data for large prospect sizes but make sure that the tools are legally compliant.

3️⃣ Opting for third-party databases: Access ready-made data but ensure its accuracy to reduce email bounce rate.

4️⃣ Purchasing a lead list: Buy a pre-made list; save time and effort, but it is costly, and the list can be irrelevant and outdated. 

💡Pro Tip: Verify your list for better email deliverability.

Step 3: Setup & email deliverability 

You don’t want your email to hit the spam folder. Of course, no one does. 

So, for better email deliverability, you must:

1. Choose the right domain

👉 Avoid the primary email domain as it protects your reputation.

👉 Keep your main domain safe by setting up secondary domains and email accounts.

👉 Get unique domains from reliable registrars who won’t misuse your data.

👉 Look for Email Service Providers (ESPs) supporting authentications such as DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Sender Policy Framework (SPF), ensuring that you are a genuine sender.

2. Warm up your domain

New domains need to warm up before sending bulk emails.

👉 Manual warm up: Send a few emails on daily basis and increase the number gradually. It’s time-consuming but effective. 

👉 Automated warm up: Use tools to do the task for you. It’s faster and requires less effort. 

3. Authenticate your email domain

Verify your domain with these protocols to avoid landing in the spam folders:

👉 SPF: Confirms your legitimacy by verifying DNS records.

👉 DKIM: Prove your email authenticity by adding an encrypted signature.

👉 DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): Enhance trust by directing servers on how to handle emails not passing DKIM or SPF authentication. 

4. Custom tracking

Set up a custom tracking domain to track email opens and clicks. This protects your sender's reputation, improves deliverability, and boosts email Click-Through Rates (CTR).

Also Read Out: How to Improve Email Deliverability With Keith Kouzmanoff

So, now is the time to craft a cold email that lands in the inbox. 🚀

Step 4: Craft a killer email

A well-crafted email is what grabs your target audience’s attention and motivates action. Here’s how to nail this crucial part:

Subject line

Come up with a snappy subject line if you really want your email to get opened. And for that, make sure it is:

👉 Personalized

👉 Short and relevant (under 60 characters)

👉 Action-oriented

👉 Clear showcasing the value you are offering

Here are a few good subject line examples for cold emails:

1️⃣ [Recipient's Name], I’ve Got a Solution for [Company Name]'s [Specific Challenge]

2️⃣ Unlock [Recipient’s Company Name] Potential with Our [Mention Product Name] 

Also, Read Out: How to Write Catchy Email Subject Lines With Andrew Kordek

After the subject line comes the preheader.

Preheader

Well, it is the snippet you see next to the subject line in your inbox. The recipient can read it without even opening the email. So, make sure it is:

👉 Aligned with subject line and email content

👉 Short (30-140 characters)

Here are a few examples of good preheaders:

1️⃣ Let's tackle [mention challenge] together and drive better results at [Mention Company Name].

2️⃣ Discover how [Mention Your Product] can help [Mention Company Name] reach its full potential effortlessly.

Body

The email body is where you actually make the pitch. Keep it:

👉 Personal: Address by the recipient’s name and use a friendly tone.

👉 Clear: Explain who you are, why you are reaching out, and how you can help. Make sure the email copy is 50-125 words long, not more than this.

👉 Credible: Add social proof or testimonials.

👉 Actionable: Finish with a loud Call to Action (CTA).

Ummm … Yes, do not forget to add a professional signature at the end of your email.

Before jumping to the example, let’s first look at what to avoid while writing a cold copy:

Let’s have a look at what a catchy email copy looks like: 

💡Pro Tip: Don’t just focus on the copy. Make sure it is visually appealing, too. Complement your message with a jaw-dropping email design to make a lasting impact.

For stunning cold emails, use Unlayer. Our drag-and-drop email editor lets you build responsive HTML email templates in under 5 minutes. 🚀

Step 5: Track and analyze 

Track the performance of your cold emails by analyzing the key email metrics. This helps you fine-tune your strategy for better results. 

Here are a few of the metrics to check:

1️⃣ Deliverability rate: This shows how successful you are in getting your emails delivered to your leads’ email addresses.  Here’s how to check it:

Email deliverability rate = (total emails delivered ÷ total emails sent) ✕ 100%

A good deliverability rate is above 90%. You can achieve high email deliverability through:

👉 Sending confirmation emails once someone becomes a subscriber willingly.

👉 Auditing your email list after some time.

👉 Tracking your sender reputation and choosing an ESP with a great IP score.

2️⃣ Click-Through Rate (CTR): This measures how many people clicked the link in your email. Here’s the formula to check:

CTR rate: (total clicks ÷ total emails delivered) ✕ 100%

A good click-through rate is between 2-5%. You can get maximum clicks through:

👉 Featuring CTA buttons rather than hyperlinked text.

👉 Writing your CTA’s text in first person viewpoint.

👉 Ensuring the CTA button is well-designed so that it stands out in the email

👉 Stacking up CTA buttons means one primary CTA and multiple secondary ones.

3️⃣ Reply rate: This means how many replies you are getting. You can check it out through the following formula:

Reply rate= (number of replies÷ total email sent) ✕ 100%

If 10-20% of your emails are getting replied, it’s good. You can achieve a good reply rate through:

👉 Writing a personalized and relevant email copy.

👉 Addressing the prospects’ pain points.

Read Out More: 15 Email Marketing KPIs and Metrics You Must Be Tracking

Step 6: Optimize for better results

Optimize your cold emails for even better results. Here’s what you should focus on:

1️⃣ Timing: There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Test different times. However, the research shows that the best time to send emails is from 9:00 am-12:00 pm and 12:00 pm-3:00 pm.

2️⃣ Email length: Keep your email copy short and sweet, and you will win. As we have discussed earlier 50-125 words get better response rates. But it’s not the hard and fast rule. Test different lengths and check what works best for you. 

Now, you might be thinking about the super awesome tools in the market that may help you level up your cold email game. Here you go:

5 Best Tools for Cold Emailing

Wrapping It Up

That pretty much sums up cold emails. 

It’s time to wear your marketing cap and turn cold leads into warm opportunities.

All the very best! 🙌

FAQs Related to Cold Emails

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about cold emails, handpicked just for you.

Q. Is it legal to send cold emails?

Great question!

Yes, it is legal as long as you abide by the law of the land.

Q. What are the strategies for cold emails?

1️⃣ AIDA—Grab attention, spark interest in your product, build the desire to get it, and prompt them to take action.

2️⃣ BAB—Highlight the problem before the solution, what it’s like after having the solution,  and how your product will bridge the gap.

3️⃣ PAS— Identify the problem, agitate the pain, and solve it with your product. 

4️⃣ MIP—Mention their current product, spark interest in yours, and push them to take action.

5️⃣ 3P rule—​​​​Praise them,  paint a picture of how they will succeed with your product, and eventually push them to act. 

Q. How many cold emails should you send per day?

Well, always prioritize quality over quantity. 

As far as the number is concerned, we suggest you send 10-20 emails a day when you are starting with a fresh inbox to avoid spam filters. If you have an older, trusted inbox with a good reputation, you can send 100+ emails depending on your ESP. 

Q. Is cold email spam?

Not necessarily!

They are legit as long as they are personalized, offer value, and follow regulations such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM. 

Q. What is a good cold email conversion rate?

A good conversion rate is between 1-5%. But what is considered “good” for you depends on your business, target audience, and outreach goals. 

Q. What is a good cold email response rate?

Ummm … It’s tough to find a universal average response rate for cold emails as it varies by your industry, ask, and business. However, the broad average is between 1-5%.