Cold Email: Benefits, Tips, & Strategies 2021

What Is Cold Email?

A cold email is a message you’ve sent to a person you’ve never interacted with before. Think of it as the modern, less abrasive version of cold calling.  Cold calling usually pitches a hard sell, but cold emails provide a different opportunity. Your readers can open the message on their time, and if your copy is written well, then they’ll be more inclined to push the button that will lead them to your site.

Seems easy enough, right?

Unfortunately, engaging cold emailing is so much easier said than done. Since you don’t have a relationship with the person you’re emailing, they might not be willing to read your email. And since you can’t see them or hear them, you have no way of knowing what their reaction is.  Sometimes cold emailing can make you feel like you’re a kid at a birthday party blindly trying to make contact with the piñata that’s just out of reach.

Don’t get discouraged, though—cold emailing can still be highly effective as long as you have the right tools in your arsenal.

Before we get too far into this article, it’s essential to understand the difference between spam and cold emails.

Spam emails are characterized by the same message sent to a bunch of people on an indiscriminate mailing list. The content is usually misleading or malicious. As more people have used email, more scammers have sent out spam, leading to increased security and protocols like the CAN-SPAM Act.

On the other hand, cold emails are sent by sales reps to qualified leads. The emails are typically personalized and always add value or provide information.

However, because there isn’t any previous interaction between you and your recipient, highly sensitive internet service providers and spam filters may think your content is malicious and accidentally send you to spam folders. (Don’t get too mad at them, they’re just trying to do their jobs and keep people safe.)

As internet service providers try to figure out whether an email is safe for the recipient, they’ll look at numerous factors that make up your domain reputation. For cold emailing to be effective, your domain reputation must be positive. But more on that later.

Is Cold Email Effective?

When cold emailing is done right, it’s incredibly effective. So, the question is less of if cold emailing is effective and more how to make cold emailing effective.

Deliverability

An undeliverable email (or an email in a spam folder) is an ineffective email. So, the first thing to consider when planning a cold email campaign is your deliverability rate. You can use various tools to warm up your inbox and verify your recipient’s information.

Targeting

If you remember from the last section, we said one of the crucial differences between spam and cold emails is the recipient list. Everyone has different wants and needs, so you should only send your cold emails to quality leads.

At the same time, it’s important not to go buy an email list from someone selling “perfect leads for your target audience.” Most of the time, these lists are filled with inactive or spam trap addresses.

Instant Appeal

Your goal is for the recipient to open your email, read it, go to your website, and buy something from you. But if you don’t catch their attention right away, they’ll delete your message. A catchy subject line and compelling content will go a long way in a cold email.

Value

Emailing a friend just to say hi is totally fine and normal, but this doesn’t work as well for cold emailing. When you’re sending a message to someone you’ve never interacted with, you have to give them a reason to want to engage with you. Yes, introduce yourself, but also provide them with something that’ll keep them around.

Email Tracking

No one wants to be left in the dark when it comes to cold email marketing campaigns. Imagine putting in all of the hard work to craft the perfect campaign, only to not know if the target recipients even viewed it. Email tracking tools can save you from wondering just that. Email tracking is when a user can see who opened their email during an outreach campaign.  According to Email Analytics:

• 35-50% of sales go to the first-responding vendor
• Following up within an hour increases your chances of success by 7 times
• Sale people spend an average of 13 hours per week working on emails.

Email tracking can be incredibly beneficial when trying to narrow down a large lead list to a targeted list of buyers. By using an email tracking tool and analyzing the data provided, you'll be able to review your efforts to see which strategies are most effective, track the rate in which your emails are opened/clicked through, and see who viewed them.

The Benefits of Cold Email

Many marketing teams take advantage of cold email campaigns because of the benefits associated with them.

Cold emailing is easy because you can reach a larger audience with crafty copy and the push of a button. As long as you have their (valid) email address, you can attempt to contact them.

Since emails cost almost nothing to send, you can have an extremely high return on investment for your email marketing campaigns.

Cold emailing is scalable, so your efforts can grow with your business. Plus, it’s so much less intrusive than cold calling.

Cold Email Examples

There are three commonly used formats for effective cold emailing: AIDA, BAB, and PAS

AIDA – Action, Interest, Desire, Action

You’ll start your email with a claim that seems too good to be true (but is completely legit) to catch the reader’s attention. You’ll then use some kind of proof to back up your claim to heighten their interest.

Then, you’ll give an example of how your product or service can transform the reader’s life, turning their interest and desire. You’ll close it out with a call to action to help them get started.

BAB – Before, After, Bridge

This email format is all about storytelling and focuses on the problem to the solution. You’ll explain what life was like before, what life is like after, and finally, how your product or service is the bridge between the two.

PAS – Problem, Agitate, Solve

The PAS format is a lot like BAB, but in this instance, you’ll start by acknowledging the pain points and then talk about how they hinder daily activities. The idea is to get the reader riled up so when you offer the solution, they’re more receptive to the idea.

Cold Email Strategies

Here are some cold email strategies to use during your next email marketing campaign:

Catch Their Eye with an Exciting Subject Line

Approximately one-third of recipients will determine whether to open an email just by reading the subject line.

Your subjects should be short enough so that they don’t get truncated and intriguing enough to capture your reader’s attention quickly. People get so many emails every day, so it’s essential to make sure yours stands out.

The trickiest part is crafting a subject that piques curiosity while clearly displaying what the email will be about. The best way to do this is to think about your target audience and what will appeal to them. No matter what, don’t use a misleading subject line. (It’s illegal.)

Personalization

Your recipients will be more inclined to open an email if it doesn’t feel like a generic, run-of-the-mill message. Use the recipient’s name and make sure the “From” line either has your company’s name or a human’s name. Sending an email to “Customer” from “noreply@mybusiness.com” won’t get you very far.

Let them Get to Know You

Don’t spend the entire message talking about yourself, but give a quick snapshot of who you are and why this person should listen to you. State what your company’s mission, what your position is, your common interest, and the reason you’re reaching out. You can include testimonials, reviews, social media posts, and more to make you seem like less of a stranger.

Commiserate with Your Recipient

Since you’re reaching out to this person for a reason, touch on the pain points associated with the reason they need your product or service. Emphasize how these pain points are likely impacting their daily life, short-term goals, and long-term plans.

Then, show them how you can provide the solution.

Close with a Strong CTA

As you introduce this person into your sales funnel, give them a clear next step to take. This can be anything from scheduling a meeting with you to starting a free trial to downloading an exclusive resource.

No matter what note you end on, be sure it leaves the door open for more engagement.

Warm Up Your Inbox Before Sending A Cold Email

Before you launch a cold email campaign, it’s crucial to warm up your inbox to improve your deliverability. Utilizing Warmup Inbox will automatically increase your email deliverability rates as well as increase your domain reputation and decrease the likelihood of your inbox and domain being added to any blacklists or deactivated for suspicion of spam.

Warming up your inbox takes some time, but it can help internet service providers recognize you as a safe and valid sender.

Warmup Inbox has all the tools you need to improve your overall deliverability so you can make the most of your cold emailing campaigns. Get started today.