Cold emails can be a powerful tool for reaching out to potential clients, partners, or employers. Here’s how to craft a professional cold email that stands out.
First of all, Shit in shit out is a very important concept when you’re doing cold email outreach. If you’re not careful to do good research on the prospects you want to reach out to, you can expect to get a poor response. Like I said, shit in shit out.
Before you start writing, research your recipient thoroughly. Understand their business model, needs, and challenges. Personalized emails are always better than sales and marketing emails. With no doubt you will get more positive response with a genuine and personalised message.
Your subject line is the first thing the recipient sees. Make it engaging and relevant to ensure it catches their attention.
Relevant is probably even more important than engaging because most people have a radar to see whether a title or text is marketing or sales.
Avoid spammy words like «best,» «free,» «click here,» or «make money.»
Read a more in-depth post on how to create a good and relevant subject line
Of course you want to write a lot about yourself and your product – after all, we’re doing a lot of good things and we want to get this across to everyone, but don’t do it.
Not because you don’t have a good product or your company doesn’t deserve attention, it’s because you will simply get worse results by doing so.
People are busy and don’t have time to read long emails. Keep your email concise, focusing on the key points. Avoid jargon and large blocks of text.
The email you send should definitely have a personal touch. The vast majority of emails sent by businesses today are typical newsletters. These are strongly characterized by a lot of marketing and sales gimmicks. These types of emails will never give you the results you want. We get fewer opens and definitely not many replies.
It is possible to use the name of the person you are sending the email to. You can show that you know something about the company. You can use other types of tools to show that you have done good research before sending an email.
The above is not the most important thing. The most important thing is actually how the email is seen and experienced. If the email feels real and genuine, the chances are much better that the recipient will actually consider responding to it.
It’s very important to think carefully about what you want the recipient to do at the end of the email. You can write the world’s best email that is both genuine, concrete and engaging, but without a good call to action (CTA), the effort you’ve put into the text itself will be wasted.
Clearly state what you want the recipient to do next. Whether it’s scheduling a call, replying to your email, or visiting a website, make sure the CTA is straightforward and easy to follow.
Another important thing to note when it comes to CTAs is simply what you’re asking for. Like everything else in life, simple requests are easier to get through, big requests are both harder and don’t always happen. Just think about your wife, and you know how hard it can be to get things accepted 😀
To reiterate, don’t spend time bragging about yourself and your products. All your customers and potential customers only care about themselves. It’s a fact of life.
Once you know that’s the case, you can turn things around. What’s in it for me? If you use that phrase and think from the customer’s point of view, how will you write to them?
Explain how your product or service can solve a problem for the recipient or provide value to their business. Be specific about the benefits and outcomes they can expect.
For example, if you describe a known problem for the target group you’re sending to and at the same time present a good solution, there’s a good chance that the recipient of the email will relate and be interested in finding out more.
Before sending out emails to your target group, it’s a good idea to do a test send. It’s a strange phenomenon that often happens when you do cold email outreach. The text you’ve created may be perceived differently when you see it in your inbox. It’s better to make the changes now than after you’ve sent the email.
Finally, you’ll want to make sure your text is grammatically correct and not full of typos. At the same time, it’s important to emphasize that this is not a press release and it should feel genuine. So don’t fall into the trap of writing and writing so that it becomes a work of art.
If you don’t get a response, don’t be afraid to follow up. Please read that sentence many times. The first reason I really want to emphasize is that very many people dislike follow-up because they are afraid of bothering and annoying other people. Not least because they’re afraid they’ll get angry with you.
I understand this concern, there are indeed some people who get annoyed. But they are definitely in the minority. If you write in a polite and serious manner, most people will behave in the same way.
The second and perhaps most important reason why follow-up is important is that all sales depend on follow-up. You can’t count on anyone thinking about you, your products and services or your company. They have more than enough on their plate, which is why it’s so important that you follow up. This doesn’t just apply to the initial contact, but to all phases of the sale.
In addition to the fact that you need to follow up, it’s also the case that people miss emails or forget to reply. Then only follow-up will help.
Unprofessional Email Address: Use a professional email address associated with your brand. Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook and Yahoo are not considered to be professional emails.
If your company’s name is “Lion Marketing”, your email should definitely use a domain that is accurate or closely related to your brand.
Lack of Contact Information: Always include your contact details so the recipient can easily get in touch. Not only is it odd to omit your contact information, after all you want to achieve dialog, but it is also a necessity if you are to be perceived as a serious player. There are also various laws that require you to identify yourself properly.
Testing: It’s easy to get excited when sending cold email outreach, and that’s good. However, it’s important not to get so excited that you make unnecessary mistakes. Mistakes in the message you send, wrong recipient(s), etc. Send test emails to yourself or a colleague and you’ll quickly discover if you need to make changes.
Subject: Improve [Companyname]’s efficiency
Hi [firstname],
My name is John Marks, and I’m with Lion Software.
I recently came across CompanyX and was impressed by how quickly you’ve grown in recent years.
The reason I’m contacting you is because we work with several companies in your industry and many of them experience headaches every day due to a well-known efficiency issue.
The problem that many in your industry and that your company may be experiencing as well is about [briefly explain the problem].
We help companies like yours increase efficiency by [briefly explain your solution]. I believe our software could be beneficial to [specific aspect of their business].
Could we schedule a brief call next week to discuss this further? You can book a time directly in my calendar here [insert calendar link], or let me know your availability.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to the possibility of working together.
Best regards,
John Marks
[Your Contact Information]
By following these tips and structuring your email thoughtfully, you can increase the chances of your cold email being read and responded to positively.