What is a Cold Email?
A cold email is an email sent out to a sales lead who you have never connected with before. Sending an unsolicited message may seem a little stressful, but if you don’t make the first move, who will? When it comes to achieving sales goals there’s no time to be shy.
Cold emails, similar to cold calls, often have a bad reputation. Most people would say they don’t want their inbox flooded with pointless messages, which is why it’s important to make sure your next cold email stands out.
How to Conduct Effective Cold Email Outreach
For a cold email to be effective, it needs to stand out. Otherwise it will get lost in the abyss and your leads will never turn into sales prospects.
These tried and true methods will help ensure your cold emails are opened.
Personalization
The first, and most important step, is adding a personal touch when sending out cold emails. Just because you’ve never connected with a potential lead doesn’t mean you can’t send them a personalized message. This will require research and creativity on your end, but the results will pay off.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to include their name in your email. Don’t send anything that looks like a mass email. Instead, address your lead, reference their work, and then transition into your message. Showing you know who they are and what type of work they do will help grab their attention.
Incorporating Video
One of the easiest ways to grab attention with a cold email is to incorporate video. Instead of writing out paragraphs of text, why not include a link to a quick introduction explaining who you are, what you do, and how your product can help?
Video prospecting, when coupled with traditional methods of outreach, can result in 3x higher response rates and increased engagement from customers. You can cater your video to be hyper-personalized if you’ve done enough research, or create a more general version to be easily shared when sending multiple cold emails to different leads.
If you’re not sure where to start there are templates for cold email outreach you can follow.
Write a Catchy Subject Line
Writing a cold email subject line is key. It’s one of the first things your lead will notice in their inbox, so you want it to entice them. According to MailChimp, open rates for emails hover around 20%, but that number is lower if less effort is put in.
In general, you’ll want to follow these tips:
- Avoid buzzwords. They’re overused and, as a result, are often overlooked.
- Be mindful of when you send a cold email. Think about when you check your emails – it’s not right before you close your laptop for the day. You want to catch leads when they have time to read an email and respond.
- Use clear language. Your subject line should be easy to understand. If it’s confusing or too mysterious, your lead may not pay attention to it.