As cold outreach experts, we understand the critical elements required for a cold email to yield responses. To achieve this, every part of your concise message must carry value and play a pivotal role in communication. At LeadSeek, we’ve gained valuable insights into what determines a high response rate for cold emails. Drawing from our knowledge, we’ve compiled these six essential steps for crafting effective cold emails for sales.
Let’s delve into the evolving landscape of cold emailing and explore how the approach to writing cold emails has transformed over the years.
What Constitutes a Cold Email?
Cold emails serve as a means to initiate and nurture business relationships. To grasp their essence, let’s draw parallels with how business relationships develop in the offline world, often commencing with a conversation.
Imagine a scenario where a salesperson attends an industry conference or trade show to connect with potential customers. Instead of immediately pitching their offer or boasting about their company, their primary goal is to break the ice and initiate a dialogue. They aim to learn more about the prospect’s business and establish rapport.
This same principle applies to outbound sales efforts, where cold emails act as a digital gateway to initiate conversations with individuals who might be unfamiliar with or have limited knowledge about your company, making them what we term as “cold” leads. The objective of a cold email isn’t an immediate conversion but rather the gradual warming of these leads.
How Cold Emailing Has Evolved
The practice of cold emailing has come a long way since its early use in sales. Initially, the sole purpose of sending cold emails was to pitch an offer, often involving a single, generic message sent en masse, devoid of personalization or segmentation.
At that time, this mass-sales-oriented approach worked well because email-based business communication was novel, and people were receptive. However, as inboxes overflowed with cookie-cutter messages, this approach lost its effectiveness. People grew sensitive to the sales-oriented tone and generic nature of these emails.
The contemporary approach to cold emailing emphasizes building relationships with prospects. The focus of your cold email copy should be on the recipient, not your product or service. You should step into the prospect’s shoes. Right from the first email, the prospect should feel that you understand their business and the challenges it entails. Avoid rushing into closing deals; instead, let your prospects share their daily challenges, and then demonstrate how your solution can improve their processes.
Personalization is the key to capturing prospects’ interest today. Consequently, prospecting plays a pivotal role in the overall success of your cold email campaign. Furthermore, personalization can be extended to crafting different follow-up versions that cater to the specific responses and actions of your prospects.
The more you understand your prospects, the better equipped you’ll be to create a message tailored to their unique needs.
How to Compose a Cold Email
Step 1: Edit the “From” Line
Surprisingly, editing the “from” line is featured as a distinct step. Often, we set it up for a new email address and overlook it. However, the “from” line is a crucial part of a cold email, forming the recipient’s first impression.
Keep in mind that, as cold email senders, we are strangers to our prospects. It’s natural for them to approach our email with a level of suspicion. Their initial focus often lands on the “from” line, where we have the opportunity to build trust or raise doubts. The impression created by the “from” line can determine whether they open your email or discard it.
Review and consider the form of your “from” line before launching a cold email campaign. The “from” line can take various forms, and it’s advisable to adapt it to the context of your message, your target audience, and your email’s purpose.
Here are some rules to follow when editing your “from” line:
- Maintain consistency with the tone and style of the rest of your email.
- Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and consider their communication style.
- Tailor your “from” line to meet your prospect’s expectations.
- Specify who your prospects would be most interested in talking to.
Step 2: Craft a Compelling Subject Line
The subject line of a cold email acts as the key to capturing your recipient’s attention. It’s their first glimpse into your message and sets their initial impression of you.
To ensure your subject line makes a positive impact, follow these rules:
- Consider your prospect’s perspective and focus on the benefit your subject line offers to them.
- Personalize the subject line to show that you’ve deliberately chosen to contact them.
- Intrigue the recipient without revealing all the details.
- Maintain a human and friendly tone.
- Ensure alignment between the subject line and the email’s content.
Step 3: Create an Engaging Cold Email Introduction
After successfully capturing your recipient’s attention with the “from” and subject lines, you have a brief window to keep them engaged. This requires a compelling introduction.
A cold email introduction should be concise, typically consisting of 2-3 sentences. It should focus on the recipient, highlighting their expertise, achievements, work, and their company. A touch of flattery can be effective but should be used sparingly.
Your introduction should not revolve around you or your company but should demonstrate that you’ve done your homework. Show that you contacted them deliberately and that your message is tailored to their specific needs.
Research the recipient’s company before writing the cold email to add authenticity to your approach. This approach ensures that your cold email resonates with your prospects and increases the chances of a positive response.
Effective cold email campaigns are a lot of work, especially if you plan to reach out to your entire prospect base. That’s where LeadSeek comes in. Drop us a line to talk about how we can help create your perfect cold outreach campaign.