The Anatomy of a Cold Email That Gets Responses

We’ve heard winning cold email stories time and again. Sales reps, freelancers and agency owners use cold emailing to bag more leads. And, it works.?

Mailchimp analyzed that the average cold email open rate for all industries is 21.33%. It means every 21 out of 100 emails gets opened — a huge opportunity to convert cold leads into warm prospects.?

How do you make sure your email is one of the 21 opened ones? We compiled tips to draft an irresistible email sequence that gets you a response.

How to begin??

One email is not enough to catch your prospect’s attention. You need a killer outreach sequence. But first, lay solid groundwork with research so your target audience reads and relates with your email. Follow the step below:

Narrow down your target audience

Don’t send bulk emails to unknown people. You won’t get results since you won’t be able to personilize each of them. Narrow down your target audience to potential buyers. These are the people who’ve shown some interest in your product/service — people whom you really want to work with.?

Define your buyer’s journey?

Meet your target audience where they are in the buyer’s journey. People who’ve never heard of your service won’t reply to a cold email. Introduce yourself in the first email. Then, continue the email sequence to nurture your prospect and share your offer after a couple of emails.?

Once you’ve laid the groundwork for your email sequence, it’s time to draft the perfect cold email that gets your a response.??

What makes a cold email worth opening??

100% of cold emails are sent to get a reply. Then, what makes only 21.33% of these emails worth opening? The secret is in the email content. Below are factors that can make or break your cold email:

Subject lines with catchy hook

Subject lines are the first thing your prospect sees when they open their inbox. A study by the Supper Office suggests that 33% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line. Make it count.?

Your subject line must spark curiosity. See how the two emails below use curious subject lines to grab attention.?

Include the person’s or their company’s name to infuse familiarity. Use the following subject lines to catch your prospect’s attention:

• {{Name}} can you keep a secret?
• Are you shocked by {{competitor}} performance?
• Ready to find a solution for {{pain point}}?

Personalized email content?

You also receive a lot of emails. What makes you open some and leave the rest? You open the ones that seem useful or familiar. Your prospect also looks for these two feelings and you can achieve both with personalization.?

Research your prospect well before sending a cold email. Understand who they are, what they do and what their pain points are. Begin your email with these tactics:

• Congratulate your prospect on an achievement.?
• Appreciate their recent blog.?
• Sympathize with their problems?
• Tell them what you liked about their recent product or campaign.?
• Use personalization in subject lines:
• Hey {{first name}}
• New Idea for {{the company name}}
• Solution for your {{one pain point}}

CTA

What do you want your prospects to do after reading your email? Do you want them to book a call? Or, do you want them to sign up for your webinar? Whatever is your desired action, add it to your CTA (Call to Action).?

The Call to Action is a great opportunity to summarize your value proposition and persuade your prospect to take action. Keep your CTA simple and specific. Add urgency so your prospects quickly take action.?

See how Saheli Chatterjee, an academy owner, uses urgency in her CTA to attract last minute buyers to buy her course.?

Follow up emails

Your prospects can easily miss your email in the pile of several more. Add 3-4 follow up emails in your sequence. You might feel pushy while sending these but it’s a part of the game. Follow up emails increase your open rate by 2 times.?

Include the following in your follow up emails:

• Reiterate your value proposition
• Add additional value with case studies and social proof
• Add actionable messages and best practices for your product/service

Here’s a cold email follow-up template:?

Attract more leads with a winning email sequence?

Interact with cold leads right in their inbox. Use the tips above to draft the perfect cold email sequence. Don’t give up even if you don’t get a response in the beginning. Keep following up to get your prospects’ attention, and you will convert more leads with time. ?