If your cold emails aren't getting replies, something has to change.
The problem could be in your prospecting process or cold email strategy. If your potential prospects aren't qualified for your product/service, then you can't expect to get replies.
But if you have done your qualification, the problem could lie in your emails.
In this article, we’ll look at:
Why Good Cold Emails Matter
Best Practices for Cold Emails
8 Cold Email Templates That Get Replies
Common Cold Email Mistakes to Avoid
Sounds good? Let's jump in.
Why You Need a Good Cold Sales Email Template
When contacting potential clients or partners for your business, the last thing you want is to blend in with the countless other emails flooding their inboxes each day.
Remember that your cold email is your first impression, and it can make or break your chances of securing a meeting or establishing a relationship.
How can you make a good first impression? With a good cold email template.
Using a cold email template that has been tried and tested will not only save you time but also increase your chances of getting a reply.
That said, all of the templates we will give you will rely on you customizing them to fit your unique business and customer type in order to truly stand out.
If you merely copy-paste and hit "send", it will be obvious to your prospects that you didn't take the time to properly research them and send a meaningful message, and they will ignore you.
Best Practices for Cold Emails
First, let’s take a look at some best practices. These are all essential ingredients to a good cold email template.
If you can master these and use them in every cold email you write, you won’t even need to look at templates.
Write a Simple Subject Line
The subject line matters in any cold email campaign. But don't focus all of your energy on it. Most people will open your email as long as the subject line is coherent.
Here are some of our favorite tips for cold email subject lines:
Keep it simple and brief
Ask a question
Mention their company name
Make it clear why you’re emailing
Use just one word
If your subject line is in line with those suggestions, you'll be good to go and will likely see improved response rates and conversion rates.
Want to learn more about writing effective subject lines? Check out our recent post on it here.
Keep It Brief
When you cold email someone, you ask for their time and attention.
Keep your emails short and get straight to the point.
No one wants to read a paragraph of fluff before you get to the real reason you’re emailing.
A simple rule is to write emails that you’d be happy to receive if someone cold emailed you. If you felt that they were wasting your time, you’d be less likely to respond.
But, if they proved that they’ve done their research, mention a problem you’re already having, and then propose a simple next step, you’re more likely to hit Reply .
Make It Personal
Research is key in cold email campaigns.
The more time you spend researching your potential customers, their pain points, and their motivations, the more likely you are to write an email that they actually want to read.
You've probably received bad cold emails in the past. It's easy to spot when someone is sending the same template or follow-up email to 500 people or using a single merge tag to insert a link to your website.
When you're starting out, consider writing every email manually. It takes time, but you'll get in the habit of writing genuinely personalized emails to prospective clients.
Don’t Make Your Prospect Think Too Much
Your cold email should be simple. Your prospect doesn't want to spend time deciphering what you mean. If you confuse them, they will move on to the next email waiting in their inbox.
Every cold email you send should have one key focus throughout.
This could be:
Getting a Yes/No reply
Scheduling a call
Inviting them on your podcast
Don't ask multiple questions in the same email. Pick one.
Get Your Mindset Right
Don't treat your emails as another cold outreach campaign. Treat them as what they are – emails to individual people.
If you're too focused on scale, you'll dilute your email copy. It'll be obvious to your prospect that you're sending them the same email that hundreds of others received.
Using QuickMail, you can easily personalize your cold email marketing campaigns as much as you'd like. Test out customized introductions, custom “P.S.” before the end of your email, and anything else that will help your email be personalized.
There's Money In the Follow-Ups
Your opening cold email could be perfectly written, but there's no guarantee that you'll get a reply.
Make sure to schedule multiple follow-ups. Studies have found that scheduling follow-ups can 3x reply rates, leading to positive responses and helping move your clients through the sales funnel.
It's not uncommon for someone to miss or ignore the first email you send. Often they'll be happy to respond if you're politely persistent.
In QuickMail, for example, you'll do that by adding another email step to a campaign.
Keep your follow-ups simple. Add at least three days between each email and send at a convenient time - you're good to go.
Don’t Break The Law
This should go without saying… but don’t break the law.
There are a variety of laws applying to email marketing in different countries and jurisdictions around the world, including the GDPR, CAN-Spam , and the LGPD.
Ensure you’re sourcing emails legitimately, and only sending emails to people with a legitimate interest in what you’re selling.
8 Cold Email Outreach Templates That Get Replies
Ask a Quick Question
Your cold prospect won't waste time reading and replying to a long email. Keep things simple and ask a quick question that they can answer in ten seconds.
The key thing to remember is that if you promise it will be quick, it has to be. And you should always prove you'll be a valuable resource during every interaction.
If someone opens your email expecting a simple question, but you've included long paragraphs and multiple questions, they're not going to keep reading.
Subject: Quick question about {{company.name}}’s webinars
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Really enjoyed {{company.name}}'s latest webinars, and I will be testing out some of those tips in my next campaign.
I help companies turn their webinar recordings into white papers, blog posts, and short clips for social media.
Is that something you'd be interested in?
Thanks,
{{inbox.signature}}
Show You’ve Done Your Research
People can tell when you're sending a templated email. Stand out by doing your research on every prospect or prospect’s company and writing a highly personalized email.
For example, in the template below, you can see that research has gone into it. The sender knows that:
A company just made new hires
They haven’t received outside funding
They’re a Founder/CEO
Don’t be fooled into thinking you need to send longer emails – personalization can be done well with just a few sentences.
Subject: Help with {{company.name}}’s sales process?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw your LinkedIn post mentioning that you’ve just hired two new sales reps. Congrats on the growth.
Considering you haven’t taken outside funding, I thought it’d be worth sending this blog post I recently published on Building a Sales System at Bootstrapped Companies.
I also run a course where I show Founders and CEOs how to build a high-performing sales culture.
Want me to send you the course link?
Best,
{{inbox.signature}}
Saw You In the News
As Dale Carnegie says , “Talk to someone about themselves, and they'll listen for hours.” If a company has been in the press, the CEO/Founder will feel good about it.
Most will be happy to hear from people congratulating them as it’s a major milestone for their business.
Subject: Congrats on opening your new location in {{city}}
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw in {{publication}} that you just opened a new office in {{city}}. Great choice, lots of great people and companies in this area!
We help companies like {{company.name}} get more bookings through Google Ads. One of our clients saw a 5x increase in conversions after we made some updates to their existing campaigns.
Is that something you need help with?
Best,
{{inbox.signature}}
P.S. You only pay us if we get results, so there’s no real downside!
Aggravate a Pain Point
People need help to deal with important problems every day. If you can help someone solve their biggest pain point, you're going to have a great shot at getting a reply to your cold outreach email template.
Subject: Need help to hire a [Role]?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw that you’re hiring a {{job title}} and wanted to check to see if you’ve filled that yet?
If not, I run a job board focused on helping companies like {{company.name}} hire awesome candidates.
Want to post your job there?
Best,
{{inbox.signature}}
Schedule a Call
If you run an agency or similar service/product with high upfront costs and business development efforts, most prospects will want to chat before giving you their bank details.
Asking to schedule a call as your call-to-action is an effective way to show your prospect that you’re willing to move quickly and want to provide a personalized sales experience.
This is a framework to get people on a podcast.
Subject:{{prospect.first_name}}, 15 minutes on {{day}}?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
I run a podcast on {{prospect’s industry}} and would love to mention {{company.name}}.
However, I had a few questions about your main growth channels – do you have 15 minutes to talk on {{day}} to clarify a few things for me?
I’ll be sending the podcast episode out to my email list, so it would be a great way to get in front of people in your target audience.
If that sounds good, here’s a link to my calendar – grab a time that works for you.
Best,
{{inbox.signature}}
Build a Relationship
If you're looking to grow your network, cold email is a great way to do so. Reach out with personalized content and the intention of starting a genuine conversation, and most people will be happy to reply.
Ask a question about something interesting they've done recently, and share a relevant piece of content or a story you think they'll care about.
Remember, you still have to provide value if you expect someone to take time out of their day to reply.
Subject: Follow up after your talk at {{event}}
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw your talk at {{event}} back in August, thanks for sharing your knowledge. I particularly found your points on {{subject}} interesting.
As someone in a similar industry to yours, I've already tested a few of your suggestions and seen great results.
Do you have 20 minutes to grab a coffee sometime in the next few weeks?
Thanks,
{{inbox.signature}}
Pitch Your Company as a Competitor Alternative
Highlighting your company as a good alternative to an existing product someone uses shows you've done your research and is a great way to start a sales email to a prospect company.
Here's an example of a cold email template pitching your product as a competitor alternative.
Subject: Happy with [Competitor]?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw that you're using [your competitor] on your website for customer support.
[your competitor] is a great product, and I hope you're seeing good results with their software.
I run a product that's similar to [your competitor], but we've added features to help with [X].
Our customers that migrated from [your competitor] have managed to cut their support tickets in half thanks to our smart automation.
Thanks,
{{inbox.signature}}
P.S. I know switching customer support tools sounds like a major project – that's why we offer a free service to move all of your existing data over from [your competitor].
Pitch an Irresistible Offer
If you know you can help a prospect with something, tell them.
Don’t try to pretend you’re not here to sell if you are. If your value proposition is good enough, it’ll be an easy decision for your prospect to reply. This works particularly well for agencies and SaaS companies with proven processes.
Subject:3x {{company.name}}’s Facebook Ad ROI
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Saw that you’re running Facebook Ads for {{company.name}} and thought you might be interested in {{your company}}.
We help companies like {{company.name}} get more customers by improving their Facebook Ads. A customer we recently worked with saw a 3x ROI increase in under a month.
Do you have time to chat this week?
Best,
{{inbox.signature}}
Cold Email Templates: Common Mistakes
So, we've looked at best practices and cold email templates that you can use in practice.
However, it can also be useful to have a guideline on what not to do. Charlie Munger said it's easier to be “not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” The same rings true for cold emails.
Your cold emails won't win you awards and won't get framed on your prospects' desks. Your emails are a way to start a conversation with someone you've never met before – that's it.
With that said, here are a few ways to avoid sending a cold email that doesn't work.
Don’t Use Generic and Canned Phrases
If you don’t put effort into your cold email, it’ll be instantly obvious.
Avoid using generic phrases that could apply to anyone. Don’t use generic phrases like:
Congratulations on your growth!
I'm really liking your product/service…
Need help with sales, marketing, or SEO?
Big fan…
You could put those sentence fragments into any cold email, and they'd make it worse.
They're not personalized, not specific, and won't resonate with anyone.
No Clear Call-To-Action
Another common mistake is missing a clear call to action.
If you want to show your prospects that you respect their time, you have to make things easy for them.
A few call-to-actions that work are:
Ask a simple open-ended question (“Does that sound interesting?”)
Schedule a time to talk (“Do you have 15 minutes this week?”)
Say what action they need to take (“If that sounds interesting, click here to sign up for the webinar”)
Keep it simple.
Not Qualifying Your Prospect
The number #1 mistake most cold emailers make is that they forget to qualify their prospects.
This is where you should be spending the most effort: finding prospects that match your ICP and who you know you can help.
If you’ve built a prospect list effectively, writing your cold email should come naturally.
Wrapping Up
If you need a way to send customized cold outreach emails at scale, QuickMail is for you.
QuickMail lets you import prospects, write, schedule, and send emails all in one place.
You'll never have to worry about manually following up, and your productivity will massively increase thanks to the ability to customize emails at scale using merge tags and manage multiple inboxes from one place.
It’s the perfect way to grow your company using outbound sales. Start your free trial today.
