If you want to introduce yourself to someone you either don’t know or have had brief conversations with in the past, email is the best channel for the job.
A carefully crafted email introduction can lead to you meeting new business partners, generating new sales leads, or even recruiting talent for a role you’re hiring for.
Email is the one channel that everyone checks daily, at multiple points:
When we wake up
When we check-in to work
At lunch
Throughout the day
If you want to make an introduction to someone, email is the perfect way to and ensure they see your message. As well as that, eight out of ten decision-makers say email is the channel they want to use to talk to sales reps.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Your email needs to be:
Personalized
Highly relevant to their needs or interests
Sent at the right time
If you don't check all of those boxes, there's a high chance your email never gets seen or read (and if definitely won't get a reply).
Luckily, we’ve seen enough email campaigns to understand what works and what doesn’t.
In this guide, we’ve distilled best practices and learnings to help you compose and send introductory emails that get replies.
How Much Does Your Subject Line Matter?
When writing your introduction emails, don’t spend too much time on the subject line.
It does have a slight impact on open rates if you include attributes like someone’s first name or a company name, but, in general, people will open your email if the subject line makes sense.
Based on our experience, it’s usually best to keep it simple.
For example:
Quick question about {{company.name}}
Intro chat with {{prospect.first_name}}?
{{mutual connection}} told me to reach out
If you need more inspiration, check out our guide to subject lines: 55 Cold Email Subject Line Examples & Best Practices.
Your subject line should reflect what you’re going to say in your email, and it should spark curiosity.
The key to seeing high open and reply rates is only sending emails to people that will be a great fit to receive your email. If your email is something that interests your prospect, they’ll reply — the subject line won’t matter.
That said, it’s always best to avoid using words that are commonly used by spammers, like “You’ve won a prize!” or “Free cash”.
Keep your subject line simple and genuine, and you’re good to go.
4 Steps to Writing a Great Introduction Email
1. Make It All About The Recipient
If you were met with a sales prospect in person, you wouldn’t jump straight into a cold pitch.
You’d make some small talk, get to know them, and learn more about them. For some reason, people often throw these ideas out the window when they reach out to someone using cold email.
To instantly stand out from the crowd of emails in a busy inbox, you need to make your email all about the recipient. You need to prove to them that you’ve taken time out of your day to write a personalized email and aren’t putting them on the same email list as you are with 500 other people.
There are a few ways to do this:
Use your opening line to write a completely personalized note
Compliment them on recent content they’ve created
Mention that you saw them featured on a podcast, webinar, or the local news channel
A simple, custom opening line will break the ice, prove that you’re reaching out with good intentions, and help you boost your reply rate.
You also need to ensure your email is personalized.
Mention unique attributes like:
First name
Company name
Their job title
It’ll instantly prove you’ve put some basic effort into your campaigns. Today, personalization is essential if you want to see results with email outreach. If you ignore this step, you won’t see the results you’re hoping for.
2. Keep Your Email Focused on One Topic
If you’re reaching out to someone, you need to make it clear why they should keep reading. If you confuse someone, they’ll quickly delete it or move on.
A simple way to make life easy for your recipient is to keep it focused on one topic.
The people you're reaching out to have their own work, deadlines, and responsibilities. Replying to your email isn't a priority, so you'll need to make your email as simple as possible to reply to.
No matter who you’re introducing yourself to, the formula remains similar:
Highlight a problem they want to solve or they’re interested in
Show how you’re relevant to helping them solve it or why it’s worth talking
Tell them what the next steps are
Keeping your email focused on one thing shows that you respect your recipients' time and energy. They won't need to waste time trying to understand what you're asking them, and they can focus on replying.
3. Include a Clear Call-To-Action
If someone reads your email and there’s no call to action (CTA), they probably won’t reply.
A clear call to action makes your intent clear and taking the next step is simple for the recipient.
For example, if you’re introducing yourself as a vendor to a potential client, your call to action could be:
Do you have 20 minutes free for a call this week?
Is that something you’re currently exploring?
Want me to coordinate with your assistant?
The idea here is that your prospect can reply with a short sentence and you can take it from there. There’s no confusion about what they should reply with, so you’ll get more replies.
4. Don’t Forget to Follow-Up
Most people don’t want to follow up after the first email. Does it feel too pushy? Will you annoy your recipient?
If you’re not following up, you’re losing a huge chunk of your total possible replies.
The truth is, everyone is busy. Most people won’t read or reply to your first email as they have enough on their plate already.
But, if you follow up, it shows you’re serious.
In Derek Sivers' book, Your Music and Your People, when talking to a high-profile music publicist, she told him that she rarely had a chance to read people's outreach because she received so many emails. Instead, she'd wait until the second or third follow-up, because "The ones who follow-up show they've got the tenacity and drive to succeed".
Our data backs this up. We analyzed millions of emails sent using QuickMail and found that over 55% of replies come from a follow-up.
Use your follow-ups wisely.
As a rough guide, you can send 3-6 follow-up emails. Make each one unique, add ongoing value, and always be clear about why you’re emailing.
Introductory Email Templates You Can Start Using Today
Ready to start sending emails that get replies? These templates are for you.
1. The Cold Pitch Introduction
One of the most common reasons to send an introduction email is to pitch your services to a potential client.
Here’s a template you can steal that acts as the perfect foundation for your prospecting introductory emails:
Subject line: Help with [pain point]?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Just read your latest blog post on [topic] - some great insights, thanks for sharing.
I noticed you’ve been running ads for keywords relevant to your business on Google. We help companies like {{company.name}] scale with managed ad campaigns.
A client we worked with last year with a similar business model to {{company.name}} managed to see a 3x rise in ROAS after we updated their campaigns.
Want to see if there’s any potential fit with a 15-minute chat over a call on Thursday?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
2. Explore a Partnership Opportunity
No matter your field of expertise, there’s someone out there who you can partner with to boost your results, and theirs. It could be to integrate your solution with theirs, to white-label agency services, or to see if they want to collaborate on content.
A friendly email is a perfect way to explore the opportunity and see if the other party is interested.
Subject line: {{company.name}} and [company], any potential?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Congrats on the recent round of funding for {{company.name}} – should be an exciting few months ahead.
Wanted to reach out as we work with similar companies to {{company.name}}, and we’d love to see if there’s potential for an integration to help both of our customer bases.
We help with [pain point] and I think an integration could help {{company.name}}’s customers with [pain point].
Worth having a quick conversation this week or next?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
3. Lead with a Mutual Connection
If you have a mutual friend with someone and want to connect with someone, you can lead with that.
If you can show you have a mutual connection, live in the same area, or are interested in the same things as them, it’ll be easier to build rapport when making your introduction.
It’s an effective way to turn a cold outreach email into a warm introduction.
Here’s what it looks like:
Subject line: [mutual friend] told me to reach out
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Noticed that we both know [mutual contact] from working at [company you both worked at]. Small world!
Wanted to reach out because since then, I’ve started [Company name], and we help brands like {{company.name}} with [pain point].
If solving [pain point] is on your radar, would it be worth a conversation this or next week?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
4. Getting Past a Gatekeeper
Any sales professional will need to get past a gatekeeper at some point. A friendly, polite introduction is a simple and effective way to do it.
Treat the person you’re contacting with respect, and show them you care about their time, not just how quickly they refer you to the decision-maker you’re trying to reach.
This template is perfect if you know the person you’re trying to reach has assistants managing their inbox or you can’t find a public email address for them.
You’ll quickly show the reason you’re emailing, and why it’s worth putting you through.
Subject line: Helping {{company.name}} with [pain point]
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Congratulations on {{company.name}}’s new product launch. Looks like an exciting time for you.
I’m reaching out because we help companies like {{company.name}} with [pain point]. We’ve worked with companies like [similar company #1] and [similar company #2].
If that’s a problem [decision-maker name] is thinking about, would you be open to putting me in touch with them? I’d love to see if there’s potential to help.
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
5. Introduction for Recruitment Purposes
Cold email outreach is an effective way to reach out to passive talent you’re interested in hiring.
But, candidates don’t want you to waste their time. Your email template needs to give them the information they care about upfront and needs to show that you respect their time.
Here’s what it looks like:
Subject line: Interested in role at [company]?
Hi {{prospect.first_name}},
Found your profile on LinkedIn and based on your past experience at [company] and [company], I thought you’d be interested in hearing about a role I’m hiring for.
The role is for a [Job Title] with [Company]. We’re based in [Location] and have a hybrid-remote work policy, with a competitive salary.
Would you be interested in learning more about the role?
Best,
{{inbox.name}}
6. Introducing Two Connections to Each Other
If you think two of your connections would be interested in having a chat, email is the perfect channel to make the introduction.
If there’s something in it for both of them, they’ll be thankful for the intro. If you’re making an intro like this, it’s a good idea to check with both parties that they’re interested before making a cold introduction.
Subject line: [Name 1] <> [Name 2]
Hey {{prospect.first_name}},
Wanted to introduce you to [Person] — I’ve known them for a few years now since we worked at [Company] together.
As you’re both working in [industry], I thought it’s worth making an intro as [Person] is working on a project you might be interested in.
I’ll let you two take it from here,
{{inbox.name}}
Scheduling Your Introduction Emails with QuickMail
If you plan on sending cold outreach emails to more than a few people, you’ll need a tool to manage it. If not, you’ll forget to follow up, miss replies, and won’t be able to judge how well your emails are performing.
QuickMail can help. Here’s how:
Personalize Every Email, Even At Scale
Every email you send needs to be personalized, even if you’re sending 50 emails out at once. If you cut corners on personalization, your campaigns won’t work.
QuickMail lets you use or create your own personalized attributes that dynamically insert into emails.
For example, you can import a spreadsheet of prospects with a First_Name column. From there, you can map that into your emails using the {{prospect.first_name}} attribute. It’s a perfect way to speed up your workflow without compromising on how you personalize your emails.
You can add attributes for anything you need, such as:
First name
Company name
A custom opening line
It’s a simple way to boost your reply rate and ensure every introduction you make feels as personal as it can.
Automate Your Follow-Ups
Considering over half of the replies to outreach campaigns come from a follow-up, it’s vital to make them a key part of your workflow.
Following up manually is time-consuming and you’re likely to forget if you’re busy with other important projects.
QuickMail lets you follow up with anyone who doesn’t reply to your initial introductory email on a set schedule.
Simply add a step after your initial email with the number of days you want to leave before a follow-up. Three to five is usually enough.
Then, add another email step to your campaign after the delay, and that email will be automatically sent if you don’t receive a response.
If your contact does reply, they will be paused on the campaign, so there’s no risk of them receiving multiple emails from you.
Ensure Great Deliverability
The worst way to introduce yourself is by landing in the spam folder. You’ll instantly look less trustworthy, and in the vast majority of cases, your email won’t even get noticed.
QuickMail’s native integration with an email deliverability tool, MailFlow, allows you to send emails with confidence, knowing they will make it to the primary inbox.
Once you link your email address with MailFlow and integrate it with QuickMail, you can boost your sender reputation and ensure your emails never land in the spam folder.
From MailFlow, you can see detailed reports on where your emails are landing and monitor your email deliverability and health.
Get Started for Free
You can try out QuickMail with our free trial, so there’s no risk.
In minutes you can start creating your email outreach campaigns and start introducing yourself to decision-makers, potential business partners, and anyone else you need to get in touch with.
If you ever need help, our support team will be there to help you succeed.
Learn more and start your free trial today.
In Summary
Cold emails let you build connections, generate new sales leads, hire new employees, and connect mutual friends with each other.
They’re a perfect way to break the ice and introduce yourself to someone new.
These best practices and templates should help you get started quickly and see results.
But, it’s important to remember that you should never rely solely on templates. Customize your emails to match your unique goals, be considerate of your recipients’ time, and don’t forget to follow up.
When you’re ready to get started, start your free trial of QuickMail to send automated, personalized emails and start more conversations.
