If you’re in sales, you know the power of building an email prospecting list and sending cold emails. It is one of the most important parts of of outbound lead generation.
Building email lists of potential customers in your target market is key to maximizing leads.
That said, EMAIL is one of the most critical channels between salespeople and prospective clients in the B2B space. Before we dig in, let's start by explaining what a cold email is exactly.
What is a Cold Email?
A cold email is an email that is sent to someone you don’t know and who is not expecting to get an email from you. Sending cold emails is a tactic that has been used to close millions of dollars in revenue.
Email is extremely effective because you can reach a large audience quickly with the least amount of manpower. All you need is Outreach to get started.
However, using emails to generate leads doesn’t come without risk.
For instance, if you start emailing a list of contacts without preparing properly, you could end up totally wasting your time or even accidentally violating the law.
Keep reading, and we’ll show you how to make the most out of this channel and avoid massive emailing mistakes.
Related: B2B Email Outreach Templates
Email Deliverability
First, let’s establish that the goal of an email campaign is always to get as many opens as possible. The more opens an email campaign receives, the more eyes there are on your content, and the more sales you will drive.
So how do you ensure that the emails you send reach every prospect on your list and get opened? By improving your email deliverability.
Email Deliverability is the success rate of an email campaign and its ability to reach people’s primary inbox, as opposed to their SPAM folder or promotional tab.
The challenge with creating an email campaign that has good deliverability is that every email address has a permanent record or an individual reputation based on how often you send or receive real messages through that address, how frequently those messages get marked as SPAM, and how often you send messages to email traps, or do anything else that would flag the address.
In other words, your email address’s history has an impact on the number of people that see your messages. And if your reputation is bad, your email messages will go to the prospect’s SPAM folder where they will likely never see them.
Check out this article to learn more about sender reputation, and all the factors that impact the deliverability of your email campaign.
7 Way to Boost Open Rates for Cold Emails
Cold emailing is a common practice to reach out to potential customers. However, getting your emails opened and read can be a challenging task. With a crowded inbox and skeptical recipients, it's crucial to adopt effective strategies that increase your open rates. Here's 7 actionable tips to help you improve your open rates for cold emails and increase your chances of success.
1. Craft a Compelling Subject Line
The subject line is the first impression of your email and plays a vital role in grabbing the recipient's attention. Keep it concise, personalized, and engaging. Highlight the value proposition or address a pain point to pique their curiosity. Experiment with different subject lines and A/B test them to determine what resonates best with your target audience.
2. Personalize Your Emails
Personalization is key to connecting with your recipients. Avoid generic templates and take the time to research and understand their needs, interests, and preferences. Incorporate personal details into your email, such as their name, company, or recent achievements, to demonstrate that you've done your homework. This personal touch helps build rapport and increases the likelihood of your email being opened.
3. Keep the Email Concise and Relevant
In today's fast-paced world, people have limited time and attention spans. Keep your cold emails brief, concise, and to the point. Focus on communicating the value you can offer and how it aligns with their specific needs. Avoid overwhelming the recipient with excessive information. Make your email scannable by using bullet points, subheadings, and short paragraphs. Respect their time and show that you value it.
4. Leverage Social Proof
Including social proof in your cold emails can significantly boost your credibility and increase open rates. Highlight positive customer testimonials, case studies, or industry accolades to showcase your expertise and reliability. When recipients see that others have benefited from your offerings, they are more likely to open your email and explore the potential opportunities.
5. Establish Trust and Credibility
Building trust is crucial for successful cold emailing. Provide relevant information about yourself or your company to establish credibility. Include a professional email signature with your full name, designation, and contact details. If you have any notable achievements, certifications, or partnerships, mention them briefly to increase your credibility and encourage recipients to open your email.
6. Timing Matters
Consider the timing of your cold emails to optimize open rates. Research suggests that sending emails on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday mornings tend to yield better results. Avoid weekends and Mondays when people are more likely to be catching up on emails or preoccupied with other tasks. Experiment with different times and days to identify the optimal sending schedule for your target audience.
7. Follow Up Strategically
Persistence is key in sales. If your initial email doesn't receive a response, follow up with a polite and personalized message. Craft a compelling follow-up subject line that indicates you're reaching out again. However, be mindful of not being too pushy or aggressive. A well-timed and thoughtful follow-up can reignite interest and improve your open rates.
Improving open rates for cold emails is a vital aspect of successful sales outreach. By crafting compelling subject lines, personalizing your emails, keeping them concise and relevant, leveraging social proof, establishing trust, considering timing, and following up strategically, you can significantly increase your chances of getting your emails opened and read.
Bonus Cold Emailing Tips
So that’s a quick breakdown of the basics. But before we sign off, here’s a few bonus email tips I wish I knew a while ago:
Avoid emailing outdated addresses, and clean your lists often.
Beware! Old and unused email addresses become SPAM traps that tank your reputation if you message them. To avoid these traps, make sure your list is up to date with verified emails. If you need help building an accurate contact list, click here to register to get started with Seamless.AI for free.
Related: Are Email Extractors Legal in US
Recover your email address reputation by creating drip campaigns.
Remember how I mentioned that the deliverability of an email is positively affected by how often the address sends and receives real messages?
Well, drip campaigns (if used correctly) are an awesome way to consistently recover your reputation in the background while you’re sending promotional emails to prospects. That’s because drip campaigns generally bring in a steady flow of real email responses from other addresses with good reputations.
Constantly test your reputation to see where you stand.
Finally, I wish I knew that I could test my content for red flags and evaluate the deliverability before I started cold emailing.
If you don’t look into your reputation first, all of your work could be pointless. It doesn’t matter how clean and accurate the list is. Perfectly written content won’t be seen if the deliverability is poor.
Avoid these common email mistakes at all costs because you don’t want to put in all that work with research and drafting just to go to SPAM. No one has time for that!
Use this advice so that your prospecting list and content is put to work reeling in all the hot leads!
Related: How to use B2B Intent Data
