How to Write a Perfect Cold Email to Get More Responses!

Contents

1 How to Write a Cold Email – Table of Contents
2 What Is a Cold Email?
3 How To Write a Cold Email In 7 Simple Steps?
4 7 Best Practices To Remember While Writing Cold Emails
5 6 Critical Mistakes to Avoid While Writing Your Cold Emails
6 Best Cold Emailing Templates/Examples
7 Create The Perfect Cold Email In Just a Few Clicks
8 FAQs

I have been in marketing for a decade now. Although I have a big team working with me today, I still prefer to write some crucial cold emails myself.

The simple reason is that, having been in this domain for nearly 10 years, I understand some core rules about writing a perfect cold email, which only comes with time, experience, and after evaluating many numbers and trends.

At first, writing a cold email used to feel impossible to me, too! Hit the send button just to see No Replies!

With time I got the perfect answers to all my questions, and I’ll share them with you in this small blog to solve your issues about writing a perfect cold email forever!

Here are the top five things that I am sharing with you about what I have learned so far.

How to write a cold email,
Cold email best practices,
Perfect cold email format,
Pro tips to make your content game strong,
And common mistakes to avoid.

P.S. – I have added a few lesser-known cold emailing facts.

How to Write a Cold Email – Table of Contents

What Is a Cold Email?
How to Write a Cold Email in 7 Simple Steps?
7 Cold Email Best Practices To Remember When Writing Cold Emails
6 Common Mistakes To Avoid in Your Cold Emails
Best Cold Email Templates & Examples (With Sequences)
Create The Perfect Cold Email In Just a Few Clicks
FAQs

What Is a Cold Email?

Definition

So, what exactly is a cold email? if you are in the earlier days of marketing, you might be thinking, “Isn’t it just emailing someone you don’t know?” Well, yes, but there’s a bit more to it than that.

It’s a form of outbound outreach to introduce a product, service, or opportunity to a potential client, partner, or investor to initiate a conversation, build a relationship, or generate a response.

How To Write a Cold Email In 7 Simple Steps?

To write a perfect cold email, you need knowledge of 3 things,

Perfect cold email format (This Section)
Best practices to use while writing a cold email.
And mistakes to avoid while writing a cold email.

We will learn all 3 in this blog with the latest updates on what works and what does not while writing cold emails.

For starters, let’s learn from a big question,

“What should your outreach message try to do?” – Generate a Response! (Nothing fancy here.)

To do that, follow these easy 7 steps in the cold email writing process to achieve a perfect cold email format.

Decide Your Desired Outcome
Make a List Of Your Ideal Prospects
Write an Engaging Cold Email Subject Line
Write Perfect Email Opening, Body, and Ending Paragraphs.
Include a Social Proof
Use Low-commitment Call-To-Action (CTA)
End With a Standard Email Signature.

1. Decide Your Desired Outcome

Before you start drafting your email, clearly define the goals you wish to achieve (i.e. lead generation, promote your product/service, book more meetings, outreach to candidates, link building).

Doing this lets you measure the results of your cold email campaign correctly and decide on future actions.

Plus, having a clear goal will help shape your email message and give you an idea about what details to include to evoke a response from the recipients.

2. Make a List of Your Ideal Prospects

Once you know your goals, the next step is to research your prospects and list your ideal prospects.

Remember, even though you’re cold emailing, you should still clearly understand who they are and what they care about.

So, look up information on each prospect and their company to customize your message accordingly.

Consider the following questions to help you focus your research:

Are there too many or too few people in my target audience?
Will my offering assist my customer? Will they realize the value in it?
Do I understand what influences my recipient’s decisions?
Can I contact them by cold email? Is their email inbox reachable?
Am I targeting the decision-makers in the organization?

If you don’t have a list of prospects, you can always use a Lead Finder.

Saleshandy Lead Finder offers a pool of 700 Million+ Contacts and 60 Million Companies, making prospecting easier.

Generate leads effortlessly by using our built-in lead finder tool. Filter the leads by company, professional profiles, role and department, location, and many more options.

It can reveal up to 5000 leads in one go. You can keep adding 5000 leads, and the new ones will come to the top so you can prioritize them better.

3. Write An Engaging Cold Email Subject Line

Your email subject line can make or break the overall impression and effectiveness of your outreach campaign.

That’s why your subject line must be compelling, personalized, and relevant to each prospect.

Let’s see two examples:

Bad subject line: Web Design Services Available

Good subject line: [prospect name], struggling with {{challenge}}?

As you can see, the first subject line is generic and not personalized for the prospect.

The second subject line, on the other hand, is more personalized for a specific prospect and resonates with the main pain point.

As a result, the recipient is more inclined to open an email with a second subject line to learn more about the opportunity.

Keep in mind the following tips for writing such irresistible subject lines for your emails:

Make sure the subject is concise, attention-grabbing, and relevant
Use powerful but simple words
Ask industry-specific questions
Offer insight to the customer
Make people curious about your products and services

4. Write Perfect Email Opening, Body, and Ending Paragraphs

After capturing your prospect’s attention with a persuasive subject line, the next crucial step is to nail the introduction.

So, the question here is, How to begin an email? This is how…

A: Email Opening Paragraph

Also known as an email introduction paragraph. Here, you must keep hold of their attention and entice them to read more.

Remember, you only have seconds to catch their interest.

The best way to start a cold email is by finding an exciting fact, achievement, or pain point about their company you can reference. This shows you did your research and gets their attention.

For example:

“As the Director of Marketing at [Company], you must get hundreds of cold emails pitching random products. I’ll try not to waste your time and keep this short…”

B: Email Body Content

Once you’ve hit the mark with your introduction, take a sentence or two to explain who you are and why you’re emailing. Be clear about your purpose so they immediately understand the context.

For example:

“My name is [your name], and I’m the [your position] at [your company]. I’m emailing because I saw that you recently partnered with [relevant company] on [relevant project].”

The key is briefly introducing yourself while quickly pivoting to their needs. So, don’t spend multiple paragraphs boasting about yourself.

Here, you can also mention their pain points and any analysis or audit you have done for them that highlights an issue they are facing.

C: Email Ending Content

Your ending paragraph in a cold email should be no more than one or two lines. It should include a solution and an action item to convince the readers to reply to your email.

For example,

I have solved {{Issue}} for multiple businesses. Let’s connect via {{contact information}} and discuss further if interested.

You can also include social proof here if you have not added it in the email body to ensure they keep in touch with you.

5. Include a Social Proof

As discussed above, social proof is very cold in an email as the other person does not know you. There is no reason for him to trust your claims.

So, any kind of

~ User reviews,

~ Awards or recognitions,

~ Big partnerships,

~ News mentions,

or any social validations that make it easy for your email prospect to believe you should be a part of your cold email for sure.

6. Include a Less Commitment Call-To-Action (CTA)

Imagine this: Your recipient has read your mail and is impressed by your product but doesn’t know what to do next.

Crafting a compelling CTA is not as easy. But it’s crucial to give them a next step they can take, like scheduling a meeting, call, or consultation.

Note that your call to action should be less commitment and easy to do for them.

“Think of it this way: It should not include some action that is not reasonable for them to take after reading one email from an unknown person.”

Being direct with what you want them to do makes it easy for them to take action.

However, make sure you are not being overly salesy, otherwise, you risk annoying your prospects who are not yet ready to buy.

7. End With a Standard Email Signature

Finally, be sure to include a professional email signature with your name, title, company, phone number, and email address. This gives them the details they need to contact you easily.

A professional email signature is essential since it acts as a virtual business card and leaves a pictorial impression in the recipient’s head. Using the company’s name, logo, and corporate colors helps reinforce brand recognition.

It facilitates simple communication and establishes trust with potential customers by offering important contact information and social media links. This increases response rates and trust, establishing fruitful business relationships.

Time For a Lesser Known Fact on Cold Email Writing
“Apply a “So What” test after writing each line in your cold email. If the line does not answer your prospect’s question or provide him any value, rephrasing or removing it is better!”

7 Best Practices To Remember While Writing Cold Emails

A successful cold emailing strategy requires value-driven communication and respectful engagement with prospects. This section covers valuable and professional best practices for writing cold emails to generate business leads.

1. Focus On One Goal Per Email

Cold emailing is done for a particular reason. You get only a few chances before you get blocked for not sharing what you want or confusing them by asking for too much in one email.

That is why it is ideal to share only one clear action item in the email for the readers.

2. Make Subject Lines Mobile Friendly

The majority of people check their emails via mobile devices. Still, the subject line of many businesses’ emails is unoptimized for mobile phones.

Write only 5 to 7 words in your subject lines to optimize it for mobile phones and increase the chances of getting opened.

Time For a Lesser Known Fact on Cold Email Writing
“Trying A/B test on the email subject lines. It can improve your email opens by around 30%.”

3. Sound Human – Don’t Use AI Words

These days, people can recognize AI language from miles away. If they feel like you are also one of the AI writers who doesn’t put any effort into writing cold emails, your emails can get marked as spam.

To avoid that, use simple language and personalized and relevant content that addresses prospects’ pain points.

4. Proofread Carefully

Making spelling mistakes, writing wrong names, and many more silly mistakes can ruin your first impression. To save yourself from doing that, proofreading is non-negotiable.

Make sure you proofread after everything else is done so that you can check for technical errors as well.

5. Keep It Brief

The ideal length of a cold email is 60 to 120 words. The fewer, the better. That is the difference between a marketing email and a cold email.

Cold emails are to the point, short, and relevant.

If you fluff even a little, your email can easily be misunderstood as a marketing email and get marked as spam.

6. Segment Your Prospects

Segmentation of the prospects list can be done manually or via using a tool. If you have a short list, you can segment it yourself, but otherwise using a tool is recommended.

When you segment your prospects properly, you can write content that becomes relevant, accurate, and more targeted.

7. Use Cold Email Software

If following all these tips feels too much work, use a cold emailing tool that can automate all these for you.

With cold email software, you can easily create and fully automate your cold email outreach campaign.

Cold email software, Saleshandy, provides robust analytics to track the impact of your email campaigns and evaluate their performance.

This software lets you personalize, schedule, and automate your cold email campaigns. It increases your odds with features such as A/Z testing, auto follow-ups, email deliverability toolkit, etc.

The cold email software streamlines and optimizes your email outreach efforts, making it an incredibly useful tool for any sales team.

Time For a Lesser Known Fact On Cold Emailing
“Nearly 16% to 20% of emails land in the spam folder. Using an email verification tool, you can improve your email inbox placement rate to 95%!”

6 Critical Mistakes to Avoid While Writing Your Cold Emails

As you walk on the path of writing cold emails, there are some potholes that you must avoid. Let me shed some light on these so you can clearly see them as you walk.

common mistakes to avoid while writing a cold email

1. Sounding Inexperienced

When making your first impression on your prospect and asking for engagement, you need to make sure you sound like an expert.

Your tone should be mature and professional. Otherwise, they will not read your email and believe what you say.

Sounding professional also shows your authority on the topic. It becomes much easier for the person to believe you as the person having authority increases trust.

2. Lacking Proper Research

Continuing from the above point, if you want to sound experienced, you must have proper facts and pain points to speak upon.

If you take the time to do in-depth research on the prospect, you will not only sound like an expert but also increase your chances of getting responses from them.

3. Blending the Writing Style of Cold Emailing with Email Marketing

While writing cold emails, some people make the rookie mistake of sounding too salesy.

One thing to keep clear is that if your cold email sounds like a marketing email that floods your prospects every day, you are not getting any response, for sure!.

So, make sure not to mix the intent and approach of your cold emails with email marketing.

4. Ignoring Technical Errors

Minor errors that usually get avoided are,

Using too many links and massive media files.
Not checking preview before sending cold emails.
Forgetting to add the unsubscribe button.
Not writing proper “From” line and not associating it with the rest of the email.

5. Poor Timing

If you are sending emails to one county, then you probably won’t face this problem.

But the fact is that the majority of the time, our prospects are from different countries, and if you send all the emails at once ( which is not recommended in the same country also), you will not reach them at the right time.

You can use the scheduling feature available in the cold emailing software to save your emails from reaching the wrong time.

6. Confusing Relevant Personalization with Overly Personal Details

This point can be confusing, but let me clarify it.

Personalization with merge tags, spintax, and variable tags is good when trying to make your cold email relevant and targeted for the prospect.

But while researching the prospect, if you find personal details about them that they might not appreciate receiving online or find encroaching in their personal space, it can ruin your impression.

Best Cold Emailing Templates/Examples

In this section, I have tried to answer your questions on how to write cold email examples/samples that could help you get a head start in your cold emailing journey.

I have written cold email templates for different use cases so you can pick the best or the closest one for your requirements.

P.S. Don’t forget to check the end of this section to get amazing don’ts for writing a cold follow-up email.

How to write a Cold Email for an Internship?

When writing a cold email for a job or internship, here are some specific things to keep in mind

Cold Email Example: The inquiry email for an internship for Sales

Subject:
Could I be your next intern?
To whom it may concern, 

I am writing this email to see if {{company name}} has any internship opportunities.

My name is {{Your Name}} and I am a {{recent graduate/student}} at {{university name}} with a degree in {{Major or degree name}} and I have achieved {{mention grades}}. 

I have relevant coursework in {{area}}. 

I was also a part of the {{student committees/volunteering}} and {{add an achievement}}. 

I am interested in your firm because {{mention a personal or professional connection}}. 

In case you are interested, I have attached my resume and relevant references. I would love an opportunity to grow at {{company name}}!

Best, 

{{Your Name}}

How to write a Cold Email for a Job?

How to write a Cold Email for a Job?

Subject:
Application for the position of ((Job Title}}.
Respected Sir/Ma’am, 

I am writing this email for the position of  {{job title}} at {{company name}}. 

My name is {{Your Name}}, and I have {{years}} of experience in  {{field of work}}.

I came across your {{social media/newspaper announcement}} mentioning the vacancy. I feel my current experience and skills match the job; hence, I would be a good fit for it.  

I am attaching my CV for more details. Do let me know if you feel I am a good fit, and we can connect for more information.

Sincerely, 
{{Your Name}}

Now, if a person from the company has asked you to follow up later, you can write a second email in the sequence something like this.

How To Write a Cold Follow-Up Email For A Job

Subject:
Follow-Up on {{Job Title}} Application at {{Company Name}}.
Hi {{Manager’s Name}},

I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to follow up on my application for the {{Job Title}}position submitted on {{Application Date}}. 

I’m very excited about the opportunity to join {{Company Name}} and contribute to [mention a relevant project or goal related to the role].

Please let me know if there’s any additional information I can provide to support my application. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Contact Information]

How to write a Cold Email for Sales?

Apart from the points covered above here are some specific things that you can consider when writing a cold email for sales:

Cold Email Example: The “helpful” technique for Sales

Subject:{{First Name}}, are you dealing with [email marketing issues - example of the problem]?
Hello {{First Name}},

Have you been facing issues with [email marketing responses - example of the problem]? We’ve all been there, trust me!

If you’re in the same boat, then lucky for you because I would like to help you out.

Just send me an email and I’ll tell you about my ideas.

Looking forward to your response!

Have a great day!

Regards,

{{Your Name}}

Now, this email is important as this email will tell you how to cold email a potential client.
When you don’t get a response from them for your first cold email, you can use this type of email template.

How To Write A Cold Email After Not Getting Replies

How To Write A Cold Email After Not Getting Replies for Sales

Subject: Subject Line: We can still help in {{Solution/Product}}, in {{Company Name}}

Hi {{ Name}},

I just wanted to follow up on my previous email regarding how {{Your Company Name}} can help {{Company Name}} with [specific solution or benefit, e.g., "streamlining your sales process" or "improving lead conversion rates"].

If you’re interested in a quick chat to see if there’s a fit, I’d be happy to work around your schedule. Please let me know if there’s a convenient time.

Thanks again for considering, and I look forward to the opportunity to connect!

Best,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Position]

How to Write a Cold Email for Networking?

When writing a cold email for networking, it’s important to pay attention to the details in order to make a good impression and increase your chances of receiving a response. Here are some hyper-specific things to keep in mind:

Cold Email Example: Networking

Subject:
It was nice meeting you {{First Name}}!
Greetings {{First Name}}, 

We met at {{event}} on {{day}} and I had a great time chatting with you about {{topic}}. 

If I recall correctly, you expressed an interest in {{your services}} that we offer. 

Do you want to book a quick meeting with us this week to see how we can help each other out? We’ll keep the meeting short, I know you are busy!

{{calendar link}}

Let me know when you are available. 

Sincerely, 

{{Your Name}}

Now, If you feel like your first email didn’t quite hit the right note for networking. You can try this follow-up email before shifting your channel for outreach.

How To Write A Cold Email To Reach Out Before Calling

Subject:
Before Reaching Out by Phone fFor {{Your Company Name}} & {{Prospect’s Company Name}}

Hi {{Prospect’s Name}},

I wanted to follow up on my previous email to see if you’d had a chance to review it. 

At {{Your Company Name}}, we specialize in helping companies like {{Prospect’s Company Name}} achieve [specific benefit, e.g., “higher efficiency” or “improved client engagement”], and I believe we could bring real value to your team.

If this resonates, I’d be glad to provide more details by email or set up a brief call to explore options. Otherwise, I’ll follow up by phone soon to ensure I’m reaching out in the best way.

Looking forward to connecting!

Best,
{{Your Full Name}}
{{Your Position}}

How to Write a Cold Email to an Investor?

Cold Email Example: Connecting with Potential Investors

Subject:
: Partnership Opportunity with {{Your Company Name}}

Hi {[First Name}},
I’m {{Your Name}}, {{Your Position}} at {{ Company Name}}. We specialize in [briefly describe your business focus, e.g., “optimizing B2B sales with AI insights”], and we’ve achieved [mention notable achievement, e.g., “a 200% revenue increase this year”].

Given your expertise in [Investor’s area of expertise], I’d love to explore potential collaboration as we seek investment to scale. Could we schedule a brief call to discuss our vision and alignment?

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to connecting!
Warm regards,
{{Full Name}}
{{Your Position}}
{{Your Company Name}}

Cold Email Example: Cold Email for B2B Business Opportunities

Subject: :Exploring Growth Opportunities for {{Your Company Name}} & {{Prospect’s Company Name}}

Hi [Prospect’s Name],
I’m {{Your Name}} from {{Your Company Name}}. We specialize in [briefly describe your business focus, e.g., “providing scalable IT solutions for B2B companies”] and believe there’s potential for us to support {{Prospect’s Company Name}} in achieving [mention specific benefit, e.g., “enhanced efficiency” or “greater reach”].

Would you be open to a quick conversation to explore potential synergies between our companies? I’d be happy to share insights on how we can add value to your team.

Thank you, and I look forward to connecting.
Best,
[Your Full Name]

Now, when you have already tried your best to connect with potential B2B businesses but don’t see a response from them, or with any other cold emails, you can always write a last email to end things.

This will either get a response or make you clear about future emails with them.

Cold Email Example:The “break up” email

Subject:{{First Name}}, let’s cut to the chase!

Hello {{First Name}},

I know this is probably getting a bit intrusive. I wanted to reach out to you one last time.
Let me know if you are interested in {{mention what was offered}}.

If I don’t hear back from you, I’ll assume the timing wasn’t right, or you have other better offers.

If, in the future, you would like to use our services, feel free to reach out to me.

Wishing you the best.

Cheers,
{{Your Name}}

Now, because you read till the end, you deserve some more value than the others. Here you go, as promised, a Don’ts section for every kind of follow-up cold email.

Don’t While Writing a Follow-Up Email.

Don’t use a generic subject line like just follow-up or quick follow-up.
Don’t write a follow-up email without providing additional value.
Don’t write a follow-up email without keeping a 3 to 5 day gap.
Don’t forget to try different channels for follow-ups after 2nd email follow-up.

You can also use ChatGPT to write cold email. Read our detailed guide on How To Write Cold Emails Using ChatGPT?

Create The Perfect Cold Email In Just a Few Clicks

What if I tell you that all the best practices to apply, mistakes to avoid, and the perfect format to write a cold email could be done with a few clicks? Using a cold emailing tool like Saleshandy, you can easily write high-quality cold emails that convert efforts into outputs.

How?

Saleshandy has a complete deliverability toolkit to avoid any small or big technical errors,
It has a sequence score that will score your email sequence on best practices by the industry and score it for you to understand how it will perform.
It has several personalization features, such as merge tags, variable tags, and spintax, that make your cold emails human-like.
It also has agency features and team management features, such as unlimited team members and White labeling, which allow teams to collaborate easily.
It has graphical, detailed analytics and reports to make decision-making easier and help understand user behaviors.
It has automated follow-ups to ensure your efforts get maximum output from the list of prospects you targeted for the campaign.

In the end, remember that cold emailing requires persistence without being too pushy. Move your prospects in the right direction by proving that you are here to help and aim to resolve their pain points.

FAQs

1. What should be the length of a cold email?

Cold emails should be clear and to the point. It is recommended to keep your cold email under five sentences or less than 150 words to get read and receive a reply.

2. How can I make my cold email stand out?

One should always personalize the subject line and make it catchy to make your cold email stand out. It is also important to personalize the email content, provide some value to the recipient, and end your email with a competing call-to-action.

3. What is the best time to send a cold email?

The best time to send a cold email varies depending on the recipient’s time zone, industry, and schedule. It is recommended to send your cold email in the middle of the week in the early morning or late afternoon to get an increased open rate.

4. How to send cold emails?

You can send cold emails in 2 ways.

1. You can send cold emails manually by yourself.

2. You use cold email software to send emails.

Sending manually requires time and effort and is not scalable for businesses.

Hence, using a tool is a better option here.

You can just sign up for a tool like Saleshandy,
Upload your data (if any)
Get leads from the tool,
Segment your leads,
Write cold emails (or you can use their templates)
Write follow-up emails
Check your sequence score
Preview your email
If everything looks good, you can send or schedule your emails.

It automatically sends emails to prospects in random time gaps to mimic human-like sending patterns.