Email marketing is without a doubt one of the most effective ways to promote your products or services. Not only is it relatively easy to implement, but the results are often amazing. Studies have shown that even if only a small percentage of your email audience clicks through to buy a product or service, you're likely to see a major increase in sales. One of the most popular email marketing tools is cold emailing. So just what is it, and how can you use it to get more conversions and sales from your marketing efforts? Let's take a quick dive into the basics of cold emailing and how you can use it to grow your business.
What Is Cold Emailing?
Simply put, cold emailing is the practice of sending unsolicited emails to potential customers or website visitors. Typically, these emails are pitched as being between a business and a possible customer, but they don't have to be. In a sense, every single email you send is "cold," as you're not yet a customer and the person you're emailing is not yet a part of your audience. So while you could argue that it's not entirely "cold" as you've engaged with the person you're emailing, the relationship is still in its infancy. The key takeaway from this definition is that just because an email is sent un-asked for, it does not mean that it's not effective. In fact, the reverse is often true. When used effectively, cold emailing can work extremely well and allow you to see great results without needing to break the bank.
How Is It Different From Regular Email Marketing?
When you're just getting started, it's probably best to take the time to understand what makes up for a successful email marketing campaign. One of the main differences between cold emailing and regular email marketing is the approach. With cold emailing, you're usually looking for one thing: a response. This could mean that you're simply asking for a sale, or it could mean that you're trying to establish goodwill towards the customer in hopes of persuading them into a longer-term relationship. Regardless, you want to ensure that you receive a response from someone (if not, then you'll need to reevaluate whether or not this approach will be effective for your business).
In regular email marketing, the goal is to create interest, or 'hype', in the minds of the reader. To do this, you'll want to focus on producing high-quality material that appeals to the reader's intellect as well as their emotions. In other words, you want to create something that is both interesting and easy to understand (yet still manages to promote your product or service). While this is a very strategic approach, it can be quite difficult to do successfully. Especially since you're not guaranteed to receive a response, it can be tricky to determine what approach will work best for you.
Why Should You Try It?
Apart from just helping you see quicker results, one of the main reasons why you might want to try cold emailing is because it's often considered to be more effective. In a nutshell, studies have shown that people are more inclined to engage with emails that are 'cold' rather than 'warm'. Why is this the case? Well, when you send an email that is clearly meant to be marketing-related, the person that you're emailing will usually consider it to be more of a marketing message than a regular email. This is because you haven't yet established a relationship with them, so there's no prior context for what they're receiving. In other words, they've never heard of you, and there's no indication that they'll ever hear of you again (unless you happen to mention that you're the person who sent them the email).
On the contrary, when you cold email, the recipient will generally consider it to be a more personal message. This is because every email that you send will be considered to be a personal message. Even if you don't intend for it to be personal, the fact that you've never previously interacted with the person will make it so. This can result in some fascinating interactions and surprising results if you utilize the right techniques. Some marketing automation platforms allow you to identify specific people within your account and allow you to customize your approach to maximize results.
When Should You Try It?
Like many other practices that you'll learn about in this guide, the answer to this question depends on your specific situation. There are certainly instances where cold emailing wouldn't be suitable, but rather than trying to generalize, it's usually better to look at each situation as a unique case.
For example, if you're selling bespoke suits and you want to maximize your chances of having someone commit to buying, it might not be the best idea to bombard them with cold emails once they've expressed interest. Instead, it's probably better to follow up with a more personalized message. In this instance, you can use a tool like salesblink to follow up with new leads and gain more trust. Alternatively, you could take the time to call or meet face-to-face with potential clients and make a more personal connection.
On the other hand, if you're selling housewares and you want to garner interest from people that already have a good impression of your business, it might be a good idea to send out a mass email to remind them of your existence and your product range. In this scenario, you might want to experiment with whether or not you should bother to sign off with a name or an anonymous email. As you'll learn in the next section, this can sometimes work in your favor, so be sure to consider your options before committing to one approach over the other.
The Basic Approach: How To Write A Cold Email
Now that you have an understanding of what cold emailing is and why it's effective, let's talk about the basics of how to write a cold email. Remember, your goal is to get a response, so keep that in mind as you're crafting your message.
To begin with, you'll want to take the time to craft a pitch that is both interesting and compelling. This is often easier said than done, but if you find that you struggle with this, it might be a good idea to break down the specific problems that you're facing and see if there's a fit between your product and what the person that you're emailing is looking for. Also, make sure that your language is clear and concise. While you don't need to write in complete sentences, you do need to write in a way that the reader understands what you're trying to say. In addition to this, if you can, be sure to write from the perspective of a potential customer, as this will make it easier for them to relate to what you're saying. In a nutshell, make sure that your email is interesting, concise, and easy to understand. In the next section, we'll dive into some of the more advanced tips and tricks for writing successful cold emails.
What About The Subject Line?
When you craft the body of your cold email, you'll want to make sure that it's compelling. This is generally going to be someone else's first impression of your business, so it's important to give it the proper context. To establish trust, you'll want to put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer and ask yourself questions about what they're looking for. For example, if you're emailing to ask for a sale, you might want to begin with something like this:
"Hello, my name is Jane and I'm the CEO of XYZ Business. We're based in New York and we specialize in bespoke suits for men and women. Having had many years of selling luxury goods to recognizable brand names, I'm aware that oftentimes it's not about what you say, but how you say it. This is why I wanted to contact you directly to ask if you'd be interested in sampling our products. I'll be honest, we don't typically allow unsolicited emails from unknown individuals, but I thought I'd take the risk given your interest in our product."
Now, this is just an example, but you get the idea. When you write the subject line, you have the opportunity to engage the person reading it right away and make them want to read your email. In the example above, the subject line (and opening) is strong and direct. As a result, the receiver knows exactly what they're getting into and are more likely to be interested in what you have to say. Of course, you want to be sure to keep it to a reasonable length. As a rule of thumb, it's always better to write shorter emails than longer ones. People are generally less inclined to read lengthy emails than they are to read shorter ones. This makes them more likely to be engaged and hopefully interested in what you have to say.
