The Art of Cold Emailing: Strategies That Boost Response Rates by 50+%

✍️ Opinions

Muskaan Kapoor

Aug 4, 2023 — 6 min read

Dhruv Patel, Co-founder of Saleshandy - Cold Emailing Strategies

This article has been contributed by Dhruv Patel, Co-founder, Saleshandy.

Does your job involve reaching out to total strangers through cold emails? If so, deafening silence and frustration would be your constant companions.

We know how it feels.

Does that mean you should give up on cold emails? Definitely not.

It would be foolish to expect everyone to respond to cold emails, but it would be even more so to assume that no one would.

In addition to having a great product or service, what you need is the right cold emailing strategies to get a response from your target audience.

In this article, we'll go through cold emailing strategies that could turn the tables in your favor, increasing your response by up to 50%!

Let’s get right into it.

What is a Favorable Cold Email Response Rate?
7 Rockstar Strategies to Increase Your Cold Email Response Rate

Write a Well-Crafted Subject Line
Use the Company’s Email Address
Go For a Personalized Approach
Have a Clear Call to Action (CTA)
Avoid Spam Folders
Perform A/B Testing
Send It at an Optimal Time

What is a Favorable Cold Email Response Rate?

Before understanding what a good cold email response rate is, let’s first understand what a cold email response rate is. It’s basically the percentage of recipients that open and respond to your cold emails.

The cold email response rate is a crucial metric for assessing how well your cold email campaigns are working.

So, what is a good response rate? Well, there’s no one-size-fits-all, as it varies depending on your target audience and industry.

However, a study by Backlinko shows that 8.5% of cold emails receive responses, while the vast majority of cold emails are ignored or deleted. In simple terms, a response rate between 1% to 10% is considered favorable.

Now that we know what we’re aiming for, let’s understand how we can get there.

7 Rockstar Strategies to Increase Your Cold Email Response Rate

Cold emailing is a goldmine, but to dig the gold out of it, you must get your emails opened. The following strategies go a long way toward it:

1. Write a Well-Crafted Subject Line

The subject line is the face of your cold email. It’s the first thing that will decide whether your email should be opened or left hanging in the cold.

In the world of emails, a weak subject line could be the ticket to the dreaded bin. So, if you want a golden ticket to getting your email opened, you must craft a compelling subject line that grabs the eyeballs at first sight.

A great subject line is the perfect blend of intrigue and relevance. It should be relevant, ignite curiosity, and leave the recipient eager to explore what lies within. In other words, you must make the reader feel like they're about to uncover something truly special. A bit of personalization can be the icing on the cake.

Let us give you some examples to get your brain cells moving.

Hey [Name], Check this out!
A [better, smarter, more effective] way to [reach a specific goal]
[Name] looking forward to seeing you at a [event name]
Are you prepared to overcome [any specific challenge]
You missed it, [Name]

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Pro-Tip: Use action-oriented language to create a sense of urgency among the recipients.

2. Use the Company’s Email Address

When it comes to sending cold emails, it’s preferable to use the company's email address.

Why?

Think about it: If you were in the "user’s shoes," would you open the email sent to you by a complete stranger? No, right?

When an email comes from a business email ID, it establishes credibility and tips the trust factor in your favor.

Additionally, people who have already dealt with the company or are familiar with it may be intrigued and recognize it, making them more responsive and engaging with the email content.

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Pro-Tip: Increase the chances of engagement by using your business email.

3. Go For a Personalized Approach

According to statistics, personalized emails can increase open rates by as much as 29% and response rates by as much as 50%. Personalizing your emails demonstrates your concern and effort to get to know your recipients.

Your goal is to make them feel as though your email was written especially for them by utilizing their name, mentioning their business or sector, and speaking directly to their requirements.

Personalization doesn’t have to be limited by the name, let’s go through some personalization strategies that work like a charm:

You can tell them about your thoughts on a post they have made.
You can mention the podcast they were on or the event you saw them at. Be as detailed as possible.
Compliment their work.
Recommend an article you think they would love to read.

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Pro-Tip: Establish stronger connections by giving a personal touch.

4. Have a Clear Call to Action (CTA)

After reading your email, the recipients might require some direction on what to do next. Without a clear call to action, people can be left wondering, "Well, everything’s good, but what do you need from me? Why are you sending this to me?"

According to a study, 70% of small B2B companies don't include a CTA in their emails. So, by crafting a compelling CTA, you can seize this opportunity to captivate your audience’s attention and stand out in the competition.

Examples:

Take the First Step - Book Your Free Consultation
Don't Miss Out - Let's Get on a Call This Week
Click Here to Schedule Your Call or Simply Reply to This Email!

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Pro Tip: Be confident but not overly pushy about what you are asking them to do.

5. Avoid Spam Folders

When deciding whether to mark an email as spam, email service providers consider a variety of factors. These include spam-triggering terms, domain reputation, and excessive HTML.

Tensed? Don’t worry, we have some tips for you. By following these, you can easily avoid having your emails go into your recipients’ spam folders.

Avoid using spammy words like free, guarantee, buy, as seen on, etc.
Make sure to check the reputation of the IP address from which you are sending your email.
Don’t write words or sentences in ALL CAPS.
Don’t send any links or images in your email because this comes across as spammy to email providers.
Don’t send more than 30 to 40 emails per email account per day. If you send more emails, you are likely to be spammed.
You can warm up your IP address by sending a low volume of emails and gradually increasing the volume per day.

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Pro-Tip: Ditch the spam folders and make your way into the inbox by mastering these tricks.

6. Perform A/B Testing

A/B testing simply means testing variations of cold emails to figure out which works the best.

You can A/B test subject lines, length of emails, CTAs, frequency, or timing of emails when it comes to cold emails to identify the most effective approach. It's all about optimizing and figuring out what makes your outreach the most effective.

You can gain insightful information to optimize your email marketing by regularly monitoring metrics like open, click, and conversion rates.

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Pro-Tip: Track your KPIs and observe patterns to find out what worked and what didn’t.

7. Send It at an Optimal Time

The success of your cold email marketing is greatly influenced by the time your recipients receive your email.

During the working days, Monday to Friday, the hours between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. are particularly favorable for grabbing attention and substantially increasing response rates. This time coincides with the beginning of the working day when receivers are more open to checking their mailbox.

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Pro-Tip: Send your email during the time when they’re most likely to be checking their mail.

Final Words

By implementing the strategies outlined in this article, you can craft a highly successful cold email campaign and achieve your desired results. With a well-designed and thoughtful approach, your cold email marketing can generate leads and drive sales effectively.

Cold email campaigns are not a quick fix. It takes commitment, time, and effort to develop and carry out a well-thought-out strategy if you want to achieve the desired outcomes. It’s not time to give up, rather, give it all in!