Selling in today’s world is no walk in the park. The market’s shaky, budgets are tight, and everyone’s playing it safe.

Using cold emails for sales is a smart move, but let’s be real, it’s a bit of a puzzle. Those ESPs (Email Service Providers) are throwing rulebooks around like wizards with their wands.

Writing a standout cold email isn’t just about being wordy; it’s more like hitting a moving target – nailing the timing, using the right words, and dealing with some tech stuff like email health and deliverability.

It might feel overwhelming, but no worries – we’ve got your back.

This article has a scoop on everything you need to feel solid with a cold email. No fluff, just a straightforward guide on the 15 best cold email tips to boost your confidence and make cold outreach work for you.

What’s a cold email?

A cold email is like a digital handshake with someone who hasn’t heard of your product.

It’s not about bombarding everyone; it’s strategic outreach to folks likely to benefit from what you offer.

In simple terms, it’s like extending a friendly hand to a potential customer you’ve never met. The goal isn’t to spam but to help those facing specific challenges related to what you offer.

Structuring your cold email

A good cold email always has a reason for landing in someone’s inbox. It’s not random; it’s a message that shows you understand their needs.

Here’s a simple plan to help with framing your email:

1. Start the email with your research tidbits

Begin by sharing quick insights from your research about the person or their industry. It shows you know a bit about them.

2. Share what your research did help you find

Go a bit deeper into what you discovered. Connect the dots between what you offer and what they might need based on your research.

3. Talk about the problem you spotted

Mention why you are talking about a specific problem or challenge. Show some proof like a case study of your customer who faced a similar problem & try to start a conversation.

The important thing to remember here is to keep it short and linked to your research.

4. Ask a simple question

Finish up by asking a straightforward question related to the problem you mentioned. It should encourage them to think about your solution.

Here’s an example –

Hey {{firstName}},

I noticed you spend over 3 hours composing emails.

Our customers, like [customer], achieve the same results in just 30 minutes with an impressive 12% response rate.

Take a look at this email they crafted:
[Example]

Wanna create emails like these?

Emily

This email –

• talks about their pain,
• shows how others like them have solved this pain,
• prompt them to let you know if they’d like to discuss this further.

15 Best Cold Email Tips to Elevate Your Outreach Game

Now that you have a structure to your email, let’s dig into some serious stuff that makes your email visible to the prospects’ eyes.

Crafting impactful cold emails involves mastering a mix of art and strategy. Here are 15 best cold email tips to ensure your outreach is not just noticed but genuinely connects –

1. Shorter subject lines

Imagine summarizing your entire email in just three words – that’s your subject line.

Aim for brevity, keeping it within 1-3 words.

Don’t strive for creativity here; make it sound slightly intriguing to capture the prospect’s attention.

Avoid using any numbers or punctuation.

2. Preview text

The preview text, following the subject line in your inbox, often determines whether your email gets opened or deleted.

It’s crucial to make this brief space highly relevant to the recipient.

Avoid starting your email body with generic phrases like “hope you are well” to maximize the impact of this limited space. Every word counts, so make it count!

3. Communicate clearly

Almost a quarter (23.5%) of all emails get skimmed with an engagement of only 2-8 seconds.

Your recipient is not reading your email. They are just skimming.

Forget using fancy words, long sentences, or business jargon.

Your message needs to be quick and easy to get, especially when folks are busy. Keep it simple, and aim for the recipient to understand your email in under 10 seconds.

4. Be sure your emails land in the inbox

For your emails to land in the inbox, a good domain reputation is key.

Spam filters are getting strong these days.

And your domain’s standing plays a crucial role in whether ISPs trust you or not.

Regularly check if your domain is blacklisted and assess your IP address quality using this tool.

Keep an eye on your domain authentication status (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) across all your email accounts and promptly fix any authentication issues.

5. Connect by understanding pain points

Dive into the recipient’s challenges.

By understanding and addressing their pain points, your email becomes relatable and impactful.

The research on prospects you conduct will be especially useful in achieving this connection.

6. Build relationships, not sales

Shift your focus towards building strong relationships with your prospects. Instead of pushing for a hard sale, work on establishing trust and rapport.

This approach paves the way for more meaningful collaborations down the line.

7. Engaging CTAs

Instead of jumping to meeting requests in your initial cold email, encourage a conversation.

Recognize that your prospect is busy, and starting with dialogue makes the interaction more natural and engaging.

Therefore, your CTA should spark a conversation, allowing you to build rapport. Once a connection is established, requesting a meeting becomes a smoother and more welcomed progression.

This is one of the best cold email tips you should be suggesting your fellowmates too!

8. The follow-up game

According to Gartner, only 23.9% of the first sales emails ever get opened.

Getting people to open your first sales email is itself a bit tricky, and the truth is, not everyone will reply right away.

There could be lots of reasons for that—maybe they’re busy, not interested, or you reached the wrong person.

It usually takes about 18 touches to schedule a meeting with someone interested.

So, you need to follow up but don’t bug your prospects every day. Space out your follow-ups, like waiting 2-4 days between each email.

Need some ideas? Check out these templates for inspiration: Sales Email Templates

9. Optimize with A/B Testing

Getting your email just right takes a bit of trial and error.

That’s where A/B testing comes in. It’s like trying out different versions of your email—changing the subject line, the main message, or even how personalized it is.

This helps you figure out what works best and improve over time.

10. Have a dedicated domain for cold emails

When reaching out to new prospects, it’s smart to use a separate domain just for that. Don’t mix it up with your main business domain.

Pick trustworthy domains like .com, .io, .tech, or .us.

Avoid fun-sounding ones like .fun or .deal; they might make your business seem less serious and credible.

Keeping it pro from the start is the way to go.

11. Warm up your domain

The most important tip of all 15 best cold email tips!

When diving into cold email outreach, the process of warming up your domain is a crucial step to ensure optimal deliverability and inbox placement.

Instead of jumping headfirst into a high volume of emails, the gradual approach involves easing your domain into the email ecosystem.

This strategic warming-up process helps establish a positive reputation for your sender domain and mitigates the risk of being flagged as spam by email service providers.

12. Start Small, Grow Steady

Keep it simple. When you begin sending cold emails, don’t aim for a big audience right away.

Instead, start with a smaller group and gradually increase over time.

This way, the spam filters & ESPs won’t be triggered and your domain reputation will build slowly to be stronger.

13. Strategic inbox usage

Distribute email volume across different inboxes to improve your deliverability.

For example, if you have 1,000 emails and 5 inboxes, send 200 emails from each inbox.

This helps you send a lot of cold emails without hitting any sending limits and keeps things smooth.

This approach also ensures compliance with the latest ESP rules, limiting daily email sends to 5,000 per email address, preventing any potential issues.

14. Targeted prospect list

Don’t waste time on random email lists; they can harm your domain’s reputation. Instead, focus on building a list of genuinely interested people. Understand your ideal customers by creating an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

When you email a targeted list, you’re likely to get more responses because these folks can relate to your message.

15. Set up your sequence

Keep it simple. Plan to send 12-14 emails over 45 days, with each email spaced 2-4 days apart.

Automate the whole process so you never miss a chance with potential leads.

With sales engagement platforms like Salesgear, you can create email-only or multi-channel sequences using AI, automating follow-ups to ensure you never miss the chance to engage your buyers at the right time.

Final thoughts

Sending a cold email doesn’t have to be complicated.

These 15 tips can guide you, but remember, your industry insights matter the most.

Practice makes perfect. We’ve got a collection of 100+ email templates to help you along the way.

For ongoing ideas, subscribe to the ‘Outbound Simplified‘ newsletter.

You’ve got this, happy emailing!