Marketing
Turn Your Cold Email Warm
Cold emails get a bad rap because people think it’s spam. You don’t want to spam your prospective customers, but you want to contact and engage them.
No email needs to be cold; it can be warm.
All you need to do to warm your cold email is to use content that lets the recipient know you’ve taken the time to understand their needs. Your communication is not just a generic message sent to a large audience; it is just for them.
Here are our top tips on writing content that keeps cold emails warm.
Tip # 1: The Right Subject Line
First impressions are everything, so your subject line should be an attention-grabber.
The right style and length of your subject lines will make clicking irresistible.
How long?
Keep your subject line at 50 or fewer characters. Less is more, and MailChimp, say your subject line could be less than ten characters.
Avoid overused words
Avoid spammy words – use an email spam word checker for all your email messages, as many promising words are not.
Change out the spammy word for another word that works with your content. This will ensure it is high quality, creating an excellent first impression.
Example
Overused words that shout spam include discount, get one free, don’t miss out.
When you use many words considered spam, your emails are tagged as having a high spam count and will most likely end up in the spam or junk folder – not the Inbox where you want them.
Your emails must have a low spam count, ideally under one and never above five.
First name
Instead, get personal right away. Research shows more sales are generated using your potential customer’s first name and an approachable greeting. Keep it private and natural. Write about how you speak.
Example:
Hi there, Dee or Howdy, Lisa.
Avoid overusing the personalization in the subject line. Just because you can add the recipient’s name doesn’t mean you should do so for every marketing email. Overuse may result in the recipient unsubscribing, so you cannot send them marketing emails.
Tip #2: Opening Paragraphs that Will Be Read
The goal for a cold email is to get it thoroughly read. To do this, you want every line to pique your clients’ interest so they keep reading and responding to your call to action (more on that later).
Here are some proven techniques backed by scientific research that will get your emails to read:
Before-after-bridge (BAB)
This setup takes your reader on a journey. The opening should be a relevant problem your lead has, then describe how it could be if that situation was no longer an issue.
End the opening with how you/product/service can help them get there.
Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS)
This one focuses on your lead’s pain point, stirs it up and then provides the solution.
Example
Here is an example of what that might look like:
Hi Ben,
I noticed that some of your website’s pages redirect or are errors.
This can cause a significant issue regarding your user’s experience, costing you tons of money in non-converting traffic.
We have a fantastic SEO package that will ensure your site’s pages are fully optimized to get you the best organic traffic and vastly increase your conversion percentage.
Star-Chain-Hook
This is a pretty popular way to open. In this style, you introduce a big idea, then create a chain of facts or benefits, followed by the hook or call-to-action.
Attention – Interest – Desire – Action (AIDA)
Just like it sounds, your opening should grab your reader’s attention.
Attention
A great way to do this is to ask if they would like to save their company X work hours monthly. Then let them know your company does just that all the time.
Desire
Let them know other great features and facts about how you can save them time and money and increase productivity and revenue.
Action
Take action and ask to set up an appointment – make this specific. Example: I will give you a call on Tuesday at 9 am, okay?
Tip #3: The Close
Like any good sale, it’s not over until your lead is convinced and wants to take action. Make this personal. Your call to action should lead them to say “yes”.
Make sure your CTA is clear, and they know exactly what to do and why.
Example
Here are 3 stellar CTA’s that work. Choose the one that makes the most sense for your lead.
- Book a 5-minute slot at your convenience so we can discuss how to optimize your website. Here is a link to my calendar.
- Are you free for a call this Thursday at 7 pm?
- Is getting more traffic a high priority for you now?
Wrap-Up
Turn your cold email into a warm one using the tips above.
Skip the formal and impersonal greetings. Instead, use content that is friendly yet professional and, above all else, relevant.
Remember to get to the point quickly. You want your email recipients to know your company is the solution to their problem.
To close, craft an unforgettable call to action (CTA that your email recipients will click each time.
