Cold emailing is a marketing channel that many struggle with. If not done properly, cold emails will have a low response and conversion rate. That’s a problem because they take time, energy, and focus away from marketing channels.

 

 

And frankly, no one likes getting a bad cold email. Just think about it, when was the last time you heard someone say they look forward to writing or receiving a very salesy cold email that wasn’t personalized to you? We’d guess never.

 

 

Well, contrary to popular belief—cold emails aren’t outdated. And they aren’t dead weight, either. Only badly written cold emails are. Despite what many in the marketing space believe, today, cold emails written the right way are still relevant and vital tools for modern business growth.

 

 

Cold emails can often be the ‌first step in building valuable relationships with your customers, future investors, and other stakeholders. Without cold emails, only a few people might know or care about your business.

 

 

Take Tim Ellis, for example. By sending out cold emails to multiple venture capitalists, he raised $4.2 billion for his startup, Relativity Space. Today, his company is worth more than $1 trillion, and he’s innovating the aerospace industry by building the first 3D-printed rockets.

 

 

However, you can’t land this kind of success if you keep alienating your leads. If your cold emails make your recipients feel unimportant, you’ll get zero replies. You’ll also be wasting time and resources on campaigns set up for failure from the beginning.

 

 

So, you don’t hear ‌from the prospect and you’re left feeling deflated and unsure of what went wrong. It’s a common scenario, but there are a few telltale signs that you can clue you in on whether you’re alienating your leads. 

 

 

Read on for the top 7 cold emailing mistakes and how you can solve them.

 

 

1. Writing boring cold email subject lines

 

Here’s the deal: Your emails are only effective if your recipients open them. If they don’t, then they won’t read your email, take action, and most importantly, convert. So, how do you get them to open it?

 

 

You write captivating subject lines.

 

 

According to Barillance, 64% of people decide to open an email based on the subject line. Not to mention that it’s also the second top reason why people open their emails, after the sender’s name.

 

 

Here’s how to write effective cold email subject lines that capture your recipients:

 

• Communicate to the needs of your readers. Why should they open your email?
• Keep it concise. Use 7 words or less in your subject line. If you make it too long, the email provider will cut it.
• Add personality. Include a dash of creativity to stand out from the other cold emails in your recipient’s box.

 

2. Making your content too long

 

Your cold email is like your first conversation with your crush—you don’t just talk about yourself. Doing so makes it seem like you’re not interested in your prospect at all. It will also make you appear self-centered. And no one wants to be in a relationship with a selfish person.

 

 

Instead, begin your conversation by showing them that you care and that you’ve been paying attention to their needs and wants.

 

 

At the same time, you don’t want your first conversation to be too long, or you’d come across as creepy. You want to be as straightforward as you can about the intentions and purpose of your email. Your content should answer the questions:

 

• Why did you choose to email the specific reader?
• What’s your intent in sending the email?
• How will you add value to the reader’s life? Or how will you solve their most pressing problem?

 

3. Not establishing a point of trust

 

While you don’t want to talk too much about yourself in your cold emails, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk about yourself at all. After all, your cold email is your first point of contact with your reader. This means that you’re still a stranger to them. 

 

 

And why would they trust a stranger?

 

 

Short answer: They wouldn’t.

 

 

Unless, you give them reasons to trust you, like:

 

• Talking about the achievements, awards, and credentials of both you and your business
• Providing social proof
• Including customer testimonies
• Showing them the results that they can achieve with your products or services
• Being authentic and transparent in your tone and message

 

4. Asking for too much or too little from your reader

 

If your first date asks you to marry them, will you say yes? Of course not. That’s a huge ask from someone you just met. And the same goes for cold emails.

 

 

If your call-to-action (CTA) requires too much commitment, then your readers won’t convert—even if you already got them hooked on your content. On the other hand, if you don’t have a CTA, your prospects won’t know what to do to move to the next stage of your sales funnel. 

 

 

And you’ve lost your chance to grow your customer base.

 

 

Instead, you want your CTA to be clear, concise, and easy to accomplish. You also want it to stand out in your email by creating a button, highlighting it, or setting it apart from the main body. When done properly, your CTA can increase your click-through rates by 42%.

 

 

5. Not personalizing your emails

 

A study by Fast Company revealed that personalization is the most important strategy in your cold email campaign. They proved that even if you implement the best cold emailing practices, your results will still be below industry standards without personalization.

 

In this study, they sent out 1,000 emails and tested:

 

• Subject line
• Content length
• Email purpose and intent
• Call-to-action

 

And in the end, they only received 12 responses. That’s a 1.7% response rate, which is lower than the industry standard of 30%. However, when they sent a very personalized cold email to thought leader Adam Grant, they received a response and built a long-term relationship with him.

 

So, how do you build personalized cold emails? 

 

Here are 4 tips to start:

• Include the recipient’s name in the subject line to increase the open rate by 50%.
• Segment your campaigns to boost your return on investment by 36%.
• Use multiple personalization fields to skyrocket reply rates by 142%.
• Do your research so you can talk directly to the pain points and needs of your prospects.

 

Win Over Your Leads with Cold Emails

 

While cold emails seem like they’re more trouble than they’re worth, they’re a critical step to your business success. Without them, you lose the ability to establish strong, long-term relationships, expand your network and grow your business.

 

 

However, successful cold email campaigns require you to build a connection with your recipients, and you can’t do that if you’re alienating them. So, prevent this by applying all the tips we shared.

 

 

Don’t have time to do all of this? We get it, cold emails take away valuable time and resources from revenue-generating tasks. Luckily, there are experts out there to help take that weight off your shoulders and make sure you’re using the best strategies. 

 

 

We’re here to do the heavy lifting, so you can sit back and watch your leads grow. Contact us to find out what we can do for you.