When you think of cold emailing, the first thing that probably comes to your mind is “unsolicited.” It’s because the people you send these emails to are those you’ve never approached.
For this reason, it’s relatively easy to consider cold emails to be a nuisance and spam. But why do marketers still want to send cold emails? Does cold emailing work?
Hang tight, as we’ll explore everything you need to know about cold emailing in this blog post and answer whether it works. Keep reading until the end as we also share tips to avoid the spam folder, boost your open rate, and get replies.
What is Cold Emailing?
Cold emailing is sending an email to a potential customer without prior contact. Thus, the word “cold” is because you have no direct relationship or connection between you and the other person.
It may also trigger thoughts about “cold phone calls” because they are much alike in concept. Cold calling is even known as the vocal equivalent of cold emailing.
However, in reality, cold email is less intrusive. This is why many businesses are leaning towards this marketing channel to obtain and nurture leads. When executed properly, cold emailing can be a critical component of a broader email marketing strategy.
89% of marketers even use email as their primary channel for generating leads, some sending three to five emails weekly. [1]
Examples of cold emails are the following:
- An email to someone in the same industry as you so that you can network with them
- An email to a hiring company–one that is your area of expertise
- An email to a manager or CEO on your prospect list that you want to set up a demo or call
- An email to a potential investor to establish a business relationship
Similar to advertising, cold email marketing aims to introduce your brand or company to a target recipient (ad viewer for the advertisement) and encourage them to buy or respond. Yet, compared to advertising, cold emailing is more precisely targeted and more cost-effective.
So, Does Cold Emailing Work?
Truth be told: Yes, it works.
However, it depends on how effectively you structure your content and campaign strategy.
For many companies, cold emailing works because it has a place in their sales process. They also find the tool effective for generating unlimited leads and scaling the business.
While every cold email you send has to compete with hundreds of emails in a professional’s inbox, and you’re likely a stranger to that recipient, you can stand out as long as you do cold email right, strategic, professional, and smart.
7 Benefits of Cold Emailing
With a personalized approach and a thought-out strategy, here are the benefits that marketers like you can reap from cold emailing:
1. Lead generation
Cold email marketing is highly targeted; you can target individuals who have shown interest in your product or service. This allows you to reach out to potential customers and raise their awareness of your offerings.
Scoring leads also help you determine how to personalize your email. Typical metrics for scoring leads include their job role, industry, seniority, whether they’re currently using a competitor’s product or service, or whether you have had contact with them before.
2. Networking opportunities
Cold emailing is a powerful tool for connecting with new people after events or conferences. It offers a proactive approach to building professional relationships and exploring partnership opportunities. For effective networking, ensure your outreach is authentic and value-driven, focusing on mutual benefits rather than being overly transactional. This helps create genuine connections and avoids the risk of your emails coming across as spammy or insincere.
3. Brand recognition
You can reach out to prospects who may still need to learn about your product, services, or brand. Even if they don’t need your product or service yet, they may in the future. So, conversion or not, email marketing increases brand awareness.
4. Recruiting opportunities
Cold emailing is an effective way for recruiters to reach out to potential candidates who may not have applied to job openings, especially when sourced through platforms like LinkedIn. Personalizing the message and highlighting the value to the candidate, rather than just the company, can make the outreach more impactful and increase the chances of a positive response.
5. Boosting traffic
Cold emailing can boost website traffic by reaching new, targeted audiences who may not have visited your site yet. By sharing valuable content and including clear calls to action, you can encourage recipients to visit your site and improve your click through rates. Even if they don’t engage immediately, cold emails raise brand awareness and initiate relationships that can lead to future site visits and conversions.
6. Increasing sales
Cold emails are incredibly effective at increasing conversion rates for the sales team. To craft the best cold email campaign for your target audience, research their pain points and address those needs effectively and quickly while introducing the importance of your email message.
7. Lower cost
Another evident benefit of cold email marketing is it’s more affordable than other marketing channels. You also don’t have to pay high fees for exposure on a search engine, social media, television, or magazine.
Although software may be costly to automate, track, and assess cold email campaigns, the overhead spending is still smaller than other paid marketing channels.
Proofs That Cold Emailing is Effective
Success Stories
Dhruv Ghulati of Factmata
Artificial intelligence company Factmata’s founder Dhruv Ghulati secured a $250,000 investment from American businessman Mark Cuban on his first attempt and another $250,000 nine months later.
How did he use cold email campaigns? He stated what his company does, communicated its value, and expressed his confidence in its viability. He also made a reasonable request in his personalized cold email: he didn’t ask for money but asked if he could send more information.
In his email, he even wrote, “I would love to tell you more about us if you’re interested, especially given your recent public discussions about this topic.”
Gabriel Shaoolian of Digital Silk
Another success story is from creative digital agency Digital Silk’s CEO Gabriel Shaoolian. He shared on Entrepreneur that he generated over $20 million in his new business for three years using cold email outreach.
His advice? Be specific and on point so your emails don’t look spam. Also, avoid focusing too much on how great your business is because the readers would want to know what you can do for them.
“Start by addressing why you’re contacting the business owner in the first place, and then you can explain why you think a partnership would be a good fit,” he wrote. Shaoolian added that marketers should write an engaging subject line, hit the main points, show value, and quickly wrap the email.
Ryan Robinson of Ryrob.com
Our third success story that proves cold emailing is effective is from blogger-podcaster Ryan Robinson. He used cold email, resulting in a $10,000 monthly retainer with his client.
He starts his cold email campaign by discussing the recipient, demonstrating that he’s done his research and creating a genuine connection with the reader first, then sharing his offer. He also used a casual tone in writing and opted to target potential clients who were the right fit for his business.
5 Reasons Why Cold Emailing May Not Work (and How to Fix Them)
1. You talk too much about yourself
One of the many reasons why you get no responses, opens, or conversions to your cold emails is that you talk more about yourself and less about the recipient.
Think of your cold email as a real-life conversation. If you begin talking on and on about yourself, the other party may find a way to excuse you and walk away. Apply that same logic to emails and allow your recipient to understand why you’re reaching out to them in the first place. Doing so is a step toward business growth.
2. You’re using generic email templates
Even with stringent data protection laws, the volume of unsolicited cold emails has surged over the past year, and recipients are becoming more adept at spotting generic sales pitches. When an email feels like it was sent without any genuine research into the recipient, it can easily be perceived as spam.
While using email templates can save time, simply copying and pasting the same message to hundreds of prospects can damage your cold email campaign. Templates aren’t the problem, but they must be personalized and tailored to the recipient’s needs. Make sure your template addresses specific pain points and feels relevant to the person you’re reaching out to for it to resonate and avoid being ignored.
3. Your cold emails are landing in the spam folder
Automated spam filters are getting more advanced these days, and some of your cold emails may get flagged and end up in the spam folder. In short, your intended recipient never got the chance to read them in the first place.
Don’t let your important emails get lost in the spam folder. Use InboxAlly’s Email Spam Checker to ensure your messages reach the inbox.
4. Your subject line is meh
The subject line is a delicate touch point in your cold email campaign. After all, it is the first thing your intended recipients will see when they open their inboxes. They will likely open it and read its contents if it’s a compelling subject line.
Meanwhile, if your subject line is weak, they may delete or move your email to spam.
Writing compelling subject lines for cold emails usually takes a little more effort. It also means you write subject lines that are clear and straightforward. Yet, at the same time, it elicits curiosity.
5. You show no credibility
In a professional setting, a company’s reputation for credibility is everything. Look at Forbes and CNBC, for instance. There’s a reason why these websites are popular – people look for credible companies and people to do business with.
Therefore, when crafting an email, ask yourself, “Why should your target recipient trust you and your company?”
Some ways to establish credibility include name-dropping your investors, mentioning your clients, or including some of your previous achievements.
Three Strategies for Increasing the Effectiveness of Cold Emailing
1. Research Contacts
Finding the right leads and information about those leads matter if you want to increase the effectiveness of your cold email strategy.
So, as much as possible, when you write your cold emails, research the following:
- The person you’re emailing (your reader/ recipient)
- Their job position and how long they’ve been in that role
- Recent accomplishments or news about that person
- Their company name and recent news about that company, such as new projects that their company is releasing or working on
- Information about the person that’s related to your offer
Researching these things and including a compliment in your body content will help you write effective personalized cold emails.
Remember that you’re a total stranger to the recipient. Aside from finding something related to your offer, you must build trust.
2. Send Follow Up Messages
A lack of response to your first email doesn’t mean the recipient is uninterested—it’s often just a sign they’re busy or haven’t had time to consider your offer. Follow-up emails are an essential part of cold emailing, helping to keep the conversation alive and demonstrate persistence without being pushy.
When following up, aim for two to three carefully spaced messages. The first follow-up should come about 3-5 days after your initial email, offering a gentle reminder and restating your value proposition. The second follow-up can be sent 7-10 days later, with a slightly more direct call to action or additional value, such as new insights or a relevant piece of content.
Make sure your follow-ups are concise, respectful, and to the point. Acknowledge that the recipient may be busy and keep your tone polite and professional. Reiterate the benefit of your offer, but avoid sounding repetitive.
3. Use an email deliverability tool like InboxAlly
Using an email deliverability tool like InboxAlly helps ensure your cold emails land in recipients’ primary inboxes instead of spam folders.
InboxAlly uses seed emails—dummy email accounts across different email providers (such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) that interact with your cold email campaigns. When these seed emails interact positively with your emails (e.g., opening, marking as “Not Spam”), it helps signal to email service providers that your messages are legitimate and not spam. This, in turn, helps improve your sender reputation and boosts the chances of your actual emails landing in the primary inbox, not the spam folder.
By ensuring higher inbox placement, InboxAlly can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your cold email campaign, leading to better engagement and response rates.
Maximize Your Cold Email Outreach Efforts Today
Cold emailing is a powerful marketing and sales tool when executed strategically. It has proven its worth through countless success stories, from securing high-value investments to generating millions in revenue. With the right approach—personalization, research, and effective follow-ups—you can stand out in crowded inboxes, build meaningful connections, and achieve measurable results.
Now it’s your turn: Does cold emailing work for your business? If not, why not give it another try with a smarter strategy? Tools like InboxAlly can help ensure your emails land in the inbox, boosting deliverability and response rates.
Take the first step to revolutionize your cold email campaigns today. Try InboxAlly for free and see how you can double your open rates in just 1-2 weeks. Your next lead or partnership could be just one email away