Chances are, you’ve been pushing this task forward, waiting for the time when you’ll be ‘ready!’ Cold emailing can be intimidating at first, however, with the right cold emailing tips and enough preps, it shouldn’t.
Blogging is almost 1000 lessons in one. There are lots of things you will be doing apart from writing a post.
And even when you are technically writing a post, (that’s blogging!), there are dozens of things still, that need your attention: SEO, Readability, Content marketing, Graphics and visual contents, monetization, Affiliate marketing, Email subscriptions….
What’s Cold Emailing?
A cold email is an email that you send to a potential customer/client/partner that has no prior relationship with you. Somebody who will be seeing you for the very first time in their email inboxes. Now, that should send a point a home:
You got a minute and you better make it worthwhile.
There is a reason why a cold email is not classified as a spam email because it isn’t. However, people sending cold emails should observe some practices that help them get attention and replies they need and avoid having their emails dragged to the spam folder.
Cold Emailing Starts with the Subject Line
But what does ‘a minute’ exactly mean when it comes to cold emailing? The ‘minute’ is the subject line. Somebody got to open your email, or your hours of research and your copy-writing skills would go to waste.
Your subject line is the key to your business success. Make it clear, interesting, relevant and Inviting.
Top tip: Personalize it
So instead of having a subject line like, ”Guest Post for Your Blog,”Try something like, “Hey, Victor. Fancy a Guest Post for The Penny Matters?
Writing Effective Cold Emails
1: Write Effective Subject Lines
Use their names, or mention their blogs/organization. Keep it under ten words. For subject lines, less is more.
2. Write Engaging Email Copy
Bring your content creation and copy-writing skills into action. Remember every sentence in your copy is sealing the value proposition of giving you a bit more of their time. Prospects are impatient, remember they were not ‘eagerly waiting’ for your sales email to come in, and they go hallelujah!
A great copy:
- Interacts with the reader
- Provokes interests
- Talks to one single person
- Is simply comprehensible
- And client-focused
3. Solicit Feedback Before Sending.
Send this email copy to a friend and ask them if they would even reply or even just open it if they were the targeted clients. If not, let them give you feedback on what could be done better.
4. Monitor Your Metrics.
You want to monitor the following data and improve your cold emails accordingly
- Open rates: 20-40%
- Response rates: 10-20%
If your performance is way below the standards, then there is something you are not doing right.
5. Rinse and Replicate.
Always try to make your next cold emails better than your previous ones. Your industry is different, and your clients are equally unique. Find out what works and replicate it, find out what doesn’t, and rinse the process. Get better every time.
6. Have a professional personal chat.
Always write addressing a single prospect, rather than as if you are giving a speech to a room full of 3500 prospects.
7. Avoid the fluff and the bluff.
Get to the point, and do quickly. Your prospects get hundreds of cold emails daily.
8. Always sign off with your contact details.
Avoid images in the copy. They are not personal
9. Get Personal, instead of just personalizing it.
Personalization involves including details such as name, blog name/address etc. Getting personal is about knowing them a little bit deeper and showing that in the copy. What do they stand for, which event did they attend to lately?
10. Forget the Introduction…
Unfortunately, most pitches are almost 90% ‘I am so, so… working for… accomplished…’ Make your pitch focused on your prospect, and keep a small space for your own portfolio. Forget the YOU and focus on THEM
11. Follow up
You’ve sent a bunch of emails, you get a few replies. Now what?
The truth is, there are clients who thought they would contact you later but forgot. Reminding them would save them a ton of value. Apply 3-7-7- rule suggested by Bamidele…
Here you send a follow up three days after pitching, and if you don’t get a response, wait another seven days. The last follow-up should come another seven days after sending your second follow up email.
12. Offer Value Before CTA (Call To Action)
Let them know what is in store for them, how this solution would help them fix the problems they are currently facing.
13. Avoid Obvious Red Flags.
This means no obvious sales pitches, bad grammar, and generic pitches that look like they have been sent to ‘you and 200,000 others.’
14. Close Up With A Question.
Don’t bother asking your prospects to book time with you the first time. Invite them for small talk, and build conversations way up. And of course, this starts with a simple question
15. Always Use A Professional Email Address.
This way, your prospects will take you seriously. So instead of , you may want to go for . (Replace sarah with your first name, and yourwebsite.com with your site domain address.)
This will cost you about $5 a month is you choose to go for Gmail for Work, which is pretty much effective. However, you can also set up your professional email address for free using this guide by FitSmallBusiness