Cold Email Copywriting: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

The average open rate for cold emails is 44% which means that cold emailing remains a relevant and effective marketing strategy for businesses and individuals (although some people may think it is dead). This article will provide a comprehensive overview of cold email copywriting and will be useful for anyone looking to create powerful cold email campaigns.

What is Cold Email Copywriting

Cold email copywriting means writing emails that are sent to potential clients, customers, or business partners. The main aim of cold emails is to get new business or customers. Unlike other email campaigns that are sent to an established subscriber database, cold emails are usually sent to those contacts who are not familiar with the sender or their brand.

How Cold Email Copywriting is Different from Spam Emails

Cold emails and spam emails share some features (for example, they are both unsolicited and sent to a large number of recipients), but there are also key differences between the two. If you want to make the best of your cold emails and avoid legal consequences, you must understand these differences.

1. Purpose. This is the primary difference between cold emails and spam emails. The purpose of cold emails is to establish a relationship with the recipient or promote your product or service (without selling it immediately). The main aim of spam emails, on the other hand, is to sell products or services without building a relationship with the user first. 
2. Relevance. Cold emails are targeted and relevant to the recipient because they are crafted with the recipient in mind to make your offer valuable. Spam emails are irrelevant (with rare exceptions) as they are mass-produced and impersonal.
3. Tone. Cold emails are written in a persuasive and professional tone that’s why they’re often viewed as helpful and informative. Cold emails may give the recipients some important insights they haven’t thought about before. Spam emails tend to be pushy and salesy so they’re mainly perceived as unwanted and annoying. Spam emails don’t give users any value, that’s why no one likes them.
4. Legal considerations. Cold emails must comply with the laws regulating the sending of unsolicited emails (the CAN-SPAM Act), while spam emails often violate these laws.

If you craft well-written, targeted, and professional cold emails with these differences in mind, you can effectively reach your target audience without being perceived as spam.

Cold Email Copywriting and the CAN-SPAM Act

In the U.S., the CAN-SPAM Act sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, and gives recipients the right to stop you from emailing them. 

The CAN-SPAM Act requires that commercial emails include:

1. Accurate header information and subject lines that reflect the content of the message. This means that the sender's name and email address should accurately identify the sender and the subject line should not be misleading or deceptive.
2. A clear and conspicuous opt-out mechanism for recipients who wish to unsubscribe from future messages. This opt-out mechanism must be easy to use, and the recipient must be able to unsubscribe from your messages with a single click.
3. A physical postal address for the sender. This could be the business address or a P.O. Box that is registered with the United States Postal Service.
4. A clear disclosure that the message is an advertisement. It should be easily noticeable, so don’t try to make it tiny and hide it somewhere at the very end of your email.

If you follow these rules, you can be calm that your cold emails won’t bring you any trouble. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cold Emails

As any other marketing tool, cold email copywriting has its pros and cons. Let’s take a look at some of them. 

Advantages of cold email copywriting:

1. Cost-effective. In comparison with other advertising methods, cold email copywriting is a pretty cheap way to reach a large number of potential customers or clients. You don’t need a large budget to create and send cold emails.
2. Targeted outreach. Cold email copywriting allows you to target a specific audience with your message. This can result in higher response rates and more successful outcomes compared to more general advertising methods. So here everything depends on how much effort you put into finding the right people to offer your products or services.
3. Building new relationships. Cold email copywriting allows you to build lasting relationships with your target audience as well as increase brand awareness. 
4. Less time-consuming than calls. With cold emails, you don’t need a whole team of salespeople to call potential customers one by one. Besides, 80% of users prefer receiving a cold email rather than a call. So it’s a win-win situation both for you and your potential clients.

Disadvantages of Cold Email Copywriting:

1. Low response rates. If users perceive your email as spam or unwanted, you won’t get high response rates. This can happen due to a lack of relevance or personalization. But don’t worry, you’re not the only one. According to statistics, almost half of the cold email campaigns have a reply rate of under 10%. Still, even these 10% may help you build a strong relationship and gather new clients. 
2. Difficulty in standing out in a crowded inbox. With 333,2 billion emails being sent and received daily, it can be difficult for cold emails to stand out in the recipient's inbox. That’s why you should pay attention to the email subject line, as it’s the first thing your potential customers will see.
3. Risk of being marked as spam. If the users think your email is spammy, they may either ignore you or send the email to the spam folder. If your spam complaint rate gets high, your domain reputation will be damaged. As a result, all your future emails may end up in a greylist or even get blacklisted.
4. No immediate results. Although cold email copywriting is less time-consuming than a cold call, you’ll hardly see the desired results fast. You need a lot of time and effort to build trust and attract the interest of your potential clients.

Cold email copywriting offers many advantages, but you should also consider the potential disadvantages and take steps to mitigate these risks. That’s why we’ve created a list of tips to help you craft a powerful cold email.

How to Create a Cold Email Users Will Read

To make the best of your cold email campaign, follow these rules:

1. Identify your target audience. This is the first (and probably the most important) step in creating a successful cold email copywriting. You should understand your potential customer’s needs and preferences as well as what you can do to help them.
2. Personalize the email. Personalization is key because it shows the recipients that you’ve done some research instead of sending the same email to everyone on your list. Use the recipient's name, address their specific needs, and make the email relevant to their interests. It may help to build trust and make your cold email stand out. 
3. Keep it short and to the point. Your potential customers have lots of other things to do, so your cold emails should have a clear and concise message that conveys the purpose of the email.
4. Include a compelling subject line. A good subject line will urge the recipient to open the email so you must make it noticeable. For example, if you add your company’s name to the subject line, it may boost the number of replies by 22%!
5. Provide value. The email should be valuable to the recipient, otherwise, they may think that you’ve wasted their time and mark your email as spam. Include something that will interest the reader: a solution to their problem, a special offer, and so on.
6. Include a clear call-to-action. The email should end with a clear and compelling CTA that encourages the recipient to take a specific action, such as booking a call to discuss further details or visiting your website.
7. Make a follow-up email. 55% of replies to cold email campaigns come from a follow-up email. So you shouldn’t get discouraged if somebody hasn’t answered you immediately. Keep in mind that your follow-up emails should provide additional value to the reader. 
8. Analyze the results. You can set up postmaster tools to analyze email deliverability rate, open rate, click rate, and some other metrics to understand whether you should make any changes in your cold emails.

How to Gather a Contact Database for Sending Cold Emails

It’s very important to create a targeted and relevant contact database as there’ll be no use in sending cold emails to the wrong people: they won’t get interested in your products or services.

Here are some ways to find your target audience and get their email addresses:

1. Use social media. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn can be used to gather contacts and build relationships with potential clients or customers.
2. Use offline tools. Conferences, meetings, networking, and other offline tools may help you collect the email addresses of those interested in what you can offer.
3. Organize free webinars. They can also be used to gather your target audience in return for their email address.

Conclusion:

Cold email copywriting is still an effective way to acquire new customers, but it’s important to approach it with a strategic and targeted mindset. 

If you want to create a powerful cold email, make sure you:

1. Identify your target audience
2. Personalize the email
3. Keep it short and to the point
4. Include a compelling subject line
5. Provide value
6. Include a clear call-to-action
7. Make a follow-up email
8. Analyze the results

With these tips in mind, you can create a perfect cold email that will resonate with your audience. And if you need any help with crafting this email (or any other), contact us and we’ll be happy to help!