Crafting Effective Cold Emails: Strategies, Tips, and Examples
If the words “cold email” are enough to send a shiver down your spine, you’re not alone. As a writing coach, I’ve had dozens of new freelancers tell me they’d rather have a root canal than email a stranger about their writing services. The fear is understandable—everyone fears rejection, even after 5+ years of freelancing, I still get anxious pitching to new clients. But cold emailing shouldn’t feel like you’re in a horror movie and the lights just went out. So allow me to soothe your panic.
In this post, I’ll teach you the ins and outs of effective cold emailing, step-by-step, with plenty of examples. I’ll even show you a simple cold email that landed me thousands of dollars of freelance work from one client. Let’s get started, shall we?
### What is Cold Emailing?
Cold emailing is when you send an email to a person you don’t know, usually to pitch a service or sell a product. Cold emailing can also be called “cold outreach”. Personally, I’ve used cold emails to get new freelance writing clients, but there are other reasons to cold email:
– You’ve created a new product and want some beta testers
– You’re offering a new consulting service
– You want to build a relationship with someone in your industry
– You’re trying to reach someone higher up in the company, and you’re looking for an introduction
Cold emailing is different from “warm emailing”, which is sending an email to someone you already know. Both emailing techniques are great ways to network and build connections, but today, we’re covering cold emailing. Are your hands getting clammy yet? Don’t worry, I’m about to fix that with a little training.
### How to Write a Killer Cold Email in 6 Simple Steps
So how do you approach writing a cold email? Do you use an email template? Write every email from scratch? It’s actually a blend of both. Let’s walk through the process, step-by-step.
#### Step 1: Identify Your Goals for Cold Emailing
What’s the reason behind your cold email campaign? The best way to figure this out is to answer this question: What action do you hope the reader will take after reading your email? Do you want them to book a discovery call? Answer a quick question? Sign up for a free trial? This answer will shape the content of your cold email.
#### Step 2: Create a Prospect Spreadsheet
Cold email outreach is usually done in batches. Sometimes BIG batches – like dozens of emails in one week. So you need a place to keep track of all your correspondence. Open up a new Google Sheet or Excel document, and start collecting contact information for the people you want to email.
#### Step 3: Craft Your “Elevator Pitch”
Your elevator pitch is a one to two-sentence description of your offer, and it may include a short bulleted list. Here’s an elevator pitch I’ve used before:
“I help life coaches like you save time, build authority and book more clients by creating content that converts. I currently offer:
– SEO-focused content strategy
– SEO-optimized blog posts
– SEO keyword research
– Email marketing
– Nonfiction book ghostwriting/editing
– Nonfiction book coaching”
#### Step 4: Write Personalized Emails
What’s the difference between an email that gets a response and one that never gets opened? Personalization. In a study of 20 million cold emails by Woodpecker, they found that personalized emails had a 17% open rate compared to a 7% open rate for “basic” cold emails (that only personalized the recipient’s name).
#### Step 5: Send Follow-Up Emails
Many of your emails are going to sit in the recipient’s inboxes gathering dust. It’s not you, it’s just part of the cold-emailing game. You can increase your chances of getting a response by sending a quick follow-up email.
#### Step 6: Keep Track of Your Work
Make sure you document every email you send, every follow-up, and every response you receive. Use your “notes” section to write about the responses you get, even if it’s a rejection. Feedback (negative or positive) will help you improve your cold email strategy.
### The 4 Components of a Cold Email (& How to Nail Them)
Now that we’ve covered the steps in the cold emailing process, let’s break down the different parts of your cold email, and how to knock each one out of the park.
#### 1. The Subject Line
Your subject line is one of the first things your potential client sees in their inbox, and it’s usually a deciding factor on whether or not they open your email. Make sure your email subject lines are:
– Short – 60 characters or less, so recipients will see the whole thing
– Interesting – try to provoke curiosity
– Relevant – make sure your subject line is an honest reflection of what’s in your email
#### 2. Personalized Greeting
This is the introduction to your email – usually the first 2-3 sentences. Personalized greetings can look like:
– A genuine compliment on their product, service, or a recent piece of content
– Empathizing with a pain point
– Name dropping your mutual contact
– Providing them with a resource
#### 3. Your Pitch (or Ask)
Once you’ve greeted your prospect, it’s time to transition to your elevator pitch or other “ask”. This could be where you copy/paste in your elevator pitch. Your ask or pitch should be succinct – no need to elaborate or give a ton of detail.
#### 4. Call to Action (CTA)
At the end of your email, give them a friendly nudge to take action. This is called a “call to action” (CTA) in copywriting, and all of your emails should include one.
### The Cold Email That Landed Me Thousands of Dollars of Freelance Work
To tie it all together, here’s a cold email that I sent to the CEO of a content marketing agency that followed these principles. Her assistant immediately replied and asked to book a call with me and the CEO. She ended up hiring me as a freelance editor and SEO strategist, earning me thousands of dollars of income over several months.
### Still Scared to Send Cold Emails? Try This Simple Mindset Shift
Your email isn’t about getting something from the person. It’s about helping that person solve a problem. Remember, it’s not about you! It’s about helping others. Go Forth & Cold Email With Confidence! Now you know how to write your first cold email campaign, step-by-step. Put your new skills and mindset to use. Start your spreadsheet and start collecting names. One of them might be your biggest client yet!