12 Proven Techniques to Send Cold Emails in 2024
Are you sending cold emails but receiving fewer openings?
Well, you’re not alone.
Despite crafting compelling cold emails, many sales reps struggle to meet email opening and response benchmarks.
Your emails might not be reaching the recipient’s inbox or there could be an authentication issue.
What is cold email outreach?
Cold email outreach is a practice of sending emails to prospects with whom you have no prior relationship, typically for business purposes.
These emails are often sent to make relevant offers or initiate contact with potential customers.
There are certain benefits of using cold emailing in your strategy:
- It requires minimal financial investment.
- Cold emailing lets you reach out to many prospects, allowing for scalability in your outreach efforts.
- It has the potential to grow business opportunities with personalized and targeted communication.
- You get the networking throughout your customer base.
Sending cold emails aims to build relationships with recipients and turn them into leads.
How to successfully send cold emails — 12 Best tactics to know
If you are willing to know how to send cold emails to businesses effectively, these 12 tactics can help you avoid getting your account on a spam list or blocked.
Let’s dive into understanding how to send out cold emails:
1) Choosing a reliable email service provider
The foremost step towards sending cold emails is choosing a reputable ESP. It tends to have advanced algorithms that can quickly help detect spam and unauthorized emails.
Choose an ESP that is compliant with the necessary rules and regulations. Further, it should be able to handle mass emailing and provide tools for managing your email campaigns effectively.
You must conduct thorough research to compare multiple ESP features, deliverability rates, and customer support quality.
2) Implementing email authentication techniques
It involves setting up SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) records.
The authentication is necessary as:
- SPF record allows domain owners to identify authorized email servers.
- DKIM record provides encryption keys and digital signatures for email verification.
- DMARC allows domain owners to receive detailed reports regarding emails received by the server.
Implementing the protocols allows you to conduct any cold email campaign seamlessly.
3) Gradually warming up the email account
If you suddenly increase your cold email-sending activity, it will likely be considered spam and land in the recipient’s primary inbox.
Sending a bulk cold email is a red flag, as spam folders might be activated.
It is crucial to warm up your email account by sending a small number of emails at the start and then gradually increasing them to reach a wider audience.
4) Building a targeted prospect list
To create a prospect list, you can use advanced segmentation based on demographics, business demographics, and behavior.
Utilizing LinkedIn Sales Navigator or similar tools is better for more refined targeting and detailed insights on potential prospects.
Additionally, crafting an ideal customer profile for each prospect can help you personalize the interactions with them. Further, it will improve engagement with target prospects, minimizing the risk of your email going to spam.
5) Verify your emails
Email verification becomes paramount when you’re cold emailing as it ensures that your messages reach the intended recipients’ inboxes.
Further, verifying emails reduces the risk of being marked as spam.
You can implement an email verification process using tools like Hunter or Verify Bee before launching campaigns to minimize bounce rates. Also, make it a habit to remove inactive emails regularly.
6) Customizing your email content
If you question your positive response rate even after you write effective cold emails. Then, it is time to take off a personalized cold email outreach.
According to the study, a highly personalized message sent in a cold email tends to get 142% reply rates.
From a catchy subject line to writing an impressive cold email introduction or CTA, take care of every aspect to engage the recipient.
For personalization, before sending a cold outreach email, you can mention the recipient’s pain points or specific details in the industry to drive their attention.
Implementing such practices can help you get better response rates in your journey of finding the answers for how to send cold emails without getting your account blocked.
7) Avoid words that trigger spam filters
As we discussed, technological advancements are upgrading ESPs with AI and machine learning to skim through your message.
That is why spam trigger words that include ‘Free,’ ‘Deal,’ ‘Sale on,’ etc., are most likely to go in the spam folder. Instead of ‘free,’ use like complimentary, at no cost, bonus, gift, etc.
Hence, avoid spam filters and use professional language that conveys thoughtful, helpful, and relevant messages to the recipient.
When adding links to emails, ensure they are directly related to the email content and provide clear value to the recipients.
It is recommended to include minimal and relevant links, such as a call-to-action and an additional resource.
9) Regulating your cold email outreach volume
Use a drip campaign strategy (a series of automated emails sent to people who take specific action on the company’s website) to space out your emails over days or weeks.
Also, monitor responses and adjust your sending frequency based on the recipient’s engagement and feedback.
10) Balancing text and HTML content in emails
An email containing excessive HTML code will likely raise suspicions and trigger spam filters.
Design emails with a simple layout that prioritizes readability.
You can use a responsive cold email template that is visually appealing but not overloaded with heavy graphics or complex HTML elements.
It will result in successful cold email campaigns and will be less likely to push spam triggers and ESP.
11) Adding an easy unsubscribe option
In a cold email, ensure that the unsubscribe button remains visible to the prospects easily. You can put the unsubscribe link right at the end of the emails.
It will help in complying with legal requirements and respect the recipient’s preferences.
Also, it will create a positive impression that can foster long-term relationships with prospects.
12) Tracking email deliverability and essential metrics
To get the most out of your mass cold emailing, monitor deliverability by tracking campaign metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints.
You should also keep an eye on your email body and bounce rate.
Aim for a bounce rate of less than 2%. A rate exceeding this threshold indicates that you should prioritize verifying the email addresses on your prospect list before proceeding with further email sends.
If you are a salesperson willing to get tips for sending effective cold emails for your business without further ado, let’s go on to the next section.
Final thoughts on how to send cold emails
From choosing a verified ESP to writing cold emails effectively, as a sales rep, you need to take care of every pointer for a successful cold email campaign and to grow your business in leaps and bounds.
Like other aspects of the world, the customers’ mindsets are also changing gradually, so adapting to the changes is necessary. For example, making the cold email subject lines personalized is vital to grab your recipient’s attention.
Invest in a robust platform like Salesmate CRM to ease your cold emailing with CRM insights, personalization at scale, automation, and analytics.
Originally published at https://www.salesmate.io on April 2, 2024.
