How to Get Your Cold Email Opened, Read and Replied to
Originally published at www.scotchandramen.com.
Today someone asked on Quora, “What personalization should I use when writing a cold email?”
I chuckled a little bit when I read this.
There is no should only you can.
I know that sounds like some Bruce Lee stuff, but there is no magic answer that will ensure your cold outreach will be welcomed. In fact, part of cold calling and emailing is learning to be comfortable with it when people take out the frustration of their day on you. It’s okay don’t take it personally.
Now the tangible stuff…
If you want an open, you need a good subject line
The subject line is the first thing people see. Make it good and catchy. Somethings that work well are personalization. Putting your main question in the subject with the person’s name and company works quite well. i.e.
“Hey, Brian what project management software do you use at Airbnb?”
Beyond this, certain things just work to get opens. I’ll simply Google “email subject lines that get high open rates” then pick the ones that feel the best. I switch these out somewhat frequently as gaming the subject line is a tactic and people will get used it.
The personalization
When it comes to personalization, you can do anything. Just showing that you took some time to learn about the lead will go a shockingly long way.
Some ideas are…
-Providing that person a free audit with truly actionable steps around their website or public facing part of their company you can help them with.
-Sharing a news article you found on the web talking about how great they are.
-Embedding a video into the email using a tool like Loom where you address the sender personally and give them your short pitch.
Here’s the rub
No matter what you do, most of the people you contact will reject you. That said the more authentic you can be the better off you are.
My acquaintance Stapho Thienpont recently said in an interview automate the hello when connecting with someone and build the relationship manually.
I believe there is a ton of truth to this. You might be able to come up with a great template to help you streamline the process of connecting with folks. It will need to be tactical and add value for anyone to give a shit. That said it can be a template and you can dive even deeper with folks once you get a response. Any response is worth pursuing.
Final note, I’m basically saying don’t over think the personalization in cold emails, however, don’t be thoughtless either. If you become a Spambot, your results will suck and over time it will catch up with you.
Hope that helps.
Like this post? Then let’s be homies on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemierz
