Cold Emails That Convert: Proven Strategies for Success

Cold email outreach isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires grit, fortitude, persistence, and enthusiasm in the face of rejection.

The most successful cold email outreach campaigns are meticulously crafted and battle-tested until every conversion drop is squeezed out. Every detail, from the subject line to the ending, should be optimized for opens and prompt action. Only then can you reach the door to do what you do best?

This might sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. You just need a winning formula. If you start your email campaign from scratch today, you can likely start seeing results tomorrow—especially if you follow some tried-and-true best practices and a proven game plan from the beginning.

Here’s the ultimate cold email outreach strategy, plus four outstanding email templates you can use for your own campaign.

TIP: Email marketing tools can help you manage cold email campaigns. Check out reviews of the best email marketing software.

What is it you want to achieve with your cold email outreach campaign?

Everything starts with a plan, but you can’t start planning until you know precisely what you want to accomplish. It could be spreading brand awareness, prospecting, or even letting the masses know about a new feature or product line they didn’t know existed.

For example:

• If you’re focused on brand awareness, track your email open and click-through rates.
• If your goal is lead generation, monitor actual responses and conversion rates.
• If networking is your priority, measure engagement and follow-up responses.

Once you’ve nailed down the particulars of what success looks like, you have to make the campaign measurable. There is no bigger waste of time and money than launching a campaign carelessly and halfheartedly.

For prospecting, the most important metric is actual responses. Everything else is either a vanity metric or helping you diagnose your campaign’s strengths and weaknesses.

Whatever you do, don’t stop testing and tweaking your campaign.

Similar to cold calling, even the best cold outreach emails are worthless unless you are contacting the right audience. List building or buying is a critical step that shouldn’t be overlooked or left to chance.

Prospecting isn’t about getting the biggest list. It’s about getting the best-qualified list. Social media is a great place to start because it’s free and allows you to learn more about your prospects’ interests, goals, and reach. For example, LinkedIn and Twitter are ideal platforms for gathering information because most users leave their profiles public for all to see.

Instagram is also becoming a solid choice, but you’ll find more private profiles there. Connecting with prospects can still happen in real life, too. Don’t forget about networking and events where you may be able to make a connection. 

While you can manually scrape social media profiles daily, you can also leverage smart automation tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator or other sales intelligence software. Once you have a rock-solid list, work to stay out of the spam filter by making sure you have prospects’ correct contact information. You can’t go wrong with a tool like Voila Norbert, which will automatically find anyone’s email address and verify it in real-time so you can focus on more important matters.

Similar to an email newsletter, crafting a winning cold email starts by seizing attention with the right subject line. Subject lines aren’t rocket science, but they shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought, either.

Follow these subject line best practices for best results:

• Personalize. Use a prospect’s name, company name, or any other insider knowledge you have in order to get their attention in the inbox.
• Cut to the chase. Be brief and conversational like a colleague or friend would. Doing so makes your email stand out amongst the mountain of lengthy marketing email subject lines.
• Be genuine. Don’t compromise your credibility. Instead of over-promising, try over-delivering by being specific and useful simultaneously.

The body of your email needs to deliver on any promises or statements made in the subject line. It must also start strong to keep recipients’ attention, each line building upon the last. Try leveraging social proof, showing how you’ve helped other companies. You could also provide helpful articles, share exclusive statistics or knowledge that could help them, or offer congratulations based on recent accomplishments in their career or industry.

Lastly, your cold email template must end on a strong call-to-action. Every email has to come to an end, and when it does, the recipient should know exactly what the next step is. At a bare minimum, ask a question that opens the door to continue the conversation more in-depth.

Instead, craft your follow-up strategy from the beginning. Know exactly when you’ll follow up and what you’ll say if they respond or don’t.

While you’re at it, optimize your email sequence to be sent at the optimal date and time to maximize the chances of conversion. According to research, the best time to send an email is between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., and the best day to send an email is Tuesday.

Remember, these are more guidelines than hard-and-fast rules that can’t be broken. The best action is typically to find what works for you through trial and error.

• Track and analyze open rates: Use tools like HubSpot, Mailchimp, or Yesware to monitor email open rates and determine the best-performing subject lines and send times.
• A/B test subject lines and content: Split-test different subject lines, CTA placements, email lengths, and personalization techniques to see which version drives higher engagement.
• Use AI-powered email analytics: AI tools like Reply.io and Lemlist can provide automated optimization suggestions based on engagement trends, helping fine-tune outreach strategies.
• Optimize for mobile: Over 46% of emails are opened on mobile devices, so ensuring your emails are mobile-friendly can significantly impact engagement.
• Use heatmaps for engagement analysis: Some platforms provide email heatmaps that show which parts of your email attract the most attention, helping refine formatting and CTA placement.

If you’re still wondering what your emails should say, here are four cold email templates you can tweak to fit your needs and kickstart your cold email outreach campaign.

1. The ‘help me find the right person’

Hello Susan,

I’d like to discuss [common industry problem, pain point] with your company. We’ve helped [company name] solve a similar problem, and I’d love to see how we can help [their company] too.

Would you be so kind as to point me toward the best person to talk to and share the best way I can reach them?

Thank you for your help.

Warm regards,

John Doe

2. Highlighting mutual connections

Good morning Michael,

At brunch yesterday with [shared connection or friend’s name], she mentioned you were looking to [solve a pain point or achieve a specific goal], which happens to be my company’s specialty.

She suggested I reach out to share a recent success we had with [happy relevant customer], where we improved their [goal-related metric] by on-boarding [software, service, etc.].

If that sounds interesting to you, I’m available Thursday at 2 p.m. for a quick call if you are.

Best,

Jane Doe

3. Showcasing value and social proof

Hi Sheila,

Could your team handle an additional 15 leads a month?

I only ask because, after just three sessions with our consulting team, we were able to help our other clients in [their specific industry] see results that impressive. In fact, we just finished working with [notable company or person in their industry], and they are already seeing dramatic results.

I’d love to tell you how we can help [their company] achieve similar results. I have an open slot on my calendar this Friday at 11 a.m. Does that time work for you?

Cheers,

John Doe

4. Establishing trust through sharing helpful resources

Hi Mark,

I’ve just finished research for my new [industry] white paper and discovered that [specific pain point] can be a major challenge in your field. Do you find that to be true?

If so, I came across this [piece of content] that I found very useful and thought you might also. It dives into great detail on how [pain point] originated and how the best in the business overcame it. I’ve attached it here if you’d like to check it out.

I’m finding all sorts of useful content like this in my research. Would you be open to chatting more about it over coffee next week?

Kind regards,

Jane Doe

TIP: Want to learn more about email strategies? Take a look at these email newsletter tips to help you succeed. 

Cold email best practices

To ensure your emails land in the recipient’s inbox rather than the spam folder, implement these best practices:

• Authenticate your domain: Set up SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) records to verify your domain’s legitimacy. Proper authentication reduces the chances of your email being marked as spam and improves overall email deliverability rates.
• Warm up your email address: Avoid sending mass emails from a new one. Instead, start with a small number of emails per day and gradually increase the volume over 2-4 weeks. This signals to email providers that your account is trustworthy and not a spam source.
• Avoid spam trigger words: Words like “free,” “act now,” “limited offer,” and excessive exclamation marks can trigger spam filters. Instead, use professional, natural-sounding language. Phrases such as “Let’s schedule a quick call to discuss” are more effective and less likely to be flagged.
• Maintain a healthy sender score: Services like SenderScore.org help monitor your sender reputation, which impacts deliverability. A poor sender score can cause emails to be routed to spam or blocked entirely. Aim for a score of 80+ for optimal results.
• Keep your email list clean: Regularly remove inactive or unresponsive contacts to improve engagement metrics and avoid being flagged as spam. Bounce rates above 2% can negatively impact your sender reputation, so validate email addresses with tools like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce.
• Use a recognizable sender name: Emails from a person’s name rather than a generic company name are more likely to be opened. A friendly, personalized approach like “John from [Company]” increases credibility and engagement.
• Limit links and attachments: Too many or large attachments can trigger spam filters. Instead, provide a single, clear call-to-action link that directs recipients to a landing page. If you must include an attachment, ensure it’s a commonly accepted format like PDF and keep the file size small.

Icebreakers done right 

Always warm up your cold emails through personalization, and don’t hesitate to switch up your winning formula occasionally. Find small tweaks you can test over time. Keep what’s working and ditch the rest. Only then can you craft the ultimate cold outreach strategy and start seeing monumental results.

Lastly, be sure to end on a clear and specific call to action so your prospect knows exactly what you want and the next logical step. A CTA can differ between sending cold emails to find a job and finding prospects, so be sure to craft the right message.

That’s it! You’ve now got the winning formula for mastering your cold email outreach strategy right from the start.

Want to learn more? Discover how B2B email marketing plays a crucial role in a company’s growth.