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In a recent article, we showed you that cold emailing works in 2024, a shocker we know! So, we thought we’d dig deeper into the strategy behind it and share more value with you (because you deserve it!). And hey, if it works, spread the word ;)
How did we manage to make cold emailing work in 2024? It’s all in the research, the targeting, and understanding your audience and the list goes on actually. But, other than that, it’s the copy baby!
How can your copy make the recipient think ‘Hmm, do I need this?’, ‘ I feel like I should say something.’ or ‘Oh, this is interesting!’ and not think ‘I don’t have time for this now’ or ‘Omg, another email, delete!’
Email stats you need to know
The recipe is easy, keep it short, simple, and sweet - that’s easier said than done. Before we go into sharing the value and our recent findings, let’s hit you with some stats:
So, according to Mailbutler:
3% is the average email conversion rate.
The average marketing email open rate is 21.5%.
The average marketing email click-through rate is 2.4%.
On average, consumers spend 10 seconds reading brand emails.
Bear in mind we’re talking about people who’ve subscribed to receive emails from a brand/company. So, this means that the stats for cold emailing will essentially be lower than this. Why? Well, for one, people are not subscribed to receiving this kind of email. Two, most of these emails are spammy and very salesy. Which hey, being salesy it’s quite the point.
Good email subject lines get the cake
It all starts with your email subject line. This needs to grab the attention of the recipient and also help you stand out from unread emails, pending tasks, and unwanted promotions. From our experience here’s what worked:
See how something like an intended typo got us to an open rate of 18.4%? Bear in mind that these 217 contacts are all cold leads found through manual research and automated tools. Not convinced? Here’s another example:
Creating urgency and curiosity thus making your recipient think ‘Why would I want to open this, ok, let’s see what they have to say’, gave us a 48% open rate, 12% click rate, and 3 leads that were interested in working with our client.
Top-tier copy is the way to email success
Now, it’s time to talk about the copy in the email and of course, the offer you’re sharing with them. Your first line needs to hook them into reading the entire email, so here’s what we’ve done:
Getting straight to the point in a compelling and engaging way helps you attract and keep the attention of the reader. They already have a thousand things to do on their list, your email shouldn’t feel like another thing they have to do. If you think you have to draft a lengthy email where you explain why you’re the best and why they need to choose you, you’re wrong. It’s not about you! It’s about them, and what THEY gain if they choose you. So, in our client’s case, it’s about finding leads who are selling experiences (pottery, wine tasting, go-karts, etc) and how partnering up with a designated platform will help them promote themselves and also gain more clients out of this. So, we went straight to the point and just asked ‘Open to selling more tickets with 0 risk on your side?’. Because at the end of the day all businesses want is to increase profit with less or even 0 risk involved on their end.
Pair the above with a good offer and a compliment
Oh, and another thing - compliment them, tell them their brand is doing an amazing job, or that they’re offering something super cool for customers. It goes a long way - trust us! We know what we’re doing and also saying ;)
Say they’re doing an awesome job - everyone needs to hear it from time to time - and then tell your pitch and give them something more. In this case, it’s promotion on social media. You can do the same if you have the means, or you can give them something else in return. But, it needs to be valuable for them to even consider your offer. To receive something, you need to give something in return.
The recipe for follow-ups
Next, you have the follow-ups. Ah, the lovely follow-ups. Here most people seem to do it wrong. They think they need 10 follow-ups for the people they’re emailing to stop, drop everything they’re doing, and reply to them. But, that’ll only get you angry and unwanted responses back - we’ve tried and tested it and it’s not nice, haha!
Our formula is simple and straightforward, 4 follow-ups at max and we’ve kept them short. As we’ve said, people are so caught up in what they do, that they don’t have the time to read lengthy emails where a brand boasts about themselves and how awesome they are. We do love a promotional email, but, there’s a certain way to do it.
Keeping your copy short and sweet comes with a few benefits:
Increases readability
Effectively encourages action
Conveys the message quicker
Catches the attention of the readers and keeps them engaged
The messages are short, concise, and straightforward (you’re not wasting anyone's time)
So, what did you learn from this case study? That? Let’s say it together: being straightforward and crafting compelling copy paired with a good offer takes the cake. Well, in your case, a new collaboration, or some new sales ;)
Ready to give cold emailing a shot? Let’s have a chat, find out more about your target audience, and craft together the winning email copy that’ll get you to a 16% conversion rate (or even higher!)