Emailing prospects can feel like shouting into an abyss. You spend hours crafting the perfect cold email, only to hear nothing back. Suddenly, you’re questioning your writing skills and wondering whether you should bother with cold emailing. Before you throw in the towel, it’s worth noting that a lack of responses doesn’t always reflect poorly on your business or its email outreach. Instead, cold email response rates can vary significantly across industries, and it’s not uncommon for some sectors to fall within the single digits. This blog will explore B2B cold email response rates, why they matter, and how you can improve cold email deliverability to help your business generate more leads and drive conversions.

Inframail’s email infrastructure solution can help you achieve those goals by improving your cold email deliverability. The higher your email score on the deliverability tests, the better your chances of landing your emails in the target’s inbox rather than the spam folder.

Table of Contents

• What is the Average B2B Cold Email Response Rate?

• How to Calculate Your B2B Cold Email Response Rates

• 5 Key Factors That Influence B2B Cold Email Response Rates

• 8 Simple Tips to Boost your Average B2B Cold Email Response Rates

• Start Buying Domains Now and Set Up Your Email Infrastructure Today

What is the Average B2B Cold Email Response Rate?

It’s hard to say precisely what constitutes a “good” cold email response rate. There is a lot of variance across email types, industries, and even countries. Based on our reviewed studies, the industry average sits between 1% and 7%. But even if you hit the higher end of that range, 93 out of every 100 people still deem your email unworthy of a response. Cold emailing will always be a numbers game to some extent, but most sales reps are nowhere near their optimal reply rate. Implementing just a handful of straightforward copywriting and operational tips can have a dramatic effect. 

What is the Average B2B Cold Email Response Rate?

According to a study by Belkins, the average cold email response rate in 2023 will be 7%. However, that figure has a few crucial additions. There is significant variance across industries, the reply rate for museums is 17% compared to 2% for business and consulting. Similarly, there’s a lot of variance between countries. The reply rate in Ireland is 17%, while it’s only 5% in the United States, where most English-speaking international businesses will likely send the bulk of their emails. 

Optimizing Follow-Ups and Timing for Higher Cold Email Response Rates

Another vital information in the Belkin study is that sending just one follow-up increases the average response rate by nearly 50%. This figure diminishes quickly with repeated follow-ups (three follow-ups are the sweet spot). The study also found that Wednesday and Thursday are the best days to send cold emails, but only by a small margin. 

Data-Driven Strategies to Improve Cold B2B Email Response Rates

Key takeaways on cold B2B email response rates in the Belkins report included:

• The average cold email response rate is 5.1%, with the average open rate being 27.7%. Last year, these numbers were 7% and 36%, respectively.

• Businesses operating in legal services show the highest reply rate of above 10%.

• December has the worst reply rate among all months (4.67%), most likely due to the holiday season. At the same time, the highest reply rate was in July at 6.3%.

• Wednesdays gather the most responses at 5.8%, with a 7–11 a.m. time frame raising this number to 7.1%.

• Emails under 100 characters demonstrate the highest reply rate of 5.4%.

• 2 email rounds bring the highest reply rate of 6.9%.

• Emails without attachments or graphic materials have almost 2x higher reply rates (around 2%) than those with attachments (1.3%) and images, videos, or GIFs (1.1%).

• Waiting 3 days before following up results in the most significant increase in reply rate.

• Reaching out to 8 people from 1 company yields a reply rate of up to 8.06%.

• Sending cold B2B email sequences to fewer than 100 people results in the highest reply rate of 5.5%.

The Impact of Multi-Contact Outreach and Follow-Up Balance in B2B Email Campaigns

Brian Minick, Chief Operating Officer at ZeroBounce, shared his thoughts on our research:

“The findings in this report accurately reflect our experience in the B2B space. For instance, reaching out to more than two people at one company has performed better than contacting just one person. Targeting several prospects increases your chances to reach a decision-maker and move closer to a sale.” B2B email response rates vary depending on the number of follow-ups. When following up with your prospects, it’s crucial to strike a balance so that you come across as neither pushy nor indifferent. Both extremes can lead you to lose an opportunity.

Optimizing Follow-Up Frequency and Timing for Maximum B2B Email Responses

Let’s dig into the details of these numbers.

Reply Rates Soar Nearly 50% After The First Follow-Up.

Our research found that the first reminder can boost B2B response rates by up to 50%. Analyzing the top 20% of our highest-performing client campaigns, we’ve discovered that 120% more people answer emails after the first follow-up.

Sending The Second Reminder Gives Only A 3% Increase In Reply Rates

Unlike the first follow-up, the second one (technically, the third email in the sequence) brings only 3.2% more responses. This is 45% lower than the first follow-up.

The Third Follow-Up Drops Responses by 30%

The fourth email in a row starts working against you, even if you wait a few weeks before sending it. The third B2B follow-up results in 30% fewer responses than the initial email. If you had 150 replies after the first email and 300 after the second one, you’ll now have just 45 answers.

The Best Time To Send The First Follow-Up

Our research found that waiting 3 days before following up results in the highest reply rate. Sending anything before day 3 decreases the likelihood of a response.

The Optimal Length Of The Email Sequence

We also found that the highest response rate of 6.9% came from 2 total emails in a sequence. Sequences with three or more follow-ups show the opposite, causing a gradual drop in responses. At the same time, the Reply research found that it takes an average of 3 emails to generate one qualified lead (meaning an interested reply or booked meeting).

2023 And 2024 Follow-Ups Compared

Both years prove that the first follow-up email, or the second email in the sequence, boosts the reply rate by 49%. Likewise, our research shows that the second follow-up email leads to only a tiny response increase. There was a 9% rise in 2023 and a mere 3% rise in 2024. Sending a third follow-up dropped reply rates by 20% in 2023 and declined even more 30% in 2024.

The Role of A/B Testing in Optimizing B2B Email Response Rates

Remember that achieving an optimal response rate almost always requires extensive testing. Be realistic with your goals, and don’t expect double digits with your first campaign to a new audience. 

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• How to Cold Email
• Best Cold Email Templates B2B
• Email Outreach Best Practices
• Email Outreach Strategy

How to Calculate Your B2B Cold Email Response Rates

Cold emails are often sent in batches. So, instead of calculating the response rate of individual emails, it’s better to measure the response rate of email sequences. 

Here’s the formula for calculating your cold email reply rate:

Response Rate = Number of responses / Total emails sent x 100. For example, if you send 10 emails and receive 2 responses, that’s a 20% response rate. Here, the response rate is calculated by using whole sequences. If you receive one response from your batch of initial cold emails and one response from a follow-up email, you’ll still calculate your reply rate based on 10 emails sent. 

Group Responses by Email Sequences

Cold emails are often sent in batches. Instead of calculating the response rate of individual emails, it’s better to measure the response rate of email sequences. 

Here’s the formula for calculating your cold email reply rate:

Response Rate = Number of responses / Total emails sent x 100. For example, if you send 10 emails and receive 2 responses, that’s a 20% response rate. Here, the response rate is calculated by using whole sequences. If you receive one response from my batch of initial cold emails and one response from a follow-up email, I’ll still calculate my reply rate based on 10 emails sent. 

Improving Email Performance Through Data Accuracy and Granular Metrics

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind:

• Exclude bounces and undelivered emails. These will skew your results, so don’t include them in your final calculation.

• Collect granular data. Measure the response rate at the initial email and follow-up levels. For example, if your responses come from the second follow-up, it’s likely due to something you’re doing differently in that email.  

5 Key Factors That Influence B2B Cold Email Response Rates

1. Subject Line Freshness: The First Impression that Counts

Subject lines grab your recipient's attention. The best email subject lines articulate an apparent use or evoke curiosity, but not both simultaneously. Originality is also an essential factor. It's very easy to get lost in an already overcrowded inbox. 

Here are some common subject line mistakes: 

• Trying to be curious and functional simultaneously. It's far better to pick one, focus on doing it well, and write a subject line that is too long. Often, subject lines that are too long will be clipped in the recipient's email client. 

• Sixty characters is the maximum. Not A/B testing different subject lines and tracking open rates. Different audiences will respond better to certain subject lines over others. 

• At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's vital to remember that testing is the only way to determine what works best for your unique market.  

2. Personalization: Make It About Them

Personalization is non-negotiable. There’s nothing that shouts “mass sales email” more than a generic block of text with no mention of the recipient. Even if a cold email is targeted at a company rather than an individual, it’s still important to include specific references. 

Here are some common personalization mistakes: 

• Not taking advantage of all personalization variables. The bare basics are variables like [first name] and [company name]. But others, like [job title], [location], and [industry], can also be useful. 

• Only personalizing the opening. Personalization should be included throughout the email copy, including in the offer and when you sign off. 

• Adding generic or irrelevant personalization. The days when saying “Love what you’re doing at [company name]” captures attention are over. Personalization needs to be specific and current. Personalizing emails at scale is difficult; companies hire copywriters solely for that job. With AI, mass personalization needn’t be costly and time-consuming.  

3. Email Content and Structure: Quality Matters

Once you’ve pulled the reader in with your subject line and hooked them with a personalized opening, they’ll move on to your body copy. This is where your email does the heavy lifting. It’s an opportunity to: 

• Introduce yourself

• Demonstrate an understanding of your recipient’s pain points

• Outline your offer

• Provide evidence that you can deliver

It has to be: 

• Clear

• Strike a suitable tone

• Be highly relevant

Avoiding Common Content Mistakes to Craft More Effective Cold Emails

Here are the most common email content mistakes: 

• Not introducing yourself. The introduction frames the body content and adds a personal touch. 

• Describing what you do in a way that's not relevant. When you outline my offer, it must align with the recipient’s pain points. 

• Leaving out evidence of my ability to deliver. Proof, whether as a one-sentence case study or a testimonial, demonstrates that I can achieve the results I offer.  

4. Timing and Frequency: Finding the Right Rhythm

Hubspot says the best time to send marketing emails is Tuesday between 9 AM and 3 PM. Other studies indicate slightly different times, with Belkins suggesting before 12 on Wednesday or Thursday. This highlights the need for in-house testing. Use weekdays before late afternoon as a baseline, but make adjustments based on results specific to your audience. Advanced analytics tools are essential for tracking activity. The same is true of follow-up emails. While research suggests leaving three to five days between follow-ups, in-house testing is the only sure way. 

Mastering Timing and Frequency for Higher Cold Email Success

Here are the most common timing and frequency mistakes: 

• Sending emails on weekends or outside working hours

• Not adjusting for location (most email software will do this automatically)

• Using industry benchmarks rather than running tests; leaving too much time between follow-up emails.

• Leaving too little time between follow-up emails 

5. Email List Quality: Who You’re Talking To Matters

You can do everything right—use a well-tested email template, send it at the right time, and schedule the perfect follow-up sequence. If your lead data quality is poor, you're disadvantaged before anything leaves your inbox. Ensure you pick a high-quality list of data providers that adhere to enrichment and verification best practices. 

Here are the most common email list quality mistakes: 

• Purchasing access to a database before vetting. 

• Not using enrichment and hygiene tools. 

• Verification data should be used only from one source rather than multiple. 

• Relying on outdated web scraping methods and opting for just one vendor. 

• Your choice of database is essential, and it’s vital to check third-party reviews and enrichment practices. 

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• Best Sales Prospecting Tools
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• Email Personalization Tools
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8 Simple Tips to Boost your Average B2B Cold Email Response Rates

1. Craft an Irresistible Cold Email Subject Line

The best subject lines are either functional or curiosity-evoking. Generally, it is better to go for one or the other and test which type works best for your unique audience—functional subject lines. As sales expert Dan Pink says, “Every email subject line should make the person say, ‘Woah, I need to open that because it’s going to be useful to me,’ or ‘Man, I need to find out what that is.’ Where you don’t want to be is between utility and curiosity.”

Crafting High-Performing Subject Lines for Different Audiences

Individuals are used to receiving a large volume of emails. Utility tends to work best for: 

• CEOs

• Salespeople

• Marketers

Curiousness is typically the most effective strategy for those receiving fewer emails. Here are some examples of strong subject lines:

• Partnership inquiry for [company name]

• [company name] & [your company name]

• Proposal about [subject] for [company name]

• Interested in connecting [first name]

• [First name], I have a quick question

2. Personalize at Scale

When done well, personalization is one of the best ways to stand out and immediately build a connection with a reader. But it’s about more than just mentioning your recipient’s name. Personalization needs to be specific, detailed, and original. Sales reps have hired copywriters to add personalized elements to emails. This is a time-consuming and expensive way of connecting with potential customers. Generative AI email marketing tools provide a cost-effective alternative.

Effective Personalization Strategies for Boosting Email Engagement

Here are some examples of personalization done well:

• I found your recent post on LinkedIn about trends shaping HR very insightful. Your point about the decline in working from home was exciting.

• Congratulations on your recent award at the Widget Company of the Year Conference. Given your innovations in the widget space, it was very well deserved.

• I understand from your recent posts on LinkedIn that you’re having trouble scaling your outbound marketing.

• Wow! The results of your recent seeding round blew me away. Widget Company’s growth this year has been phenomenal!

3. Warm Up Your Emails

Email warm-up involves sending a gradually increasing number of emails to controlled inboxes, which can be opened and read (usually by bots), to improve a domain’s standing with email service providers (ESPs). An email address with a good “score” is far less likely to end up in your recipients’ spam boxes. Email warm-up is essential to a successful cold email strategy, especially given that service providers are becoming harsher with spam. It’s one of the technical elements of running a campaign that can significantly affect your average open rate and response rate.

Strategies for Effectively Warming Up Your Email Address and Improving Deliverability

Here are the main ways you can warm up your email address:

• Start with small batches rather than bulk campaigns.

• Track open rates to catch any issues before they harm your email address.

• Use an automated warm-up tool like

• Ensuring close alignment between your offer and target audience will also reduce the likelihood that recipients will mark your cold emails as spam.

4. A/B Testing Your B2B Cold Email

A/B and multivariate testing (which involves testing multiple variables at once) are the only ways to find the optimal cold email formula for you. It’s the best way to improve your cold email open and response rates, but it is a long-term strategy. Industry benchmarks have their place, but you should begin split testing from your first campaign. Modern email marketing tools like Artisan have split-testing functionality built in. AI-powered sales assistants often handle split testing on autopilot, finding the best email body and cadence variations without manual input.

Key Email Elements to A/B Test for Optimal Cold Email Performance

Here are the leading email elements to split test:

• Subject line

• Opening

• Body template (introduction, offer, and supporting evidence)

• CTA

• Closing

• Email signature

• Postscript (P.S.) if you use one

• Day and time of sending

• Time between follow-up emails

• Number of emails sent

5. Include a Clear and Specific Call-to-Action (CTA)

Research by Gong shows that the “interest CTA”, which asks “Would you like to learn more?”, is more effective than both open and closed CTAs requesting a meeting— “Are you free at 3 PM tomorrow?” or “Are you available next week?” Again, A/B testing is the way to go, but err towards the “interest CTA” until you have in-house data. Some members of your target audience will prefer more direct CTAs, while others may take longer to decide.

Crafting Compelling CTAs to Drive Action in Cold Emails

Here are some examples of strong CTAs:

• Would you be interested in learning more?

• Can I send you some more information?

• Would you like to see some [recipient industry] case studies?

• Would you be interested in a 15-minute call?

• Would you like to talk more?

• Is this a problem you’re struggling with?

• Are you interested in achieving similar results?

6. Send Follow-Up Emails

Based on industry research, the best formula is three follow-up emails sent three to five days apart on weekdays. Here’s a quick checklist for writing follow-up emails that get responses:

• Reference the first email

• Reiterate your offer (don’t make the recipient scroll through my thread)

• Add extra support like a case study or testimonial

• Ask the recipient to forward the email to the appropriate person or decision-maker

Here’s an example of a follow-up email:

Hi [first name], I’m following up on my last email about a possible partnership between [your company] and [target company]. I mentioned that we helped [past client] achieve [specific result] and would love to do the same for you.

Would you be interested in learning more?

Regards, [Your name]
P.S. Are you the right person to contact about this? If not, could you point me in the right direction?

7. Find a Reliable B2B Email List Provider

Successful lead generation and optimization of your email conversion rates cannot happen without a high-quality contact data source. If the email addresses associated with your leads are “dead”, then all of your efforts to increase the effectiveness of your emails are redundant. When evaluating list providers, look for the following features:

• Up-to-date contact details (email addresses and numbers)

• Industries relevant to your target audience

• LinkedIn and social media data

• Advanced web scraping for enrichment

• A mix of demographic, firmographic, and technographic data

Check third-party reviews on websites like Trustpilot, G2, and Capterra. These are typically impartial and can point you toward lesser-known high-quality databases.

8. Use Tools and Automation

Automation tools speed up response rate optimization by handling manual tasks and tracking conversion metrics, from click-through rates to email bounce rates. Outbound sales teams are increasingly using AI-driven tools to supplement human efforts. This means that sales reps have more time to focus on what’s truly important: nurturing interested prospects and adding a human touch before passing sales-qualified leads onto AEs. Here are just some of the areas where AI automation tools can help:

• Lead profile enrichment

• Email warmup

• Email personalization at scale

• A/B and multivariate testing

• Analytics tracking

Start Buying Domains Now and Set Up Your Email Infrastructure Today

Inframail is a game-changer for cold email infrastructure. We help you optimize your cold email outreach with solid deliverability that avoids spam folders. Our service is built for agencies, SDRs, and recruiters who need to send a high volume of emails to reach their prospects. With Inframail’s automated technical setup, you can focus on what matters most: getting more replies. 

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