21 Expert Cold Email Tips for More Replies and Long-Term Growth

You know that sinking feeling you get when you hit send on a cold email? You’re suddenly filled with doubt. What if your message lands in the spam folder? What if the recipient opens it and thinks it’s a joke? If you want your cold email to achieve its objective of building business connections, you must get past the dreaded first impression. In this case, cold email tips can help you navigate crafting a message that interests the recipient enough to respond. This article explores valuable insights to help you create cold email campaigns that consistently generate high response rates, build meaningful connections, and drive sustainable business growth.

Inframail’s email infrastructure solution can help you achieve your goals by improving your email deliverability and ensuring your cold emails reach the right audience.

Why Isn’t Cold Email Working For You?

Cold email newbies can fall for several pitfalls. Once fixed with best practices applied, all that’s left is to scale. So, watch out for these common cold email mistakes:

Sending Large Volumes in the First Campaigns

Cold email is a numbers game. It’s easy to rush into it, thinking you can just use a template, keep buying email lists, and send large volumes of cold emails until somebody bites. Volume and quality are necessary. That means:

Generating quality email copy
Maintaining healthy email domains
Warming up your email-sending accounts

Even if you’re offering the best products or services, prospects won’t bite if your cold email practice comes across as spammy. That usually happens when you focus only on selling.

Focusing Purely on Selling on the First Email

Is getting a sale on the first sales email possible? Yes! But most first cold emails that end up in sales don’t even focus on selling. They focus on delivering value and engagement. Once you start a conversation, email sequences or follow-ups are more likely to convert. Instead of selling, build trust through email copy that provides immediate value. Understanding your prospects’ business and implementing in-depth personalization is the best way to provide value. Without this level of lead enrichment, emails come off as generic.

Lack of In-Depth Personalization

If the only personalization you do is {{first name}} or {{company name}}, then what separates your email from generic automated ones? We’re not saying automation doesn’t work. Automation has to be paired with lead intelligence tools. But if you can’t afford these tools just yet, spending time researching high-value prospects will always be worthwhile.

Leveraging Company News

Instantly B2B Lead Finder helps you enrich your lead list with up-to-date information about recent company news, allowing deeper personalization and a unique sales angle. But no matter which angle you go for, you shouldn’t go overboard with your CTAs. That means limiting questions to just one per email.

Including Multiple CTAs (Call-to-Actions)

Are you asking for a meeting? Do you want prospects to look at your case study? Or are you hoping for a reply? Whatever the case, only ask one question or have one CTA per email. You have a case study and want a prospect to read it. But simultaneously, you want them to reply and give their thoughts on the survey.

In this situation, you can say something like:

“{{your company}} did a new case study (insert link) on {{topic}} and found {{interesting, relevant result}}. Being a well-respected name in {{industry}}, I’d love to hear your thoughts.”

This CTA is effective, addressing two goals at once. Still, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. Each element in your email needs variations, including:

Subject lines
Main body
CTA

Sending the Same Email to Your Entire List

Never make the mistake of sending the exact copy to your entire list of prospects. It signals email providers that your accounts are probably spam. To avoid this issue, use spintax to automatically generate variations of the same email. The thought remains the same; only the semantics change. You can use spintax on opening lines, greetings, or salutations. For the main body, the variations already come in the form of personalization.

21 Expert Cold Email Tips for Sustainable Growth

While it is all too easy to turn prospects off with cold emails, they can effectively get the attention of prospective customers and clients when done right. Here, 16 members of the Forbes Communications Council share their top do’s and don’ts when it comes to cold outreach via email. See their tips below to wow your prospects with a message that inspires them to open the following cold email you send:

1. Show ’Em You Know ’Em

Cold emails work when we don’t come across as trying to make a sale. A practical approach is to “show ’em you know ’em.” Research their website, LinkedIn page, their company’s news—anything that can give you insights so you can connect in a meaningful, relevant way. For example, provide value on that first contact with a research report or article to build trust and credibility. Then, build from there. - Viki Zabala, First Orion

2. Don’t Be Robotic And Sterile

Let your company identity and personality shine when sending cold outreach emails. We crave human connection, so don’t be afraid to be accurate—be you and be conversational. Another “do” is determining the recipient’s pain point. It’s best to give versus asking them to provide me with something. The more value you provide, the more likely they are to connect. - Ashleigh Powers, ADM Productions, Inc.

3. Find an Actual Contact

In many instances, cold emailing is the name of the game when reaching out to your target audience or potential clients. The trick is to make it appear as if it is not a cold call. To impress them, my No. 1 tip would be to find an actual contact and research the person by finding out their position in the company. For example, and any prominent news about them before emailing. Wait a week before following up. - Preity Upala, The Omnia Institute

4. Don’t Be Formulaic, Grandiose, Or Hyperbolic

Cold emails drive me crazy. Formulaic ones with grandiose claims are instantly deleted and blocked. They’re just so superficially salesy. One exception? An introductory email articulating the value of a product or service without hyperbole, which I can review on my timeline. Also, “Dear [insert name here]” without tailored insights about my company is not personalization. - Michelle Stark, Red Sage Communications, Inc.

5. Deliver Value Slowly Over Time

It’s okay to cold email if you are slow-rolling it. Make sure your list is exactly in your scope, then push out some value, but do it slowly over time. Bring them along, and never be pushy. If you deliver value over time, they will interact when the timing is right. You have to be patient. If you blow them up, you will get in trouble pretty quickly. Don’t do that. - Stacy Gentile, Vengreso

6. Don’t Blast A Generic Message

As with most marketing channels, cold email can be highly effective when done correctly. Don’t simply blast a generic message to an email list. Use the information available about each recipient to target the content to what matters to the recipient. Remember, these prospects may not know your company, so don’t assume they know more than they do. And, of course, include a call to action. - Tom Wozniak, OPTIZMO Technologies, LLC

7. Pitch New Ideas Through Tailored Emails

Cold email outreach can yield some of the best results when pitching new ideas. A great way to do so is by sharing a tailored, direct email relevant to your pitching that adds value for the recipient. On the other hand, don’t send a blanket email that is not targeted or perceived as valuable to the recipient, as that will almost always be quickly deleted. - Lynn Kier, Diebold Nixdorf

8. Don’t Come In Cold With An Ask

I do not recommend doing cold email outreach where you “ask” for something. If you have never engaged with the individual before, I suggest reaching out with something to offer. That can be anything from a chance to join a press briefing call you think they might be interested in the opportunity to have a sit-down conversation. Don’t come in the cold with an ask; come bearing gifts. - Dallas Lawrence, Roku

9. Make It Incredibly Creative

Whether or not to do cold email outreach is a case-by-case decision. If outreach is cold, do make it incredibly creative. Frankly, I’m surprised that most initial cold emails make it through most companies’ spam filters. Nevertheless, cold emails supported by research and personalization tend to work. But—and it’s a big but—the team has to do the work, and I’ve found that few teams do. - Mark Roberts, TPx Communications

10. Don’t Be Threatening Or Ugly

I get some exciting cold emails. Some are very clever and have caught my eye, and I’ve followed up with them. The worst ones that I recommend you do not emulate are the threatening, ugly ones that demand my time. They get an immediate delete. - Ingrid Burton, Quantcast

11. Identify A Strong Subject Line

Cold email outreach is a numbers game about continuously improving your perceived value. It is essential to have a personalized template, meaning that you base your email on a predetermined framework but personalize the message to show the reader that you thought about them. Identify a strong subject line, such as “Quick Question,” to gain interest, then take the A/B test and continuously measure your results. - Rob Russini, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union

12. Don’t Be Silly, Cute Or Fluffy

The effectiveness of cold email outreach depends entirely on what the email contains. Do not open a cold email with a short poem or joke incorporating your prospect’s name. Do not send five paragraphs of fluff and then ask for 15 minutes of their time. Craft an email that addresses your target’s business challenges, then succinctly explain how my product is uniquely positioned to help. - Merrily McGugan, LogicMonitor

13. Imagine You’re Being Introduced At A Party

I like to imagine I’m at a party, being introduced to the person I’m emailing. What would I say to make them feel good about me and to get their attention? Using this imaginative approach makes it easier to write authentic and personal emails. It takes more work because you must research each person you email, but it also pays off in much higher returns. - Dave Platter, Juwai IQI

14. Don’t Be Pushy Or Fail To Provide Significant Value

For a cold email, it’s essential to provide significant value. This can be a complementary offer, relevant content (such as a recent study), or an offer to provide education on a new or interesting topic. Asking for 20 minutes with no differentiated offering and being pushy is not the best approach for this type of outreach. - Tom Treanor, Treasure Data

15. Send A Personalized Email From An Individual

Cold email can be an effective tactic as long as a few rules are followed. The communication needs to be relevant (meaning it understands a pain point and gets to the point fast), personalized, and sent by an individual—ideally, someone at a similar level. A CEO is more apt to read an email from another C-suite executive or, even better, from someone they know. - Heidi Bullock, Tealium

16. Don’t Use A ‘Canned’ Template

Do not use a “canned” email template when sending cold emails. Take the time to customize the email so that it is tailored to your audience and presents them with thoughtful insight into how you can work together. - Sherry Jhawar, Blended Strategy Group

17. Always Warmup Email Sending Accounts

Sending accounts should warm up for at least 2-3 weeks before they are used for cold outreach. New email accounts sending large volumes will be seen as spammy. Warmups protect our sending accounts, ensure deliverability, and increase the chances of our emails reaching the primary inbox rather than being flagged as spam. It occurs naturally over time as we send and receive emails. Some tools or services can automate warmups.

18. Add Domains and Emails Accounts to Scale Sending Volume

Email providers tag email addresses, sending hundreds of emails daily as spam; not even warmups can prevent this. To protect deliverability, add domains and email accounts. It’s best practice to create 2-3 sending accounts per domain. Each sending account can send 30-50 emails daily without any issues.

Don’t forget to allocate sending limits to warmups, follow-ups, and initial cold emails. You can buy domains from sites like:

GoDaddy
Namecheap
Any vendor

Get alternate domains similar to your main one. For example, “ABC.com” can be “GetABC.com.”

After adding the domains to your email service provider, ensure that you redirect/forward these domains to your main one and have done all the necessary technical setups.

19. Finish All Necessary Technical Setups for Cold Email

Once you’ve added new domains, you need them authenticated. That’s where SPF, DMARC, DKIM, and MX come in. Here’s a quick rundown of what they do:

MX: Records allow your domains to receive emails.
SPF: Signals email providers that your domains are authorized to send emails.
DKIM: Adds a digital signature to emails, preventing spoofing.
DARC: Authenticates your emails, signaling email providers that they’re legitimate.

These technical setups vary depending on your provider. With the technical aspect taken care of, we can now focus on copy.

20. A-B Test Your Emails

Iterating on your best-performing emails through A-B testing is the best way to:

Improve your campaigns
Get more replies
Land more meetings

It’s pitting one variation of an entire email against another and finding the best elements of each one. With Instantly, you can do A-Z testing. Users can create variations for subject lines, email copies, CTAs, or whatever element they want to test for in the same email sequence.

Improving Email Performance

Variation A has a better open rate, and variation B has a higher response rate. This might mean that variation A has a better subject line and variation B has a better email copy. Then, you could create variation C, combining the best aspects of A and B. We’d need to monitor email metrics and analytics to find our winning emails.

21. Track Key Email Metrics and Analytics

Tracking email metrics provides data-driven and actionable insights on how to improve your cold emails. Here are the main metrics to look out for:

Email Deliverability: Are your emails landing in primary inboxes or spam folders?
Open Rates: Do you have engaging subject lines worth opening?
Reply Rates: How effective is your email copy and CTA?
Bounce Rates: How clean/validated is your email list?
Campaign ROI: How profitable are your cold email campaigns?

Start Buying Domains Now and Setup Your Email Infrastructure Today

No cold email strategy can thrive without a solid infrastructure. Cold email outreach relies on technical configurations to maximize deliverability, requiring an infrastructure to get your emails to the right place. At Inframail, we are revolutionizing cold email infrastructure with unlimited inboxes at a flat rate. We provide Microsoft-backed deliverability, dedicated IP addresses, and automated technical setup to help agencies, recruiters, and SDRs scale their outreach efforts efficiently.

The Benefits of Using Inframail for Cold Email Outreach

The main benefits of using Inframail for cold email outreach include:

Automated SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup
Dedicated email servers for each user
16-hour priority support daily

Unlike traditional providers that charge per inbox and leave you wrestling with technical configurations, Inframail streamlines the entire process. We handle the complex infrastructure setup while you focus on reaching more prospects. Whether you're an agency looking to scale outreach, a recruiter connecting with candidates, or an SDR driving sales, Inframail provides a robust email infrastructure without the usual technical headaches and per-inbox costs. Start buying domains now and set up your email infrastructure today with our email infrastructure tool.

Why Isn’t Cold Email Working For You?

Cold email newbies can fall for several pitfalls. Once fixed with best practices applied, all that’s left is to scale. So, watch out for these common cold email mistakes:

Sending Large Volumes in the First Campaigns

Cold email is a numbers game. It’s easy to rush into it, thinking you can just use a template, keep buying email lists, and send large volumes of cold emails until somebody bites. Volume and quality are necessary. That means:

Generating quality email copy
Maintaining healthy email domains
Warming up your email-sending accounts

Even if you’re offering the best products or services, prospects won’t bite if your cold email practice comes across as spammy. That usually happens when you focus only on selling.

Focusing Purely on Selling on the First Email

Is getting a sale on the first sales email possible? Yes! But most first cold emails that end up in sales don’t even focus on selling. They focus on delivering value and engagement. Once you start a conversation, email sequences or follow-ups are more likely to convert. Instead of selling, build trust through email copy that provides immediate value. Understanding your prospects’ business and implementing in-depth personalization is the best way to provide value. Without this level of lead enrichment, emails come off as generic.