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get a 100% Free Cold Email Toolkit!
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23 Email Outreach Best Practices for Maximum Engagement
23 Email Outreach Best Practices for Maximum Engagement
23 Email Outreach Best Practices for Maximum Engagement
Cold Emailing
Cold Emailing
Cold Emailing
Mar 3, 2025
Imagine you’ve just hit send on an email. You’ve crafted the perfect message to a potential client, the kind of email that would excite you if you were on the receiving end. But days pass and the silence is deafening. You start wondering if you even sent it to the right address. This scenario is too common if you’re working with a low email deliverability rate. This article will explore email outreach best practices to help you enhance your email response rates and build meaningful connections with potential clients.
Inframail’s email infrastructure solution can help you achieve your email outreach goals. With Inframail, you’ll establish a cold email deliverability rate that ensures your future outreach emails land in the right place – your recipients’ inboxes.
Table of Content
30+ Cold Email Outreach Best Practices to Skyrocket Reply Rates
Start Buying Domains Now and Setup Your Email Infrastructure Today
What is Email Outreach?
Email's popularity will outlive us all. In fact, in 2023, email accounted for 30 percent of all sales communication. 2024 will bring even more favorable stats for email as it evolves and adapts to buyer preferences.
Cold emails have a bad reputation, but research shows that it’s mainly because some marketers don’t send them right. When done properly, email outreach can be incredibly effective. What’s more, it’ll help you stand out from the competition.
Do Cold Emails Still Work in 2024?
Yes, they do! And buyers prefer them. Cold emails are less intrusive than cold calls. Unlike cold calls, prospects needn't respond in real-time but can do so at their convenience. Cold emails give them more time to learn about your product and weigh their options before deciding. That’s why 8 out of 10 buyers prefer to be contacted by email.
Takeaway:
People prefer cold emails. But to succeed, give up on the spray-and-pray approach, research your prospect, and personalize your cold emails.
What Is the Average Cold Email Open Rate?
Only 23.9 percent of sales emails are opened. Prospects scan through their inboxes and only open those they think are essential. This is why sales emails only have an open rate of 23.9 percent. Their decision on whether or not to open an email depends on various factors, such as:
The sender’s name
Subject lines
Offer
Email preview
Takeaway:
77 out of 100 cold emails you send never get opened. Stack the odds in your favor by:
Writing excellent subject lines
Split-testing them
Ensuring email deliverability
Editing and testing different email previews
Reaching multiple channels to improve visibility
What Is the Average Response Rate?
The reply rates also fall if the number of people who open your emails drops. According to a study by Backlinko, the average cold email reply rate is just 8.5 percent. You can increase your reply rates by targeting the right prospects, personalizing emails to the prospect’s interests, and following up religiously.
Pro Tip: To gauge the success of your outreach campaign, follow the 30/30/50 rule. Aim for a 30 percent open rate, 30 percent response rate, and 50 percent conversion rate.
The Importance of Subject Lines
Subject lines are the first thing your prospect looks into when they receive emails from an unknown sender. Thirty-three percent of recipients use subject lines as a deciding factor to weed out emails, according to a study by Super Office. So, if your subject lines look generic or spammy, they won't bother to open the email, let alone read it.
Takeaway:
Use various subject-line techniques to make your subject lines relevant to the readers. For example:
You can talk about pain points
Use humor
Trigger FOMO
Personalization Matters
When you use subject lines related to your prospect in one way or another, they can't help but notice it. These subject lines scream, "hey, this is for you" to your prospects. And that's why personalized subject lines have an open rate of 35.69 percent, almost double the open rates of non-personalized ones (16.67 percent).
Pro Tip: Tailor subject lines using the:
Prospect’s name
Company name
Mutual connections
Interests
The Benefits of Cold Emailing
Email outreach is about reaching out to people through email to turn potential leads into customers, especially in sales. It’s an essential skill to stand out from the competition. When done right, email outreach can be incredibly effective with just a solid strategy behind it.
Great ROI: For every dollar spent, you can see an average return of $38—talk about a fantastic return on investment.
Cost-Effective: It’s a low-cost method that helps generate quality leads without breaking the bank.
Build Relationships: Even if you’re contacting someone you don’t know yet, there’s a strong chance you can form a meaningful connection and make a sale.
Boost Sales: Using the right outreach strategies and tools can enhance your sales efforts and increase conversions.
Effective Campaigns: With the best practices and email outreach software, you can run campaigns that hit the mark.
Is Cold Emailing Illegal?
There is a misconception that outreach emails are spam, primarily because some marketers send a high volume of generic emails without personalizing them or ensuring relevance. This often happens in email marketing outreach, focusing on quantity over quality.
Email outreach is legal and practical when done correctly, as long as you meet these essential requirements:
Personalization and Relevance: Ensure the email is personalized and includes a suitable subject line. Tailoring your message increases its relevance and impact.
Transparency: Include the sender’s name and complete contact details to make the email feel genuine and trustworthy.
Value Addition: Your email should offer value to the recipient and focus on building trust rather than just pushing for a purchase
Compliance: To maintain legitimacy, follow email outreach best practices and legal guidelines, such as GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act.
Choosing the Right Tools and Strategies for Targeted and Effective Email Outreach
Leveraging the best email outreach tools, software, and strategies for effective email outreach will help you craft well-targeted outreach sales emails that stand out and adhere to outreach best practices. By focusing on personalized and relevant content, you can run successful email outreach campaigns and avoid the pitfalls of cold outreach methods.
Related Reading
• Automated Lead Generation
• Email Prospecting
• How to Generate B2B Leads
• How to Warm Up Email Domain
• How Many Emails Can You Send Before Considered Spam
• Best Time to Send Cold Emails
• How to Cold Email
• Best Cold Email Templates B2B
• Email Outreach Strategy
What Is the Format for Outreach Email?
Before we discuss the specifics of crafting a winning outreach email, it’s essential to understand that there’s a science and art to it—especially when sending it cold. Crafting a winning outreach email requires skill and creativity, but when done right, it can open up many opportunities, from new partnerships to high-ticket sales. On the other hand, those written haphazardly will be sent to the trash bin. So, what's the anatomy of an outreach email? In my experience, a winning outreach email can be broken down into three parts:
The Subject Line
The subject line is the most crucial element in cold outreach email deliverability. The rest means nothing if it doesn’t pique the recipient’s interest and make them want to open the email. The first tip is to keep it simple and sweet. A little cleverness is good, too, but don't overdo it. The goal is to spark curiosity, not confusion. For example, instead of writing “Partnership proposal with [Your Company],” try something like “A quick question about [Their Company].” The latter reduces the intimidating nature of the email and increases the chances of the recipient opening it.
The Body
Now that the person is interested, this is where you give them your value proposition and express what you're looking for. The key here is hyper-personalization. You want to make your message personal and relevant to them. Ensure it's something public and not too personal–that could be creepy. Researching the recipient and their company is essential to craft a message that resonates with them.
The CTA
This is where you give them something to do. Whether visiting your website, setting up an appointment, or simply replying to the message, make it simple and easy. Don’t add more than one CTA! The goal is to make it easy for the recipient to take action.
Balancing Professionalism and Personality in Business Communication
Pro-Tip: You want to be professional, but don’t be afraid to add a little personality to your message to make it stand out. Use some humor, like an industry inside joke. You can even stick a meme in there if it's relevant! Just make sure it's appropriate and fits the tone of your email.
30+ Cold Email Outreach Best Practices to Skyrocket Reply Rates
1. Know and Segment Your Audience
Before you send out your first email, know who you are trying to reach. Depending on how well you know your target audience, your email outreach could slow down or speed up your sales cycle. That includes knowing how many of these prospects are available to your business and how they want to be reached. Dig deep to identify new target audiences and determine how best to engage them. There may be several buyer personas you need to market to, each requiring a different messaging strategy—it’s a given that not every prospect on your list will respond to the same email. Segment your audience, and A/B test your messaging and content to drive higher open rates and engagement.
2. Clean Up Your Data
Most companies have a good sense of their best prospects: they’re all in their CRM, right? Maybe not. Prospects move on, companies change their business focus, and external events can alter the course of a business model. It’s estimated that databases degrade by some 25% a year. As you manage new leads from different channels (i.e., LinkedIn), ensure the contact info is correct and your database is clean. If it isn’t, take that person off your CRM. If the company is genuinely interested, find viable contacts who work there and add those to the list.
3. Time It Right
Another critical action to take before launching any email marketing activities is to time your outreach. Map your email activity to the cadences and opportunities in your industry’s business cycles. If everyone takes the whole summer off, don’t waste your time with outreach. If you deal with countries where no one works in August, consider pausing the campaign until they return. Find your clients’ fiscal year/s and determine the optimal times to reach out for next year’s planning cycle. Every company approaches strategic planning differently, but knowing when a contact is open to discussing new approaches for the upcoming year can make all the difference.
4. Use Automation Thoughtfully
Automated campaign technologies are a proven and increasingly popular way to reach more prospects, but they may also alienate them. This time-saving technology also opens the door for strategic errors, so consider your timing and content strategy. Always defer to quality over quantity and remember why you’re doing this: The intention of an email marketing campaign shouldn’t be to download endless ads or material. It generates interest in your company’s offerings, shows the audience you empathize with their needs and frustrations, and opens up a conversation. Before you present your company’s solution, make sure it’s clear you understand the pain points first. A perceived lack of empathy for their situation may prompt recipients to tune you out.
5. Smarten Up Your Content Strategy
Content takes effort, energy, time, and people power. Don’t waste it. Be honest about what kind of content your business needs to get into the market to succeed in building business. It needs to be mapped to your different buyer personas and be delivered with the right motivational messaging to the right target audience at the right time. A content strategy should be supported by an excellent library: a trove of contact that’s helpful, insightful, and appealing to your target audience. Whether to create that content internally or use an outside resource depends.
Outsourcing Smartly: Expanding Content Capabilities Without Sacrificing Quality
But don’t limit yourself just because you don’t have the bandwidth in-house, and don’t try to cut corners too profoundly, or your content will suffer. A great (and competitive) content strategy has variety and quality, with white papers, industry insights, and newsletters. All can be effective at engaging prospects and sparking communication.
6. Go Short
Email marketing campaigns are great for sharing top-line information about your company, establishing your credentials, getting on a prospect’s radar screen, and hopefully progressing to a call or a meeting. Going too long in an email and exhausting your audience’s attention could derail that entire process. Be precise, hit the right notes (your research will tell you what those notes are), and then get to the call to action or link to industry insights you hope will interest the recipient. Your prospects should be rewarded with brevity and relevant, valuable material and/or business insights in exchange for their time and attention. Follow the credo ‘Always be helping’ and the sales will follow.
7. Consider UGC
User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to break the mold, engage your customers, and build credibility. Inviting your customer base to share their own compelling, objective stories about your company, products, and services can create effective third-party endorsements of what you do and how you do it. Existing client success stories, generated by them, not you, can build trust among prospects. They can also lead to tremendous initial conversations as prospects find their perspectives and needs echoed in a piece of UGC. Just make sure, like everything else, the content is brief, to the point, and leads to curiosity and questions, not reader exhaustion.
8. Mind the Header
In 2022, an average of 3.9 million emails went out globally every second. The average office worker’s email account received some 121 emails a day. We expect emails, and more often than not, we want emails. Keeping the email header short, clear, relevant, readable, and engaging will increase the chances of your email being opened. Don’t get lost in a sea of messages; use that header to stand out.
9. Give to Get
When crafting your outreach email, don’t be all “me, me, me.” Remember that building a relationship is a two-way street. Think about what you can offer them in return, not just what you want from them. It's like the old saying, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” If you pitch a guest post, emphasize how it will provide valuable content for their readers. If you're selling a product or service, focus on how it can solve a problem or help them reach their goals.
10. Follow the “F” to Get Your Point Across
Fun fact: Did you know that when people read your email, they start at the top left, read across to the right, and then scan down the left-hand side? It's called “F-shaped pattern reading,” and it's important to remember when crafting your outreach email. You want to ensure your most important information is front and center or in the top left corner. Use short paragraphs and bullet points to break up text and make scanning easier. Remember to include a clear call to action at the end of your email so the recipient knows exactly what to do next. Once you’ve nailed the formula, you can use AI tools like Editpad to automate parts of the emailing writing process.
11. Include Unsubscription Links
Allowing unengaged recipients to opt out of communications cultivates an environment where abuse complaints are low, engagement is improved, and general sentiment is increased, resulting in better reputation and better inbox placement.
12. Create A Sense Of Urgency
The emails with subject lines that create a sense of urgency will have higher open rates. The main reason people don’t actively respond to cold emails is that they feel that they can do that later on. You can counter this tendency to procrastinate by crafting your subject line in such a way that it creates a sense of urgency. Here are a few examples of how you can put this email outreach tip to use:
Last chance to avail 50% discount on our premium plan!
The special offer (40% off) ends tomorrow.
To create urgency, you can use words like ‘Hurry,’ ‘expiring,’ and ‘limited time.’
13. Stay To The Point
Nobody has an interest in reading long essays about your product or services. You must understand that you are reaching out to busy people who don’t have all day to read your email. It is vital to keep your message short and simple while being to the point. In other words, don’t beat around the bush in your emails, or they will be in the trash folder. Start your email with a catchy subject line, talk about the recipients’ pain points, show how your product or service can help, and create a good impression about yourself clearly and concisely.
14. Use Active Voice
When you draft the message, ensure that what you want to say is in an active and direct voice. It is like speaking straight to the prospect by using their name. The email should be easy to read and make you sound confident. Also, an active voice is better because the message is more concise and easy to understand. You can easily see the difference in both tones. Example: Instead of beginning with a line like “You have been contacted in connection with setting a meeting ….”, use the following: “I am reaching out to you for …”.
15. Keep A Tab On Your Email Frequency
The most important thing to remember in cold email outreach is the frequency of your emails. You shouldn’t email the prospect daily or once every two days. Doing so will send your emails to the spam folder and even annoy the prospect. The thumb rule is to keep a gap of at least 2 days between emails but not exceed 7. The ideal pace is 3-4 days between every email.
16. Add A Video
Leverage the immense popularity of videos in your outreach. Though there is nothing like a one-on-one meeting with your prospect in person, a video is a good idea, too. Videos can reach people living in different geographical locations and time zones. But does creating videos require a huge budget? Not really. There are free tools to help you create videos without making any investments. You can create convincing video prospecting that connects with the audience without spending money. If you keep the content good enough, you can close more deals.
17. Competition
It is one of the most advanced email outreach practices. Knowing your competitors well can help you plan a better marketing strategy. It will also help you understand what you need to do to stand out in the crowd. That doesn’t mean that you should show the competitor in a poor light. Bashing rival companies only means you are not strong enough, and prospects will likely move away from you. You can mention how different your product or service is from that of your competitors. State the unique features of your product or service without putting others down. The prospect would want to know how good your product or service is and not how useless someone else’s is. Give them a solid reason to choose you over others.
18. Add Value Instead of Pitching
Most email marketers pitch prospects regularly, and setting yourself apart from them is difficult. Adding value will work. Prospects always look for what is in store for them, and if you offer something of value, they will likely choose you. Get into the prospects’ shoes and see how your offer will benefit them. It can be a free ebook, a tutorial to resolve their issue, or any other freebie that would be useful to them.
19. Test Your Emails Before Sending Them To Prospects
There is nothing more annoying than poorly formatted emails. Test your emails by sending them to your colleagues and seeing how they look. This is one of the most critical email outreach practices to help you succeed. You should email prospects only after you are delighted with their look.
20. Leverage Sales Outreach Tools
Automation is the key when you speak of cold email marketing. Your job will become easy with a sales outreach tool. You can automate initial conversations and follow-ups with prospects using this tool. As a salesperson, you will see a lot of spark in your working style with increased productivity. Also, the mundane nature of your job will get a fresh lease of life with excellent results.
21. Avoid Large Attachments And Certain Attachment Types Such As .Exe, .Zip, .Swf, Etc.
While files that are too large can render an email undeliverable, adding attachments to emails can be detrimental to reputation because of most users’ security posture and training for employees not to click on unfamiliar attachments. In some cases, corporate email infrastructure may disable external attachments.
22. Send Messages At A Reasonable Cadence
Allow recipients to respond to messages. Receiving too many emails too quickly can be off-putting to many recipients. Consider slowing down the frequency of emails based on the engagement of emails. Send to less engaged prospects and customers once a week instead of every day and then once a month if they trail off. When a prospect does engage, use it as a signal to increase the frequency of communications.
23. Know When To Nurture (Pause Communications) A Prospect
Persistent emailing a prospect may be overwhelming and could be saturating their inbox. Instead of risking the prospect marking the communications they receive as spam, know when to give them a break.
24. Stop Recycling Content That Is Not Effective
Set up a recurring time to assess and review content strategy. Look at measurable engagement to determine if a new strategy is needed. If a campaign was unsuccessful, return to the drawing board and try something new.
25. Don't Buy Lists Of Prospects
These lists are widely inaccurate, contain spam trap addresses, and often when a sender attempts to send to the same group of flagged addresses, that sender will be blacklisted. Users that have not opted in are likely to mark unsolicited messages as spam.
26. Verify Imported Prospect Data
For incomplete and typo addresses to prevent bounces and blacklisting.
27. Don't Attempt To Resend To Addresses That Have Bounced
Hard bounces are considered permanent errors that will not be resolved. One of the most common reasons is that the mailbox does not exist. As a result, these emails will never be successfully delivered. Repeatedly attempting to send to these types of mailboxes can generate poor reputation and can cause blacklisting. Some abandoned addresses are intentionally transitioned into spam traps to identify bad senders. Hitting even just one spam trap is likely to cause deliverability problems.
28. Set A Reasonable Reengagement Window
Finding a reasonable time to resequence a prospect after they have been nurtured or paused is significant for preserving a good reputation and increasing engagement. Emailing those prospects should cease if sentiment is not improving after a rotation.
29. Use A Dedicated IP Address
Ensure all correspondence from each IP address is committed to one business. When several entities use one IP address, it creates cross-contamination of reputation and makes it very difficult to isolate deliverability struggles.
30. Measure Your Performance
If you want to know how or if an email campaign is working, don’t leave it to guesswork. Creating campaign performance metrics should be part of your email outreach strategy, as well as investing in the software or platform that measures open rates and prospect engagement levels. If you don’t hit the marks with the desired results, take the time to regroup, pause your emails, and find out why. Assemble your internal team and do a deep dive. Ask trusted outsiders for objective feedback. You may even want to field a survey asking what people want to see. Do the hard work, and you’ll be further along in achieving your lead generation goals.
ONGOING BEST PRACTICES
In 2024, Yahoo and Google started partnering to establish standardized best practices for sending email. Outreach recommends following these practices to ensure the best deliverability possible for all customers, whether they are sending B2B or B2C.
Authenticate all email with SPF, DKIM & DMARC: Keep abuse complaints under 0.3%. Several mailbox providers provide deliverability metrics and complaint information to senders. Outreach encourages all customers to monitor and review their reputation with providers frequently. Google Postmaster Tools, Yahoo Sender Hub,
Microsoft SNDS: Include 1-click unsubscribe headers and links in any email likely to be reported as spam. Preference centers can also be used with the 1-click to allow prospects and customers to tailor what communications and at what cadence they receive them. This could be an opportunity to enable customers to pause instead of opt out. Preference centers do not take the place of 1-click unsubscribe.
Strive for a bounce rate of less than 3%.
Monitor for blacklisting. MX Toolbox has a free search available to check domain and IP address blacklisting.
Monitor email engagement metrics (clicks, replies, bounces, and opt-outs) and have a framework to pivot strategy based on trends. When trends signal a problem, it’s an indicator to make adjustments quickly before reputation takes a nosedive.
Open data is inaccurate and should never be used as a metric of the success of deliverability. The only open data that Outreach encourages customers to scrutinize is when a campaign has a zero or extremely low open rate, as that could be an indication of a more significant deliverability problem like blacklisting or rejected messages.
Negative Signals (zero/low open rate, no bookings, no responses) are as important as measurable engagement.
When a campaign is unsuccessful, senders should review this document's Composing and Sending Email Best Practices sections.
Related Reading
• Best Cold Email Software
• How Long Should a Cold Email Be
• B2B Cold Email Response Rates
• How to Improve Email Deliverability
• Unlimited Email Hosting
• Email Testing Tools
• Best Email Deliverability Tools
• Sales Email Automation Tools
• Email Scraping Tools
• Best Sales Prospecting Tools
• Email Warm Up Tools
• Email Personalization Tools
• Mailscale Alternatives
• Mailforge Alternative
How To Start Your Cold Email Outreach Campaign in 8 Steps
1. Establish Your Ideal Customer Profile
Creating a detailed description of your ideal customer—an ideal customer profile (ICP)—is critical in cold email outreach. Your ICP will inform all of your:
Outreach efforts
Helping you create targeted
Personalized campaigns that convert
To make your ICP, consider factors like:
Industry
Company size
Job roles
Challenges
Behaviors
Prioritize your ICPs into tiers to guide your research, and verify your ICP by checking if the contacts perform better than non-ICPs.
2. Find Interested Leads
Now that you know your ideal buyer, it’s time to find the real deal. You target people uninterested in your product or service, resulting in low reply and conversion rates and slowing your sales process. So, you only want to target your ICP. There are two simple ways to track your potential clients:
Find ideal buyers on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a powerful tool for salespeople, giving you a large pool of potential buyers. Its advanced capabilities allow you to conduct a targeted audience search, including people based on their:
Job role
Seniority
Location
Industry, etc.
Find potential buyers in leads databases. You can also use lead databases to find customers likely to buy your product/service. A sales lead database is a centralized data database about potential customers or clients. It’s based on leads’:
Contact details
Industry
Company size, etc
This helps you target people that fit your Ideal Customer Profile and boost your outreach efficiency.
3. Get Your Leads’ Verified Email Addresses
To reach your ideal buyers and showcase your value, you need their valid contact information to enrich your leads. One of the easiest ways to verify your prospects’ emails is to use email verification tools.
4. Spot the Right Time to Reach Out
Sending emails at any point may be ultimately fruitless. You want to pick your moments! Set some triggers that will help you identify when your leads experience a change or event that will make them need you at that moment. Who could say no to that? Based on the ICP you created, you can add specific criteria and get excellent results only by reaching out to people from your screen.
5. Set Up Your Sending Account to Avoid the Spam Folder
You now have your list of leads and the right moment to start sending emails. You’d think this is when you start hitting that send button. It’s not. Before you consider sending out your campaign, you must ensure your email account is set up correctly. A low email deliverability will mean your emails are landing in the spam folder, and all your hard work is completely lost.
6. Write the Perfect Cold Email
Let’s say you reach out to the right person at the right time but without the right message. Unfortunately, it’s not going to work either. You may have the best product or service in the world, but if I only talk about myself or have a sales-y approach, I’ll push my prospect away. So, I need to craft the perfect cold email.
7. Set Up a Follow-Up Schedule
If your prospects didn’t immediately answer your first cold email, that doesn’t mean they are not interested in your product or service. Maybe they’ve been busy, missed the email, or need more information before getting back to me. That’s why it’s essential to follow up, which means sending additional emails after not receiving a response to my initial cold email.
8. Monitor Your Results
Tracking your cold email metrics is essential, as it helps you see if your campaigns are successful and know what to double down to boost your results. By analyzing these results, you can refine your approach, improve engagement, and increase the chances of achieving your desired outcomes.
Related Reading
• Sendgrid Alternatives
• Amazon SES Alternatives
• Mailgun Alternatives
• Maildoso Alternatives
• Mailreef
• Cold Email Marketing Services
• Cold Email Services
• Lemlist vs Instantly
• Smartlead vs Instantly
Start Buying Domains Now and Setup Your Email Infrastructure Today
At Inframail, we are revolutionizing cold email infrastructure with unlimited inboxes at a flat rate.
We provide:
Microsoft-backed deliverability
Dedicated IP addresses
Automated technical setup
This helps customer outreach efforts efficiently like:
Agencies
Recruiters
SDRs
The main benefits of using our service:
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.
InfraMail provides the robust email infrastructure you need without the usual technical headaches and per-inbox costs, whether you're:
An agency looking to scale outreach
A recruiter connecting with candidates
An SDR driving sales
Start buying domains now and set up your email infrastructure today with our email infrastructure tool.
Imagine you’ve just hit send on an email. You’ve crafted the perfect message to a potential client, the kind of email that would excite you if you were on the receiving end. But days pass and the silence is deafening. You start wondering if you even sent it to the right address. This scenario is too common if you’re working with a low email deliverability rate. This article will explore email outreach best practices to help you enhance your email response rates and build meaningful connections with potential clients.
Inframail’s email infrastructure solution can help you achieve your email outreach goals. With Inframail, you’ll establish a cold email deliverability rate that ensures your future outreach emails land in the right place – your recipients’ inboxes.
Table of Content
30+ Cold Email Outreach Best Practices to Skyrocket Reply Rates
Start Buying Domains Now and Setup Your Email Infrastructure Today
What is Email Outreach?
Email's popularity will outlive us all. In fact, in 2023, email accounted for 30 percent of all sales communication. 2024 will bring even more favorable stats for email as it evolves and adapts to buyer preferences.
Cold emails have a bad reputation, but research shows that it’s mainly because some marketers don’t send them right. When done properly, email outreach can be incredibly effective. What’s more, it’ll help you stand out from the competition.
Do Cold Emails Still Work in 2024?
Yes, they do! And buyers prefer them. Cold emails are less intrusive than cold calls. Unlike cold calls, prospects needn't respond in real-time but can do so at their convenience. Cold emails give them more time to learn about your product and weigh their options before deciding. That’s why 8 out of 10 buyers prefer to be contacted by email.
Takeaway:
People prefer cold emails. But to succeed, give up on the spray-and-pray approach, research your prospect, and personalize your cold emails.
What Is the Average Cold Email Open Rate?
Only 23.9 percent of sales emails are opened. Prospects scan through their inboxes and only open those they think are essential. This is why sales emails only have an open rate of 23.9 percent. Their decision on whether or not to open an email depends on various factors, such as:
The sender’s name
Subject lines
Offer
Email preview
Takeaway:
77 out of 100 cold emails you send never get opened. Stack the odds in your favor by:
Writing excellent subject lines
Split-testing them
Ensuring email deliverability
Editing and testing different email previews
Reaching multiple channels to improve visibility
What Is the Average Response Rate?
The reply rates also fall if the number of people who open your emails drops. According to a study by Backlinko, the average cold email reply rate is just 8.5 percent. You can increase your reply rates by targeting the right prospects, personalizing emails to the prospect’s interests, and following up religiously.
Pro Tip: To gauge the success of your outreach campaign, follow the 30/30/50 rule. Aim for a 30 percent open rate, 30 percent response rate, and 50 percent conversion rate.
The Importance of Subject Lines
Subject lines are the first thing your prospect looks into when they receive emails from an unknown sender. Thirty-three percent of recipients use subject lines as a deciding factor to weed out emails, according to a study by Super Office. So, if your subject lines look generic or spammy, they won't bother to open the email, let alone read it.
Takeaway:
Use various subject-line techniques to make your subject lines relevant to the readers. For example:
You can talk about pain points
Use humor
Trigger FOMO
Personalization Matters
When you use subject lines related to your prospect in one way or another, they can't help but notice it. These subject lines scream, "hey, this is for you" to your prospects. And that's why personalized subject lines have an open rate of 35.69 percent, almost double the open rates of non-personalized ones (16.67 percent).
Pro Tip: Tailor subject lines using the:
Prospect’s name
Company name
Mutual connections
Interests
The Benefits of Cold Emailing
Email outreach is about reaching out to people through email to turn potential leads into customers, especially in sales. It’s an essential skill to stand out from the competition. When done right, email outreach can be incredibly effective with just a solid strategy behind it.
Great ROI: For every dollar spent, you can see an average return of $38—talk about a fantastic return on investment.
Cost-Effective: It’s a low-cost method that helps generate quality leads without breaking the bank.
Build Relationships: Even if you’re contacting someone you don’t know yet, there’s a strong chance you can form a meaningful connection and make a sale.
Boost Sales: Using the right outreach strategies and tools can enhance your sales efforts and increase conversions.
Effective Campaigns: With the best practices and email outreach software, you can run campaigns that hit the mark.
Is Cold Emailing Illegal?
There is a misconception that outreach emails are spam, primarily because some marketers send a high volume of generic emails without personalizing them or ensuring relevance. This often happens in email marketing outreach, focusing on quantity over quality.
Email outreach is legal and practical when done correctly, as long as you meet these essential requirements:
Personalization and Relevance: Ensure the email is personalized and includes a suitable subject line. Tailoring your message increases its relevance and impact.
Transparency: Include the sender’s name and complete contact details to make the email feel genuine and trustworthy.
Value Addition: Your email should offer value to the recipient and focus on building trust rather than just pushing for a purchase
Compliance: To maintain legitimacy, follow email outreach best practices and legal guidelines, such as GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act.
Choosing the Right Tools and Strategies for Targeted and Effective Email Outreach
Leveraging the best email outreach tools, software, and strategies for effective email outreach will help you craft well-targeted outreach sales emails that stand out and adhere to outreach best practices. By focusing on personalized and relevant content, you can run successful email outreach campaigns and avoid the pitfalls of cold outreach methods.
Related Reading
• Automated Lead Generation
• Email Prospecting
• How to Generate B2B Leads
• How to Warm Up Email Domain
• How Many Emails Can You Send Before Considered Spam
• Best Time to Send Cold Emails
• How to Cold Email
• Best Cold Email Templates B2B
• Email Outreach Strategy
What Is the Format for Outreach Email?
Before we discuss the specifics of crafting a winning outreach email, it’s essential to understand that there’s a science and art to it—especially when sending it cold. Crafting a winning outreach email requires skill and creativity, but when done right, it can open up many opportunities, from new partnerships to high-ticket sales. On the other hand, those written haphazardly will be sent to the trash bin. So, what's the anatomy of an outreach email? In my experience, a winning outreach email can be broken down into three parts:
The Subject Line
The subject line is the most crucial element in cold outreach email deliverability. The rest means nothing if it doesn’t pique the recipient’s interest and make them want to open the email. The first tip is to keep it simple and sweet. A little cleverness is good, too, but don't overdo it. The goal is to spark curiosity, not confusion. For example, instead of writing “Partnership proposal with [Your Company],” try something like “A quick question about [Their Company].” The latter reduces the intimidating nature of the email and increases the chances of the recipient opening it.
The Body
Now that the person is interested, this is where you give them your value proposition and express what you're looking for. The key here is hyper-personalization. You want to make your message personal and relevant to them. Ensure it's something public and not too personal–that could be creepy. Researching the recipient and their company is essential to craft a message that resonates with them.
The CTA
This is where you give them something to do. Whether visiting your website, setting up an appointment, or simply replying to the message, make it simple and easy. Don’t add more than one CTA! The goal is to make it easy for the recipient to take action.
Balancing Professionalism and Personality in Business Communication
Pro-Tip: You want to be professional, but don’t be afraid to add a little personality to your message to make it stand out. Use some humor, like an industry inside joke. You can even stick a meme in there if it's relevant! Just make sure it's appropriate and fits the tone of your email.
30+ Cold Email Outreach Best Practices to Skyrocket Reply Rates
1. Know and Segment Your Audience
Before you send out your first email, know who you are trying to reach. Depending on how well you know your target audience, your email outreach could slow down or speed up your sales cycle. That includes knowing how many of these prospects are available to your business and how they want to be reached. Dig deep to identify new target audiences and determine how best to engage them. There may be several buyer personas you need to market to, each requiring a different messaging strategy—it’s a given that not every prospect on your list will respond to the same email. Segment your audience, and A/B test your messaging and content to drive higher open rates and engagement.
2. Clean Up Your Data
Most companies have a good sense of their best prospects: they’re all in their CRM, right? Maybe not. Prospects move on, companies change their business focus, and external events can alter the course of a business model. It’s estimated that databases degrade by some 25% a year. As you manage new leads from different channels (i.e., LinkedIn), ensure the contact info is correct and your database is clean. If it isn’t, take that person off your CRM. If the company is genuinely interested, find viable contacts who work there and add those to the list.
3. Time It Right
Another critical action to take before launching any email marketing activities is to time your outreach. Map your email activity to the cadences and opportunities in your industry’s business cycles. If everyone takes the whole summer off, don’t waste your time with outreach. If you deal with countries where no one works in August, consider pausing the campaign until they return. Find your clients’ fiscal year/s and determine the optimal times to reach out for next year’s planning cycle. Every company approaches strategic planning differently, but knowing when a contact is open to discussing new approaches for the upcoming year can make all the difference.
4. Use Automation Thoughtfully
Automated campaign technologies are a proven and increasingly popular way to reach more prospects, but they may also alienate them. This time-saving technology also opens the door for strategic errors, so consider your timing and content strategy. Always defer to quality over quantity and remember why you’re doing this: The intention of an email marketing campaign shouldn’t be to download endless ads or material. It generates interest in your company’s offerings, shows the audience you empathize with their needs and frustrations, and opens up a conversation. Before you present your company’s solution, make sure it’s clear you understand the pain points first. A perceived lack of empathy for their situation may prompt recipients to tune you out.
5. Smarten Up Your Content Strategy
Content takes effort, energy, time, and people power. Don’t waste it. Be honest about what kind of content your business needs to get into the market to succeed in building business. It needs to be mapped to your different buyer personas and be delivered with the right motivational messaging to the right target audience at the right time. A content strategy should be supported by an excellent library: a trove of contact that’s helpful, insightful, and appealing to your target audience. Whether to create that content internally or use an outside resource depends.
Outsourcing Smartly: Expanding Content Capabilities Without Sacrificing Quality
But don’t limit yourself just because you don’t have the bandwidth in-house, and don’t try to cut corners too profoundly, or your content will suffer. A great (and competitive) content strategy has variety and quality, with white papers, industry insights, and newsletters. All can be effective at engaging prospects and sparking communication.
6. Go Short
Email marketing campaigns are great for sharing top-line information about your company, establishing your credentials, getting on a prospect’s radar screen, and hopefully progressing to a call or a meeting. Going too long in an email and exhausting your audience’s attention could derail that entire process. Be precise, hit the right notes (your research will tell you what those notes are), and then get to the call to action or link to industry insights you hope will interest the recipient. Your prospects should be rewarded with brevity and relevant, valuable material and/or business insights in exchange for their time and attention. Follow the credo ‘Always be helping’ and the sales will follow.
7. Consider UGC
User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to break the mold, engage your customers, and build credibility. Inviting your customer base to share their own compelling, objective stories about your company, products, and services can create effective third-party endorsements of what you do and how you do it. Existing client success stories, generated by them, not you, can build trust among prospects. They can also lead to tremendous initial conversations as prospects find their perspectives and needs echoed in a piece of UGC. Just make sure, like everything else, the content is brief, to the point, and leads to curiosity and questions, not reader exhaustion.
8. Mind the Header
In 2022, an average of 3.9 million emails went out globally every second. The average office worker’s email account received some 121 emails a day. We expect emails, and more often than not, we want emails. Keeping the email header short, clear, relevant, readable, and engaging will increase the chances of your email being opened. Don’t get lost in a sea of messages; use that header to stand out.
9. Give to Get
When crafting your outreach email, don’t be all “me, me, me.” Remember that building a relationship is a two-way street. Think about what you can offer them in return, not just what you want from them. It's like the old saying, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” If you pitch a guest post, emphasize how it will provide valuable content for their readers. If you're selling a product or service, focus on how it can solve a problem or help them reach their goals.
10. Follow the “F” to Get Your Point Across
Fun fact: Did you know that when people read your email, they start at the top left, read across to the right, and then scan down the left-hand side? It's called “F-shaped pattern reading,” and it's important to remember when crafting your outreach email. You want to ensure your most important information is front and center or in the top left corner. Use short paragraphs and bullet points to break up text and make scanning easier. Remember to include a clear call to action at the end of your email so the recipient knows exactly what to do next. Once you’ve nailed the formula, you can use AI tools like Editpad to automate parts of the emailing writing process.
11. Include Unsubscription Links
Allowing unengaged recipients to opt out of communications cultivates an environment where abuse complaints are low, engagement is improved, and general sentiment is increased, resulting in better reputation and better inbox placement.
12. Create A Sense Of Urgency
The emails with subject lines that create a sense of urgency will have higher open rates. The main reason people don’t actively respond to cold emails is that they feel that they can do that later on. You can counter this tendency to procrastinate by crafting your subject line in such a way that it creates a sense of urgency. Here are a few examples of how you can put this email outreach tip to use:
Last chance to avail 50% discount on our premium plan!
The special offer (40% off) ends tomorrow.
To create urgency, you can use words like ‘Hurry,’ ‘expiring,’ and ‘limited time.’
13. Stay To The Point
Nobody has an interest in reading long essays about your product or services. You must understand that you are reaching out to busy people who don’t have all day to read your email. It is vital to keep your message short and simple while being to the point. In other words, don’t beat around the bush in your emails, or they will be in the trash folder. Start your email with a catchy subject line, talk about the recipients’ pain points, show how your product or service can help, and create a good impression about yourself clearly and concisely.
14. Use Active Voice
When you draft the message, ensure that what you want to say is in an active and direct voice. It is like speaking straight to the prospect by using their name. The email should be easy to read and make you sound confident. Also, an active voice is better because the message is more concise and easy to understand. You can easily see the difference in both tones. Example: Instead of beginning with a line like “You have been contacted in connection with setting a meeting ….”, use the following: “I am reaching out to you for …”.
15. Keep A Tab On Your Email Frequency
The most important thing to remember in cold email outreach is the frequency of your emails. You shouldn’t email the prospect daily or once every two days. Doing so will send your emails to the spam folder and even annoy the prospect. The thumb rule is to keep a gap of at least 2 days between emails but not exceed 7. The ideal pace is 3-4 days between every email.
16. Add A Video
Leverage the immense popularity of videos in your outreach. Though there is nothing like a one-on-one meeting with your prospect in person, a video is a good idea, too. Videos can reach people living in different geographical locations and time zones. But does creating videos require a huge budget? Not really. There are free tools to help you create videos without making any investments. You can create convincing video prospecting that connects with the audience without spending money. If you keep the content good enough, you can close more deals.
17. Competition
It is one of the most advanced email outreach practices. Knowing your competitors well can help you plan a better marketing strategy. It will also help you understand what you need to do to stand out in the crowd. That doesn’t mean that you should show the competitor in a poor light. Bashing rival companies only means you are not strong enough, and prospects will likely move away from you. You can mention how different your product or service is from that of your competitors. State the unique features of your product or service without putting others down. The prospect would want to know how good your product or service is and not how useless someone else’s is. Give them a solid reason to choose you over others.
18. Add Value Instead of Pitching
Most email marketers pitch prospects regularly, and setting yourself apart from them is difficult. Adding value will work. Prospects always look for what is in store for them, and if you offer something of value, they will likely choose you. Get into the prospects’ shoes and see how your offer will benefit them. It can be a free ebook, a tutorial to resolve their issue, or any other freebie that would be useful to them.
19. Test Your Emails Before Sending Them To Prospects
There is nothing more annoying than poorly formatted emails. Test your emails by sending them to your colleagues and seeing how they look. This is one of the most critical email outreach practices to help you succeed. You should email prospects only after you are delighted with their look.
20. Leverage Sales Outreach Tools
Automation is the key when you speak of cold email marketing. Your job will become easy with a sales outreach tool. You can automate initial conversations and follow-ups with prospects using this tool. As a salesperson, you will see a lot of spark in your working style with increased productivity. Also, the mundane nature of your job will get a fresh lease of life with excellent results.
21. Avoid Large Attachments And Certain Attachment Types Such As .Exe, .Zip, .Swf, Etc.
While files that are too large can render an email undeliverable, adding attachments to emails can be detrimental to reputation because of most users’ security posture and training for employees not to click on unfamiliar attachments. In some cases, corporate email infrastructure may disable external attachments.
22. Send Messages At A Reasonable Cadence
Allow recipients to respond to messages. Receiving too many emails too quickly can be off-putting to many recipients. Consider slowing down the frequency of emails based on the engagement of emails. Send to less engaged prospects and customers once a week instead of every day and then once a month if they trail off. When a prospect does engage, use it as a signal to increase the frequency of communications.
23. Know When To Nurture (Pause Communications) A Prospect
Persistent emailing a prospect may be overwhelming and could be saturating their inbox. Instead of risking the prospect marking the communications they receive as spam, know when to give them a break.
24. Stop Recycling Content That Is Not Effective
Set up a recurring time to assess and review content strategy. Look at measurable engagement to determine if a new strategy is needed. If a campaign was unsuccessful, return to the drawing board and try something new.
25. Don't Buy Lists Of Prospects
These lists are widely inaccurate, contain spam trap addresses, and often when a sender attempts to send to the same group of flagged addresses, that sender will be blacklisted. Users that have not opted in are likely to mark unsolicited messages as spam.
26. Verify Imported Prospect Data
For incomplete and typo addresses to prevent bounces and blacklisting.
27. Don't Attempt To Resend To Addresses That Have Bounced
Hard bounces are considered permanent errors that will not be resolved. One of the most common reasons is that the mailbox does not exist. As a result, these emails will never be successfully delivered. Repeatedly attempting to send to these types of mailboxes can generate poor reputation and can cause blacklisting. Some abandoned addresses are intentionally transitioned into spam traps to identify bad senders. Hitting even just one spam trap is likely to cause deliverability problems.
28. Set A Reasonable Reengagement Window
Finding a reasonable time to resequence a prospect after they have been nurtured or paused is significant for preserving a good reputation and increasing engagement. Emailing those prospects should cease if sentiment is not improving after a rotation.
29. Use A Dedicated IP Address
Ensure all correspondence from each IP address is committed to one business. When several entities use one IP address, it creates cross-contamination of reputation and makes it very difficult to isolate deliverability struggles.
30. Measure Your Performance
If you want to know how or if an email campaign is working, don’t leave it to guesswork. Creating campaign performance metrics should be part of your email outreach strategy, as well as investing in the software or platform that measures open rates and prospect engagement levels. If you don’t hit the marks with the desired results, take the time to regroup, pause your emails, and find out why. Assemble your internal team and do a deep dive. Ask trusted outsiders for objective feedback. You may even want to field a survey asking what people want to see. Do the hard work, and you’ll be further along in achieving your lead generation goals.
ONGOING BEST PRACTICES
In 2024, Yahoo and Google started partnering to establish standardized best practices for sending email. Outreach recommends following these practices to ensure the best deliverability possible for all customers, whether they are sending B2B or B2C.
Authenticate all email with SPF, DKIM & DMARC: Keep abuse complaints under 0.3%. Several mailbox providers provide deliverability metrics and complaint information to senders. Outreach encourages all customers to monitor and review their reputation with providers frequently. Google Postmaster Tools, Yahoo Sender Hub,
Microsoft SNDS: Include 1-click unsubscribe headers and links in any email likely to be reported as spam. Preference centers can also be used with the 1-click to allow prospects and customers to tailor what communications and at what cadence they receive them. This could be an opportunity to enable customers to pause instead of opt out. Preference centers do not take the place of 1-click unsubscribe.
Strive for a bounce rate of less than 3%.
Monitor for blacklisting. MX Toolbox has a free search available to check domain and IP address blacklisting.
Monitor email engagement metrics (clicks, replies, bounces, and opt-outs) and have a framework to pivot strategy based on trends. When trends signal a problem, it’s an indicator to make adjustments quickly before reputation takes a nosedive.
Open data is inaccurate and should never be used as a metric of the success of deliverability. The only open data that Outreach encourages customers to scrutinize is when a campaign has a zero or extremely low open rate, as that could be an indication of a more significant deliverability problem like blacklisting or rejected messages.
Negative Signals (zero/low open rate, no bookings, no responses) are as important as measurable engagement.
When a campaign is unsuccessful, senders should review this document's Composing and Sending Email Best Practices sections.
Related Reading
• Best Cold Email Software
• How Long Should a Cold Email Be
• B2B Cold Email Response Rates
• How to Improve Email Deliverability
• Unlimited Email Hosting
• Email Testing Tools
• Best Email Deliverability Tools
• Sales Email Automation Tools
• Email Scraping Tools
• Best Sales Prospecting Tools
• Email Warm Up Tools
• Email Personalization Tools
• Mailscale Alternatives
• Mailforge Alternative
How To Start Your Cold Email Outreach Campaign in 8 Steps
1. Establish Your Ideal Customer Profile
Creating a detailed description of your ideal customer—an ideal customer profile (ICP)—is critical in cold email outreach. Your ICP will inform all of your:
Outreach efforts
Helping you create targeted
Personalized campaigns that convert
To make your ICP, consider factors like:
Industry
Company size
Job roles
Challenges
Behaviors
Prioritize your ICPs into tiers to guide your research, and verify your ICP by checking if the contacts perform better than non-ICPs.
2. Find Interested Leads
Now that you know your ideal buyer, it’s time to find the real deal. You target people uninterested in your product or service, resulting in low reply and conversion rates and slowing your sales process. So, you only want to target your ICP. There are two simple ways to track your potential clients:
Find ideal buyers on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a powerful tool for salespeople, giving you a large pool of potential buyers. Its advanced capabilities allow you to conduct a targeted audience search, including people based on their:
Job role
Seniority
Location
Industry, etc.
Find potential buyers in leads databases. You can also use lead databases to find customers likely to buy your product/service. A sales lead database is a centralized data database about potential customers or clients. It’s based on leads’:
Contact details
Industry
Company size, etc
This helps you target people that fit your Ideal Customer Profile and boost your outreach efficiency.
3. Get Your Leads’ Verified Email Addresses
To reach your ideal buyers and showcase your value, you need their valid contact information to enrich your leads. One of the easiest ways to verify your prospects’ emails is to use email verification tools.
4. Spot the Right Time to Reach Out
Sending emails at any point may be ultimately fruitless. You want to pick your moments! Set some triggers that will help you identify when your leads experience a change or event that will make them need you at that moment. Who could say no to that? Based on the ICP you created, you can add specific criteria and get excellent results only by reaching out to people from your screen.
5. Set Up Your Sending Account to Avoid the Spam Folder
You now have your list of leads and the right moment to start sending emails. You’d think this is when you start hitting that send button. It’s not. Before you consider sending out your campaign, you must ensure your email account is set up correctly. A low email deliverability will mean your emails are landing in the spam folder, and all your hard work is completely lost.
6. Write the Perfect Cold Email
Let’s say you reach out to the right person at the right time but without the right message. Unfortunately, it’s not going to work either. You may have the best product or service in the world, but if I only talk about myself or have a sales-y approach, I’ll push my prospect away. So, I need to craft the perfect cold email.
7. Set Up a Follow-Up Schedule
If your prospects didn’t immediately answer your first cold email, that doesn’t mean they are not interested in your product or service. Maybe they’ve been busy, missed the email, or need more information before getting back to me. That’s why it’s essential to follow up, which means sending additional emails after not receiving a response to my initial cold email.
8. Monitor Your Results
Tracking your cold email metrics is essential, as it helps you see if your campaigns are successful and know what to double down to boost your results. By analyzing these results, you can refine your approach, improve engagement, and increase the chances of achieving your desired outcomes.
Related Reading
• Sendgrid Alternatives
• Amazon SES Alternatives
• Mailgun Alternatives
• Maildoso Alternatives
• Mailreef
• Cold Email Marketing Services
• Cold Email Services
• Lemlist vs Instantly
• Smartlead vs Instantly
Start Buying Domains Now and Setup Your Email Infrastructure Today
At Inframail, we are revolutionizing cold email infrastructure with unlimited inboxes at a flat rate.
We provide:
Microsoft-backed deliverability
Dedicated IP addresses
Automated technical setup
This helps customer outreach efforts efficiently like:
Agencies
Recruiters
SDRs
The main benefits of using our service:
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.
InfraMail provides the robust email infrastructure you need without the usual technical headaches and per-inbox costs, whether you're:
An agency looking to scale outreach
A recruiter connecting with candidates
An SDR driving sales
Start buying domains now and set up your email infrastructure today with our email infrastructure tool.
Imagine you’ve just hit send on an email. You’ve crafted the perfect message to a potential client, the kind of email that would excite you if you were on the receiving end. But days pass and the silence is deafening. You start wondering if you even sent it to the right address. This scenario is too common if you’re working with a low email deliverability rate. This article will explore email outreach best practices to help you enhance your email response rates and build meaningful connections with potential clients.
Inframail’s email infrastructure solution can help you achieve your email outreach goals. With Inframail, you’ll establish a cold email deliverability rate that ensures your future outreach emails land in the right place – your recipients’ inboxes.
Table of Content
30+ Cold Email Outreach Best Practices to Skyrocket Reply Rates
Start Buying Domains Now and Setup Your Email Infrastructure Today
What is Email Outreach?
Email's popularity will outlive us all. In fact, in 2023, email accounted for 30 percent of all sales communication. 2024 will bring even more favorable stats for email as it evolves and adapts to buyer preferences.
Cold emails have a bad reputation, but research shows that it’s mainly because some marketers don’t send them right. When done properly, email outreach can be incredibly effective. What’s more, it’ll help you stand out from the competition.
Do Cold Emails Still Work in 2024?
Yes, they do! And buyers prefer them. Cold emails are less intrusive than cold calls. Unlike cold calls, prospects needn't respond in real-time but can do so at their convenience. Cold emails give them more time to learn about your product and weigh their options before deciding. That’s why 8 out of 10 buyers prefer to be contacted by email.
Takeaway:
People prefer cold emails. But to succeed, give up on the spray-and-pray approach, research your prospect, and personalize your cold emails.
What Is the Average Cold Email Open Rate?
Only 23.9 percent of sales emails are opened. Prospects scan through their inboxes and only open those they think are essential. This is why sales emails only have an open rate of 23.9 percent. Their decision on whether or not to open an email depends on various factors, such as:
The sender’s name
Subject lines
Offer
Email preview
Takeaway:
77 out of 100 cold emails you send never get opened. Stack the odds in your favor by:
Writing excellent subject lines
Split-testing them
Ensuring email deliverability
Editing and testing different email previews
Reaching multiple channels to improve visibility
What Is the Average Response Rate?
The reply rates also fall if the number of people who open your emails drops. According to a study by Backlinko, the average cold email reply rate is just 8.5 percent. You can increase your reply rates by targeting the right prospects, personalizing emails to the prospect’s interests, and following up religiously.
Pro Tip: To gauge the success of your outreach campaign, follow the 30/30/50 rule. Aim for a 30 percent open rate, 30 percent response rate, and 50 percent conversion rate.
The Importance of Subject Lines
Subject lines are the first thing your prospect looks into when they receive emails from an unknown sender. Thirty-three percent of recipients use subject lines as a deciding factor to weed out emails, according to a study by Super Office. So, if your subject lines look generic or spammy, they won't bother to open the email, let alone read it.
Takeaway:
Use various subject-line techniques to make your subject lines relevant to the readers. For example:
You can talk about pain points
Use humor
Trigger FOMO
Personalization Matters
When you use subject lines related to your prospect in one way or another, they can't help but notice it. These subject lines scream, "hey, this is for you" to your prospects. And that's why personalized subject lines have an open rate of 35.69 percent, almost double the open rates of non-personalized ones (16.67 percent).
Pro Tip: Tailor subject lines using the:
Prospect’s name
Company name
Mutual connections
Interests
The Benefits of Cold Emailing
Email outreach is about reaching out to people through email to turn potential leads into customers, especially in sales. It’s an essential skill to stand out from the competition. When done right, email outreach can be incredibly effective with just a solid strategy behind it.
Great ROI: For every dollar spent, you can see an average return of $38—talk about a fantastic return on investment.
Cost-Effective: It’s a low-cost method that helps generate quality leads without breaking the bank.
Build Relationships: Even if you’re contacting someone you don’t know yet, there’s a strong chance you can form a meaningful connection and make a sale.
Boost Sales: Using the right outreach strategies and tools can enhance your sales efforts and increase conversions.
Effective Campaigns: With the best practices and email outreach software, you can run campaigns that hit the mark.
Is Cold Emailing Illegal?
There is a misconception that outreach emails are spam, primarily because some marketers send a high volume of generic emails without personalizing them or ensuring relevance. This often happens in email marketing outreach, focusing on quantity over quality.
Email outreach is legal and practical when done correctly, as long as you meet these essential requirements:
Personalization and Relevance: Ensure the email is personalized and includes a suitable subject line. Tailoring your message increases its relevance and impact.
Transparency: Include the sender’s name and complete contact details to make the email feel genuine and trustworthy.
Value Addition: Your email should offer value to the recipient and focus on building trust rather than just pushing for a purchase
Compliance: To maintain legitimacy, follow email outreach best practices and legal guidelines, such as GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act.
Choosing the Right Tools and Strategies for Targeted and Effective Email Outreach
Leveraging the best email outreach tools, software, and strategies for effective email outreach will help you craft well-targeted outreach sales emails that stand out and adhere to outreach best practices. By focusing on personalized and relevant content, you can run successful email outreach campaigns and avoid the pitfalls of cold outreach methods.
Related Reading
• Automated Lead Generation
• Email Prospecting
• How to Generate B2B Leads
• How to Warm Up Email Domain
• How Many Emails Can You Send Before Considered Spam
• Best Time to Send Cold Emails
• How to Cold Email
• Best Cold Email Templates B2B
• Email Outreach Strategy
What Is the Format for Outreach Email?
Before we discuss the specifics of crafting a winning outreach email, it’s essential to understand that there’s a science and art to it—especially when sending it cold. Crafting a winning outreach email requires skill and creativity, but when done right, it can open up many opportunities, from new partnerships to high-ticket sales. On the other hand, those written haphazardly will be sent to the trash bin. So, what's the anatomy of an outreach email? In my experience, a winning outreach email can be broken down into three parts:
The Subject Line
The subject line is the most crucial element in cold outreach email deliverability. The rest means nothing if it doesn’t pique the recipient’s interest and make them want to open the email. The first tip is to keep it simple and sweet. A little cleverness is good, too, but don't overdo it. The goal is to spark curiosity, not confusion. For example, instead of writing “Partnership proposal with [Your Company],” try something like “A quick question about [Their Company].” The latter reduces the intimidating nature of the email and increases the chances of the recipient opening it.
The Body
Now that the person is interested, this is where you give them your value proposition and express what you're looking for. The key here is hyper-personalization. You want to make your message personal and relevant to them. Ensure it's something public and not too personal–that could be creepy. Researching the recipient and their company is essential to craft a message that resonates with them.
The CTA
This is where you give them something to do. Whether visiting your website, setting up an appointment, or simply replying to the message, make it simple and easy. Don’t add more than one CTA! The goal is to make it easy for the recipient to take action.
Balancing Professionalism and Personality in Business Communication
Pro-Tip: You want to be professional, but don’t be afraid to add a little personality to your message to make it stand out. Use some humor, like an industry inside joke. You can even stick a meme in there if it's relevant! Just make sure it's appropriate and fits the tone of your email.
30+ Cold Email Outreach Best Practices to Skyrocket Reply Rates
1. Know and Segment Your Audience
Before you send out your first email, know who you are trying to reach. Depending on how well you know your target audience, your email outreach could slow down or speed up your sales cycle. That includes knowing how many of these prospects are available to your business and how they want to be reached. Dig deep to identify new target audiences and determine how best to engage them. There may be several buyer personas you need to market to, each requiring a different messaging strategy—it’s a given that not every prospect on your list will respond to the same email. Segment your audience, and A/B test your messaging and content to drive higher open rates and engagement.
2. Clean Up Your Data
Most companies have a good sense of their best prospects: they’re all in their CRM, right? Maybe not. Prospects move on, companies change their business focus, and external events can alter the course of a business model. It’s estimated that databases degrade by some 25% a year. As you manage new leads from different channels (i.e., LinkedIn), ensure the contact info is correct and your database is clean. If it isn’t, take that person off your CRM. If the company is genuinely interested, find viable contacts who work there and add those to the list.
3. Time It Right
Another critical action to take before launching any email marketing activities is to time your outreach. Map your email activity to the cadences and opportunities in your industry’s business cycles. If everyone takes the whole summer off, don’t waste your time with outreach. If you deal with countries where no one works in August, consider pausing the campaign until they return. Find your clients’ fiscal year/s and determine the optimal times to reach out for next year’s planning cycle. Every company approaches strategic planning differently, but knowing when a contact is open to discussing new approaches for the upcoming year can make all the difference.
4. Use Automation Thoughtfully
Automated campaign technologies are a proven and increasingly popular way to reach more prospects, but they may also alienate them. This time-saving technology also opens the door for strategic errors, so consider your timing and content strategy. Always defer to quality over quantity and remember why you’re doing this: The intention of an email marketing campaign shouldn’t be to download endless ads or material. It generates interest in your company’s offerings, shows the audience you empathize with their needs and frustrations, and opens up a conversation. Before you present your company’s solution, make sure it’s clear you understand the pain points first. A perceived lack of empathy for their situation may prompt recipients to tune you out.
5. Smarten Up Your Content Strategy
Content takes effort, energy, time, and people power. Don’t waste it. Be honest about what kind of content your business needs to get into the market to succeed in building business. It needs to be mapped to your different buyer personas and be delivered with the right motivational messaging to the right target audience at the right time. A content strategy should be supported by an excellent library: a trove of contact that’s helpful, insightful, and appealing to your target audience. Whether to create that content internally or use an outside resource depends.
Outsourcing Smartly: Expanding Content Capabilities Without Sacrificing Quality
But don’t limit yourself just because you don’t have the bandwidth in-house, and don’t try to cut corners too profoundly, or your content will suffer. A great (and competitive) content strategy has variety and quality, with white papers, industry insights, and newsletters. All can be effective at engaging prospects and sparking communication.
6. Go Short
Email marketing campaigns are great for sharing top-line information about your company, establishing your credentials, getting on a prospect’s radar screen, and hopefully progressing to a call or a meeting. Going too long in an email and exhausting your audience’s attention could derail that entire process. Be precise, hit the right notes (your research will tell you what those notes are), and then get to the call to action or link to industry insights you hope will interest the recipient. Your prospects should be rewarded with brevity and relevant, valuable material and/or business insights in exchange for their time and attention. Follow the credo ‘Always be helping’ and the sales will follow.
7. Consider UGC
User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to break the mold, engage your customers, and build credibility. Inviting your customer base to share their own compelling, objective stories about your company, products, and services can create effective third-party endorsements of what you do and how you do it. Existing client success stories, generated by them, not you, can build trust among prospects. They can also lead to tremendous initial conversations as prospects find their perspectives and needs echoed in a piece of UGC. Just make sure, like everything else, the content is brief, to the point, and leads to curiosity and questions, not reader exhaustion.
8. Mind the Header
In 2022, an average of 3.9 million emails went out globally every second. The average office worker’s email account received some 121 emails a day. We expect emails, and more often than not, we want emails. Keeping the email header short, clear, relevant, readable, and engaging will increase the chances of your email being opened. Don’t get lost in a sea of messages; use that header to stand out.
9. Give to Get
When crafting your outreach email, don’t be all “me, me, me.” Remember that building a relationship is a two-way street. Think about what you can offer them in return, not just what you want from them. It's like the old saying, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” If you pitch a guest post, emphasize how it will provide valuable content for their readers. If you're selling a product or service, focus on how it can solve a problem or help them reach their goals.
10. Follow the “F” to Get Your Point Across
Fun fact: Did you know that when people read your email, they start at the top left, read across to the right, and then scan down the left-hand side? It's called “F-shaped pattern reading,” and it's important to remember when crafting your outreach email. You want to ensure your most important information is front and center or in the top left corner. Use short paragraphs and bullet points to break up text and make scanning easier. Remember to include a clear call to action at the end of your email so the recipient knows exactly what to do next. Once you’ve nailed the formula, you can use AI tools like Editpad to automate parts of the emailing writing process.
11. Include Unsubscription Links
Allowing unengaged recipients to opt out of communications cultivates an environment where abuse complaints are low, engagement is improved, and general sentiment is increased, resulting in better reputation and better inbox placement.
12. Create A Sense Of Urgency
The emails with subject lines that create a sense of urgency will have higher open rates. The main reason people don’t actively respond to cold emails is that they feel that they can do that later on. You can counter this tendency to procrastinate by crafting your subject line in such a way that it creates a sense of urgency. Here are a few examples of how you can put this email outreach tip to use:
Last chance to avail 50% discount on our premium plan!
The special offer (40% off) ends tomorrow.
To create urgency, you can use words like ‘Hurry,’ ‘expiring,’ and ‘limited time.’
13. Stay To The Point
Nobody has an interest in reading long essays about your product or services. You must understand that you are reaching out to busy people who don’t have all day to read your email. It is vital to keep your message short and simple while being to the point. In other words, don’t beat around the bush in your emails, or they will be in the trash folder. Start your email with a catchy subject line, talk about the recipients’ pain points, show how your product or service can help, and create a good impression about yourself clearly and concisely.
14. Use Active Voice
When you draft the message, ensure that what you want to say is in an active and direct voice. It is like speaking straight to the prospect by using their name. The email should be easy to read and make you sound confident. Also, an active voice is better because the message is more concise and easy to understand. You can easily see the difference in both tones. Example: Instead of beginning with a line like “You have been contacted in connection with setting a meeting ….”, use the following: “I am reaching out to you for …”.
15. Keep A Tab On Your Email Frequency
The most important thing to remember in cold email outreach is the frequency of your emails. You shouldn’t email the prospect daily or once every two days. Doing so will send your emails to the spam folder and even annoy the prospect. The thumb rule is to keep a gap of at least 2 days between emails but not exceed 7. The ideal pace is 3-4 days between every email.
16. Add A Video
Leverage the immense popularity of videos in your outreach. Though there is nothing like a one-on-one meeting with your prospect in person, a video is a good idea, too. Videos can reach people living in different geographical locations and time zones. But does creating videos require a huge budget? Not really. There are free tools to help you create videos without making any investments. You can create convincing video prospecting that connects with the audience without spending money. If you keep the content good enough, you can close more deals.
17. Competition
It is one of the most advanced email outreach practices. Knowing your competitors well can help you plan a better marketing strategy. It will also help you understand what you need to do to stand out in the crowd. That doesn’t mean that you should show the competitor in a poor light. Bashing rival companies only means you are not strong enough, and prospects will likely move away from you. You can mention how different your product or service is from that of your competitors. State the unique features of your product or service without putting others down. The prospect would want to know how good your product or service is and not how useless someone else’s is. Give them a solid reason to choose you over others.
18. Add Value Instead of Pitching
Most email marketers pitch prospects regularly, and setting yourself apart from them is difficult. Adding value will work. Prospects always look for what is in store for them, and if you offer something of value, they will likely choose you. Get into the prospects’ shoes and see how your offer will benefit them. It can be a free ebook, a tutorial to resolve their issue, or any other freebie that would be useful to them.
19. Test Your Emails Before Sending Them To Prospects
There is nothing more annoying than poorly formatted emails. Test your emails by sending them to your colleagues and seeing how they look. This is one of the most critical email outreach practices to help you succeed. You should email prospects only after you are delighted with their look.
20. Leverage Sales Outreach Tools
Automation is the key when you speak of cold email marketing. Your job will become easy with a sales outreach tool. You can automate initial conversations and follow-ups with prospects using this tool. As a salesperson, you will see a lot of spark in your working style with increased productivity. Also, the mundane nature of your job will get a fresh lease of life with excellent results.
21. Avoid Large Attachments And Certain Attachment Types Such As .Exe, .Zip, .Swf, Etc.
While files that are too large can render an email undeliverable, adding attachments to emails can be detrimental to reputation because of most users’ security posture and training for employees not to click on unfamiliar attachments. In some cases, corporate email infrastructure may disable external attachments.
22. Send Messages At A Reasonable Cadence
Allow recipients to respond to messages. Receiving too many emails too quickly can be off-putting to many recipients. Consider slowing down the frequency of emails based on the engagement of emails. Send to less engaged prospects and customers once a week instead of every day and then once a month if they trail off. When a prospect does engage, use it as a signal to increase the frequency of communications.
23. Know When To Nurture (Pause Communications) A Prospect
Persistent emailing a prospect may be overwhelming and could be saturating their inbox. Instead of risking the prospect marking the communications they receive as spam, know when to give them a break.
24. Stop Recycling Content That Is Not Effective
Set up a recurring time to assess and review content strategy. Look at measurable engagement to determine if a new strategy is needed. If a campaign was unsuccessful, return to the drawing board and try something new.
25. Don't Buy Lists Of Prospects
These lists are widely inaccurate, contain spam trap addresses, and often when a sender attempts to send to the same group of flagged addresses, that sender will be blacklisted. Users that have not opted in are likely to mark unsolicited messages as spam.
26. Verify Imported Prospect Data
For incomplete and typo addresses to prevent bounces and blacklisting.
27. Don't Attempt To Resend To Addresses That Have Bounced
Hard bounces are considered permanent errors that will not be resolved. One of the most common reasons is that the mailbox does not exist. As a result, these emails will never be successfully delivered. Repeatedly attempting to send to these types of mailboxes can generate poor reputation and can cause blacklisting. Some abandoned addresses are intentionally transitioned into spam traps to identify bad senders. Hitting even just one spam trap is likely to cause deliverability problems.
28. Set A Reasonable Reengagement Window
Finding a reasonable time to resequence a prospect after they have been nurtured or paused is significant for preserving a good reputation and increasing engagement. Emailing those prospects should cease if sentiment is not improving after a rotation.
29. Use A Dedicated IP Address
Ensure all correspondence from each IP address is committed to one business. When several entities use one IP address, it creates cross-contamination of reputation and makes it very difficult to isolate deliverability struggles.
30. Measure Your Performance
If you want to know how or if an email campaign is working, don’t leave it to guesswork. Creating campaign performance metrics should be part of your email outreach strategy, as well as investing in the software or platform that measures open rates and prospect engagement levels. If you don’t hit the marks with the desired results, take the time to regroup, pause your emails, and find out why. Assemble your internal team and do a deep dive. Ask trusted outsiders for objective feedback. You may even want to field a survey asking what people want to see. Do the hard work, and you’ll be further along in achieving your lead generation goals.
ONGOING BEST PRACTICES
In 2024, Yahoo and Google started partnering to establish standardized best practices for sending email. Outreach recommends following these practices to ensure the best deliverability possible for all customers, whether they are sending B2B or B2C.
Authenticate all email with SPF, DKIM & DMARC: Keep abuse complaints under 0.3%. Several mailbox providers provide deliverability metrics and complaint information to senders. Outreach encourages all customers to monitor and review their reputation with providers frequently. Google Postmaster Tools, Yahoo Sender Hub,
Microsoft SNDS: Include 1-click unsubscribe headers and links in any email likely to be reported as spam. Preference centers can also be used with the 1-click to allow prospects and customers to tailor what communications and at what cadence they receive them. This could be an opportunity to enable customers to pause instead of opt out. Preference centers do not take the place of 1-click unsubscribe.
Strive for a bounce rate of less than 3%.
Monitor for blacklisting. MX Toolbox has a free search available to check domain and IP address blacklisting.
Monitor email engagement metrics (clicks, replies, bounces, and opt-outs) and have a framework to pivot strategy based on trends. When trends signal a problem, it’s an indicator to make adjustments quickly before reputation takes a nosedive.
Open data is inaccurate and should never be used as a metric of the success of deliverability. The only open data that Outreach encourages customers to scrutinize is when a campaign has a zero or extremely low open rate, as that could be an indication of a more significant deliverability problem like blacklisting or rejected messages.
Negative Signals (zero/low open rate, no bookings, no responses) are as important as measurable engagement.
When a campaign is unsuccessful, senders should review this document's Composing and Sending Email Best Practices sections.
Related Reading
• Best Cold Email Software
• How Long Should a Cold Email Be
• B2B Cold Email Response Rates
• How to Improve Email Deliverability
• Unlimited Email Hosting
• Email Testing Tools
• Best Email Deliverability Tools
• Sales Email Automation Tools
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• Mailscale Alternatives
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How To Start Your Cold Email Outreach Campaign in 8 Steps
1. Establish Your Ideal Customer Profile
Creating a detailed description of your ideal customer—an ideal customer profile (ICP)—is critical in cold email outreach. Your ICP will inform all of your:
Outreach efforts
Helping you create targeted
Personalized campaigns that convert
To make your ICP, consider factors like:
Industry
Company size
Job roles
Challenges
Behaviors
Prioritize your ICPs into tiers to guide your research, and verify your ICP by checking if the contacts perform better than non-ICPs.
2. Find Interested Leads
Now that you know your ideal buyer, it’s time to find the real deal. You target people uninterested in your product or service, resulting in low reply and conversion rates and slowing your sales process. So, you only want to target your ICP. There are two simple ways to track your potential clients:
Find ideal buyers on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a powerful tool for salespeople, giving you a large pool of potential buyers. Its advanced capabilities allow you to conduct a targeted audience search, including people based on their:
Job role
Seniority
Location
Industry, etc.
Find potential buyers in leads databases. You can also use lead databases to find customers likely to buy your product/service. A sales lead database is a centralized data database about potential customers or clients. It’s based on leads’:
Contact details
Industry
Company size, etc
This helps you target people that fit your Ideal Customer Profile and boost your outreach efficiency.
3. Get Your Leads’ Verified Email Addresses
To reach your ideal buyers and showcase your value, you need their valid contact information to enrich your leads. One of the easiest ways to verify your prospects’ emails is to use email verification tools.
4. Spot the Right Time to Reach Out
Sending emails at any point may be ultimately fruitless. You want to pick your moments! Set some triggers that will help you identify when your leads experience a change or event that will make them need you at that moment. Who could say no to that? Based on the ICP you created, you can add specific criteria and get excellent results only by reaching out to people from your screen.
5. Set Up Your Sending Account to Avoid the Spam Folder
You now have your list of leads and the right moment to start sending emails. You’d think this is when you start hitting that send button. It’s not. Before you consider sending out your campaign, you must ensure your email account is set up correctly. A low email deliverability will mean your emails are landing in the spam folder, and all your hard work is completely lost.
6. Write the Perfect Cold Email
Let’s say you reach out to the right person at the right time but without the right message. Unfortunately, it’s not going to work either. You may have the best product or service in the world, but if I only talk about myself or have a sales-y approach, I’ll push my prospect away. So, I need to craft the perfect cold email.
7. Set Up a Follow-Up Schedule
If your prospects didn’t immediately answer your first cold email, that doesn’t mean they are not interested in your product or service. Maybe they’ve been busy, missed the email, or need more information before getting back to me. That’s why it’s essential to follow up, which means sending additional emails after not receiving a response to my initial cold email.
8. Monitor Your Results
Tracking your cold email metrics is essential, as it helps you see if your campaigns are successful and know what to double down to boost your results. By analyzing these results, you can refine your approach, improve engagement, and increase the chances of achieving your desired outcomes.
Related Reading
• Sendgrid Alternatives
• Amazon SES Alternatives
• Mailgun Alternatives
• Maildoso Alternatives
• Mailreef
• Cold Email Marketing Services
• Cold Email Services
• Lemlist vs Instantly
• Smartlead vs Instantly
Start Buying Domains Now and Setup Your Email Infrastructure Today
At Inframail, we are revolutionizing cold email infrastructure with unlimited inboxes at a flat rate.
We provide:
Microsoft-backed deliverability
Dedicated IP addresses
Automated technical setup
This helps customer outreach efforts efficiently like:
Agencies
Recruiters
SDRs
The main benefits of using our service:
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.
InfraMail provides the robust email infrastructure you need without the usual technical headaches and per-inbox costs, whether you're:
An agency looking to scale outreach
A recruiter connecting with candidates
An SDR driving sales
Start buying domains now and set up your email infrastructure today with our email infrastructure tool.
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New York, New York 10003-1502
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