Reading this guide will get you up to date with everything you need to know about cold emails. We cover vital elements that help convert readers, and provide cold email examples and templates.

A Guide to writing cold emails that convert

In today’s fast-paced business world, connecting with potential customers is more challenging than ever. Cold emailing has become a powerful tool for reaching out to new prospects and building relationships. But with so many cold emails flooding inboxes every day, it can be challenging to get your message noticed and persuade prospects to take action.

This blog post explores what makes a successful cold email and provides tips and templates for writing cold emails that convert.

What is a cold email?

A cold email is an unsolicited email sent to a potential customer to establish a relationship, sell a product, or offer a service. Unlike warm emails, which are sent to people who have expressed interest in your product or service, cold emails are sent to individuals or organisations that have not previously interacted with your brand. By sending a well-crafted cold email, you can pique their interest, build a relationship, and ultimately win them over as customers.

Why cold emails are important

Cold emails are a critical part of any sales and marketing strategy. They are a cost-effective way to reach new prospects, generate leads, build relationships, and sell products. Cold emails can also help you build your brand and increase visibility, making it easier for potential customers to find and remember you.

Elements of a cold email

The key to writing cold emails that convert is ensuring they are well-crafted and compelling. Here are some critical elements of a good cold email:

1. A clear subject line: The subject line is the first thing your prospect will see, so it’s essential to make a strong impression. Ensure your subject line is clear, concise, and relevant to the recipient.

2. A personalised greeting: Start your email with a personalised greeting that includes the recipient’s name. This helps to build rapport and establish a personal connection.

3. A compelling opening: The opening of your email should grab the recipient’s attention and make them want to read on. Use a hook or story to make your email stand out.

4. A clear value proposition: Explain why your product or service is valuable to the recipient and how it can help them solve a problem or achieve a goal.

5. A CTA or call to action: End your email with a clear call to action, such as scheduling a call or requesting more information.

Cold email templates for sales

To help you get started, here are two cold email templates that you can use for sales:

Template 1: Introduction and problem-solving email

Subject: Introducing [Your Company] – The Solution to [Problem]

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I recently came across your company, [Recipient’s Company], and I was impressed by your work in the [Industry]. I believe that my company, [Your Company], can help you to solve a common problem faced by businesses in your industry.

At [Your Company], we specialise in providing [Solution/Service] that has been proven to help businesses like yours to [Benefit]. I want to offer you a complimentary consultation to discuss your specific needs and to see if our solution could help you to achieve your goals.

If you’re interested, I would be happy to schedule a call or meeting at a convenient time. Please let me know if you would like to proceed, and we’ll arrange a time that works for you.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Template 2: Industry expertise and value proposition email

Subject: [Your Company] – Experts in [Industry] and Delivering [Value Proposition]

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I recently came across your company, [Recipient’s Company], and I was impressed by the work you’re doing in the [Industry]. At [Your Company], we have extensive experience and expertise in [Industry], and we’re passionate about helping businesses like yours to achieve their goals.

Our [Solution/Service] has been designed to deliver [Value Proposition]. Our approach has been proven to help businesses like yours to [Benefit], and we’re confident that we can help you to achieve the same results.

I would like to offer you a complimentary consultation to discuss your specific needs and to see how our solution could help you to achieve your goals. If you’re interested, I would be happy to schedule a call or meeting at a time that’s convenient for you.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

For more cold outreach tactics and tips on writing the best subject lines for cold emails, read our post on the 9 best cold outreach tactics.

Tracking the effectiveness of cold emails

Several key metrics can be used to track the effectiveness of cold emails and determine their success in achieving desired outcomes. Here are some of the most commonly used metrics:

• Open Rates: Open rates track the number of recipients who opened the email. A high open rate indicates that the subject line and introduction effectively captured the recipient’s attention, enough for them to open your email and give it a read.
• Click-Through Rates (CTR): CTR measures the number of recipients who click on links within the email. A high CTR indicates that the email content was engaging and relevant to the recipient. Recipients who have a CTR are interested in your product or service and should be followed up with.
• Reply Rates: This metric tracks the number of recipients who replied to your cold email. A high reply rate indicates that the recipient is interested in engaging with you further. This is what we would call a hot lead. It’s important to perform best practices for lead follow-up emails.
• Conversion Rates: This metric tracks the number of recipients who took a specific action, such as filling out a form, scheduling a call, or making a purchase. A high conversion rate tells you that the cold email was highly influential in eliciting desired actions.
• Lead Generation: Leads generated due to the cold email campaign is an important metric to track. You can track your lead generation rate by monitoring the number of recipients who provided their contact information, expressed interest in your product or service, or became a customer.
• Deal Closure: The deal closure rate is essential as it shows how many deals were closed due to the cold email campaign. You can measure this by monitoring the number of customers who purchased or signed a contract.
• Engagement Rates: It is important to track the level of engagement between the sender and the recipient as it shows how relevant your content and audience are to your business objectives. You can measure the engagement rate by tracking the number of emails exchanged, the conversation length, and the recipient’s level of interest.

By tracking these cold email metrics, you can better understand the effectiveness of your cold email campaigns and make data-driven decisions to improve their performance. Remember that these metrics should be tracked over time to provide an accurate picture of whether your cold email campaigns consistently deliver the desired results.

How timetoreply can improve cold email performance

timetoreply is a valuable cloud-based software solution for sales teams looking to improve their cold email campaigns.

Here are several ways timetoreply can help ensure your cold email campaign wins customers over and boosts sales:

• Reply time tracking: timetoreply tracks your cold emails’ response rate and average response time, giving insight into how well your messages are being received. This information helps you identify areas for improvement to enhance your cold email campaigns.
• Real-time notifications: With real-time notifications, you can quickly respond to leads showing interest in your product or service. timetoreply empowers sales reps with their live performance data and recommends which leads to attend to next. This can help you close deals faster and make a lasting impression on your prospects.
• Deal tracking: Gain instant visibility over deal stages across all leads. Sales Managers can filter deals by lead source, deal stage and by team member. With timetoreply Ignite you can track closed deals in real-time and understand what deals are in the pipeline.
• Track follow-ups: 80% of sales require five follow-ups after the initial contact. However, 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up. timetoreply Ignite allows you to track the number of follow-ups per lead as well as the cadence or time between each follow-up.
• Generate reports: Managers can set up reports to be sent to them daily, weekly or monthly, or you can use our API to push data to your favourite BI tools.

Compatible with existing email platforms: timetoreply works with Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace, and MS Exchange. There is no need for team members to disrupt their workflow when you deploy timetoreply. Keep working as is with all these added benefits.

timetoreply Ignite enables teams to see their first reply time, reply rate, number of follow-ups per lead, and cadence/time between each follow-up. With this visibility, teams can increase response rates, close more deals, and make a lasting impression on prospects.

Try our free 15-day trial and see how your team can increase the effectiveness of their cold email campaigns.