With 300 billion email notifications hitting inboxes every day, making your cold email stand out from the crowd may seem like an impossible task. Finding ways to strike the perfect balance between professional and personable is critical to the success of your cold email marketing campaigns and can mean the difference between engagement or the dreaded spam button.

The trick to an effective cold b2b email campaign is choosing a highly targeted group and tailoring your messages to address a problem or need that resonates with them. Sending a generic message to a large group without implementing personalization or segmentation techniques will only result in your message being ignored, delivered to the spam box, or even worse, blocked by email service providers and blacklist companies. So, before you hit send, here are some best practices to follow before you deploy your b2b cold email campaign.

1. Determine the purpose of your cold email.

A b2b cold email is not designed to convert people into customers. It’s designed to open the door to further communication by forging a personal connection with the recipient. That’s why choosing your contacts and carefully personalizing your email is so important.

Before you write your b2b cold email you want to determine who your prospects are and the reason they would want to connect with you. What value proposition do you offer that they are missing out on? A b2b cold email shouldn’t be pushy or overly aggressive, but should clearly state the outcome you are hoping for, whether it’s a meeting, a phone call, or something different.

2. Show your expertise.

When you’re sending a b2b cold email, you are, in essence, introducing yourself to a stranger. However, in the case of a cold email, you don’t have the opportunity to show off your firm handshake or smile or engage them in conversation. Accordingly, you will have to show that you are a reliable resource with relevant experience. Share any articles or blog posts you have written that may be relevant to your prospects. Include any third-party media about you, your company, or customers’ success stories. Gaining the trust of your prospects will go a long way into converting them into customers.

3. Provide a comprehensive message.

One of the main issues with distinguishing spam from a genuine b2b cold email is the nature of the message. Spam emails typically have a graceless way of demanding money without any indication that the sender is who they say they are. B2B cold emails must be designed to show that they are sent by a real person with a specific goal in mind. You’ll want to provide the following to show that your email is from a reliable source:

a) Use your real name. One of the main ways to spot an email you don’t want to receive is if there is no name or the       name sounds fake.

b) Include your contact information. Add your job title, your website, any social media profiles, and your phone number to show that your door is open for further communication and there are ways to confirm your existence.

c) Create customized content for the recipient. Your message should be brief and to the point, referencing either a mutual contact, a recent post by the recipient, or some other reference that shows you specifically looked them up and read their work.

d) Make a specific request. You’ll want to request a particular action that does not involve the recipient making a purchase. This might be a phone call, a follow-up email, or a link building request. In every case, it should be something easy, with no financial strings, and the sort of thing you would be comfortable doing if you received a similar request.

4. Keep it concise.

Your b2b cold email should be very brief and to the point, with just enough substance to be credible. It isn’t the time to expound upon the many ways you have contributed to your industry. Keeping it simple is the best way to go.

Example One:

Hi Charles,

I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend!

I read your most recent post about email marketing on [PUBLICATION] and I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it! I loved the discussion about the importance of engaging subject lines and tracking traffic from the calls-to-action.

I have recently written a post on the art of blog writing and wondered if you would be interested in taking a look. I submitted it as a guest post as well, but I thought I would also send it to you for possible feedback.

Do you think this would be a good fit for a guest post on your site? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Thanks,

John Smith
jsmith@gmail.com
123-456-7890

Example Two:

Hi Molly,

I hope your week is going well so far!

I was at the conference over the weekend and I really enjoyed your talk about imposter syndrome in the workplace. I know it’s a major professional issue but I had never fully understood how deeply ingrained the base of it can be until I heard you talk about examples from high school.

Our company is interested in hosting a seminar on professional development for local businesses and I was wondering if you might be interested in speaking there as well? I think there are quite a few professionals who could benefit from your insights on imposter syndrome and how it impacts your overall career progression.

Please let me know if you are interested! We were thinking about hosting the seminar sometime in the next month or so.

Best,

Nikki Jones
nj@gmail.com
109-876-5432

5. Partner with the right cold email service.

Hotsol is the #1 email service for B2B cold email. Built for the sole purpose of sending b2b cold email in bulk, it allows you to deploy millions of messages to purchased email lists and cold email contacts. Build a lead generation machine by reaching prospects and encouraging them to opt in to receive future communications. Build a sales funnel or warm leads by sending CAN-SPAM compliant cold email.

Hotsol’s email deliverability team is proficient in dealing with the pitfalls that are designed to stop your b2b cold email from reaching the inbox. With blacklist monitoring, reputation management, world-class support, and other unique and distinguishing features,

Cold email marketing is a viable way to engage prospects and build relationships, but one that requires patience and persistence. When you’re opening the door for further communication, you’ll need to focus on sounding reliable, professional, and above all, personable. If someone suspects that your email might be spam, you’ll never see the return on investment you’re hoping for. But if you manage to engage a prospect with your email, you might find a wonderful new opportunity for yourself and your company.