B2B Cold Email Mastery: From Leads to Conversions

A modern-day email user receives around 120 emails a day. You can understand that standing out from the crowd in the fiercely competitive B2B field is hard with cold emailing.

So, how do you do it? Email users go for emails that are relevant to their needs, convincing enough to spend precious time, and promise solutions to their pain points.

Besides finding the ideal prospects, sales professionals and business owners need to write compelling email copies that no one can refuse. So, how do you improve your cold email writing skills for B2B prospects?

In today's blog post, we'll talk about how to write cold emails for the B2B industry to generate maximum revenue. We've also discussed how your cold sales email outreach campaigns can stay out of the spam folders to maximize response rates for your cold email campaigns.

Without any further ado, let's dig in.

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How to Write Excellent B2B Cold Emails to Make Money?

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1. Catchy Email Subject Line to Hook the Audience

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Invesp data shows that 47% of all email recipients open emails solely based on the email subject lines. Subject lines give a quick overview of the email, so it must be catchy to draw attention.

If you fail to convince your audience to open the email, the chances of conversions almost come down to zero.

Here are the three essential steps to creating a compelling email subject line:

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Focus on the Length

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According to an Aweber study, email writing and marketing experts have revealed that a cold email subject line should be around 60 characters (not more than nine words).

On the other hand, Campaignmonitor research shows that the best-performing email subject lines are around 41 characters.

Short subject lines intrigue curiosity and are suitable for mobile screens.

For example,

• "Where do I start?"
• “Let’s talk {product/business/service}”

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Arouse Curiosity; Use the FOMO Tactic

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As we've mentioned earlier, intriguing prospects' curiosity is a great way to increase email open rates. For instance, "Let's meet at 10 AM?" is a way better subject line than "Let's meet at 10 AM for the seminar".

The former subject line is short, conveying the same message as the latter, maintaining an informal and friendly tone, and arousing curiosity.

Also, triggering the FOMO in your audiences is a great tactic to make your emails stand out.

For example, "Did you know….", "You just missed it", or "The clock is ticking" can make your audience feel missed out or curious.

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Personalize Your Subject Line

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LeadGenius changed their subject line from "Your sales process" to "I found you through {mutual contact's name}", and their email open rates increased by almost 50% for using a personalized email subject line.

Personalize your subject line to see more click-through rates, monthly run rates, and email open rates. Using your prospect's first name in the subject line is good practice. But if you don't have a name, personalize email subject lines based on audience demographics, client case study, ideal customer profile, connection name, or any data available.

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2. The Length Should Be Around 100 Words

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B2B sales emails that consist of 50 - 100 words get higher reply rates than the rest – Boomerang study.

As an average email user receives around 100 - 120 emails every day, the average attention span of an email is around 7 - 8 seconds. So, you have to convey your message successfully within that time span.

Make sure your email body is within 50-125 words. In some cases, it might go up to 150 words, but never more than that.

Respect your prospect's time by keeping it short, sweet, and to the point.

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3. Personalization is the Key to Your Prospects' Hearts

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Whenever you receive an email starting with "Dear customer," you know it's going to be a boring message. And boring (read, impersonal) emails never see conversion rates increase.

Instead of copy-pasting generic cold email templates, customize them with your cold prospect details such as first names, prospect company's achievements, job roles, and any other additional resources you can possibly find.

Congratulating your prospect for their recent achievements, sending genuine compliments on their work, or mentioning their pain points and possible solutions in the cold email introductions are great examples of email personalization.

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4. Optimize Your Emails for Mobile Screens

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Four out of ten emails are opened from mobile devices, so you should optimize your B2B cold emails for mobile screens.

Use responsive B2B email templates so that your prospects can see the complete message. Also, go easy on images, as image-heavy email content can take a long time to open, and use smaller and fewer images with fewer designs.

Also, avoid long paragraphs and complicated fonts.

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5. Proofread Your Messages

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Never get your basics wrong. Once you are done writing your B2B cold emails, proofread them carefully for typos, spelling errors, grammatical errors, and any other inconsistencies.

It's best if you let a colleague or friend proofread your message.

Also, check if you have entered the correct email addresses for your prospective clients.

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6. Add a Compelling CTA

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Having more than one call-to-action in your cold email may mislead the audience, making it hard for them to take action. It also decreases the value of the most important CTA.

Also, your email may get flagged as spam if you add too many attachments or links, resulting in low email deliverability rates. According to marketing experts, you should funnel your message to a specific point and present your audience with a precise CTA.

Here are some examples of compelling CTAs 👇

• "Let us know if you are interested in a quick 10-minute call."
• "Click on this link to learn how you can improve efficiency in your team."
• "We are happy to help. Reach out to us anytime, any day."

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7. Add Images, GIFs, and Branding

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A visually stunning email ＞＞ A Wordy Email.

To make your emails perform well, you have to add something other than the value you are providing. Images, relevant GIFs, and various fonts are great ways to make your emails look attractive.

Never shy away from using emojis in your emails. 😁

Besides images and GIFs, you should add your brand logo and tagline to the email to make it look more professional. Don't forget to make the color scheme based on your brand voice. For instance, if you are sending cold emails during Christmas, you may think of a red color scheme.

Above all, add your professional signature to the emails.

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How to Follow Up for B2B Cold Emails to Maximize Conversions?

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Assuming you have launched your emails, your job is done, right?

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The actual effort for converting a lead to a customer starts from following up for the first time.

HubSpot data shows that 44% of salespeople give up after sending only one follow-up email, while 80% of sales are made after five follow-up emails.

However, following up doesn't mean mindless pestering. Instead, you should offer value through email follow-up to build your prospects' trust and get more replies. Ideally, you should send the first follow-up email within 24 - 48 hours of the cold email.

Send a summary of the first email to maintain context and be patient. You can offer free-trial PDFs, eBooks, or informative articles.

You can also follow up using various channels such as phone calls (cold calling), SMS, LinkedIn outreach, etc.

Be humble, stick to following up repeatedly, and build trust among your prospects; this way, you can generate maximum conversions for your business.

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What is SPAM for B2B Outreach?

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An unsolicited email (generic) that is applicable to many people, irrespective of the recipients' personal info or context, is called a spam email. The term "spam" is not a legal term. And an illegal email may or may not be a spam email. Likewise, not all spam emails are illegal.

Many people, especially beginners, are confused about the two terms: spam email and illegal email.

Real-time threat intelligence supplier Spamhaus categorizes certain emails as spam when "the recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients."

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Is Sending SPAM Emails Legal?

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Spam emails are the unsolicited impersonal messages we all receive in our inboxes or, more likely, in our spam folders. For example, messages from fitness institutes, investment opportunities, clothing sales, weight loss instruments, credit cards, and whatnot.

It might surprise you, but according to US laws, SPAM IS LEGAL.

And it doesn't matter whether it is highly targeted or not; you can send solicited and unsolicited commercial emails.

However, you must go by certain rules and regulations while sending bulk emails to comply with the CAN-SPAM act. Otherwise, you may face unwanted CAN-SPAM lawsuits.

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CAN-SPAM Compliance: How to Stay Away from Spam Filters?

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The CAN-SPAM act (established in 2003) is applicable for "any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service."

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Here are the requirements you must comply with to stay away from spam folders and avoid legal violations:

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1. Give Recipients Freedom to Opt-Out

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Whether you are sending solicited or unsolicited commercial emails, your recipients must have the opportunity to opt-out of your mailing list. The simplest way to do it is by adding "unsubscribe link/opt-out" links in your emails. Also, you can ask your prospects to reply to your email for email list exclusion.

You may also ask your potential clients why they want out from the list to better understand your target audience.

Whatever the opting-out method, you must clearly notify your audience that they can opt out from receiving your email anytime.

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2. Enact Opt-Outs Within 10 Days

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Although most opt-outs happen automatically, implementing them might take 24-48 hours. Some recipients may get irked by the delay, but as long as you are enacting the opt-outs within ten days of the request, you are in line with the CAN-SPAM act.

It's best if you enact it immediately, as it cleanses the lead lists and maintains your brand's goodwill.

Processing the unsubscribes manually is neither practical nor cost-effective. So, you should use a sales automation tool or cold email software to automate the entire process.

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3. No Misleading/Inaccurate Subject Lines

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The subject line is the single most important factor for email open rates. To make it catchy and draw their prospects' attention, many email copywriters write misleading subject lines.

This is a clear VIOLATION OF INTERNET LAWS.

For example, subject lines like "$10,000 if you open this email" or "URGENT: Update about your father's health" may draw serious repercussions within prospects. These kinds of disgraceful marketing tactics (misleading subject lines) can land you in trouble.

Remember to be clever/funny/witty while being true to your message and without misleading your audience.

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4. Be Real

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Ensure your "From" and "Reply to" fields represent you and your business truthfully. Do not trick your prospects by sending emails from multiple generic domains (duplicate email addresses) to bypass email filters or mask your identity. Stick to valid email addresses only.

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5. Add Company's Physical Address

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You must include your business's physical address at the bottom of the email to be in line with the CAN-SPAM act.

The address can be the physical office address or the address you have registered with the US Postal Service.

CAN-SPAM is only applicable in the US. So, while sending cold emails to different countries, make sure you follow the relevant internet laws. For example, if you are launching an email marketing campaign for potential customers in Canada, you have to follow Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation.

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B2B Business Email Templates: Cold Email Templates to Make More Money

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Customer Testimonial Cold Emailing Template

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Subject line: {Prospect's name}, here's what people said about us!

Hi {prospect’s name},

I hope this week's been treating you well so far! I am {sender name}, and I work at {company name} as {job role}.

I have seen you are searching for an email automation tool for your account-based marketing efforts.

Check out what our clients had to say about us:

{customer review #1}

{customer review #2}

{customer review #3}

Do these intrigue you? Let us know so we can get on a call and demonstrate how our solid email tool can improve your cold email engagements.

Best regards,

{sender name}

{Professional signature}

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Cold Sales Email Template for LinkedIn Prospect

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Subject: {Name}, it's great to have you on LinkedIn

Hi {prospect’s name},

I wanted to reach out and say hello, in case you don't remember me. I'm {prospect name} from {company}. I noticed you're on LinkedIn, and I wanted to offer you some helpful advice on growing your business.

I saw that you're looking at our platform as a potential solution for your business. Let me tell you why we think so highly of ourselves! If it weren't for our cold email marketing tool, some of our customers would be out of business by now.

We've helped them grow their business by 20% or more in just a few short months. Some of them have even doubled their customer base with the powerful features of our tool!

We'd love it if you took a look at what we've done for others and see if it fits your requirements.

Check our video demonstration here: {link}

Thanks,

{sender name}

{professional signature}

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Product Launch Cold Email Marketing Template

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Subject: We have the perfect solution to {pain point}

Hi {recipient name},

I see you are looking for {product} solution. We have a great product that can help you.

I am reaching out to introduce you to our company and product, {product name}. We want to offer you the opportunity to be one of the few exclusive people to try it out.

If this sounds good to you, please reach out, and we'll set you up with a free trial. Our cold email software is free, it's easy, and there's nothing for you to lose!

Best regards,

{sender name}

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Link to Webinar Registration Email Template

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Subject line: {webinar} for {solution to a pain point}

Hey {recipient name},

It's {name} from {company}. I came across your business and wanted to introduce myself. I hope you're having an awesome day so far.

I saw you checked our website and was wondering if you had a minute to chat about our company. We're a small team of marketers that have been doing this for eight years and have helped some of the fastest-growing B2B companies in the world.

We'd like to invite you to our next webinar on {topic}. Some of the topics we'll cover are:

{topic #1}

{topic #2}

{topic #3}

The seats are filling out fast. If you're interested, just reply with your preferred time for us to give a brief walkthrough and book your slot.

Take care,

{sender name}

{professional signature}

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Genuine Compliment Cold Outreach Email

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Subject line: I'm so impressed with your work

Dear {recipient name},

Your website is amazing! I love how well-designed it is. It is a pleasure to visit.

I am also very impressed with your work. I found it very insightful and educational. It's great to see someone putting so much effort into their work, and it pays off!

I would love to be able to support you by providing you with our email marketing software at {company name}. Our system will help your business grow and will allow you to focus on what matters most - the design of your website.

Take a look at our live training tutorials here, or just reply back if you have any questions or concerns!

Thanks,

{sender name}

{professional signature}

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Conclusion

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Writing cold emails for each prospect can waste a lot of time. Instead, it's best to invest in an email writing tool like Smartwriter for automatic email personalization so that your sales reps can focus only on closing more deals and making your cold outreach campaigns a success.

Now that you know how to write a cold email for B2B businesses, it's time you use an email marketing automation tool to scale your cold email efforts.

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Smartlead offers 8x more leads, advanced email sequences, A/B testing, a dedicated IP address, a built-in CRM, and timely analytics and reports to scale your business and generate more sales than you can handle!

See you soon, goodbye!