10 Types Of Cold Emails That Will Get You More Responses
Introduction
Cold emailing sounds like a simple concept. It refers to an email sent by marketers to prospective consumers about their products or services. The aim is to improve sales opportunities and encourage prospects to become loyal customers by informing them of solutions and services. The email is called “cold” as the marketer does not have any prior contact or interaction with the recipients. There is no relationship between them.
This also makes cold emailing a bit more challenging than other outreach mediums. As a marketer, you need to put in considerable amounts of effort to incentivize the recipient into reading your cold emails. The way you communicate and present your sales pitch will directly correlate with the open rates and the number of replies. You can’t be too pushy or give the prospect too much to think about. For example, by simply asking the prospect for their “thoughts” after your sales pitch decreases the chances of setting up a meeting by roughly 20%. Yes, cold emailing can be tough to master, but when it is done right, you can expect it to substantially boost your sales outcomes through new connections.
What Do Marketers Need To Know?
The core aspect you need to perfect when it comes to cold emailing is motivating your prospects to engage and respond to your emails. Every line of your cold email must convince the reader to read the next one – all the way through to your Call-To-Action. If they lose interest halfway through your email, you can say goodbye to the chances of that prospect replying. Hence, digital marketers and copywriters worldwide rely on a number of writing techniques and formats that help draw the reader in. These techniques are rooted in human psychology and basic scientific principles of persuasion. They can influence your readers to engage and reply to your cold emails. After all, that’s what cold emailing is all about!
While every technique may not result in success, experimenting with various types of cold emails can help you zero in on the most persuasive one. Based on your brand tonality and products/services offered, using certain persuasion techniques can vastly improve your overall cold email open rates and responses. According to Propeller CRM, by frequently A/B testing subject lines, marketers can increase open rates by 49%. Why not do the same with your cold email then?
Here’s all you need to know about the ten most common types of cold email templates.
Ten Types Of Cold Emails That Work (With Examples!)
Did you know that according to a study by Backlinko that analyzed over ten million cold emails, from their recipients only 8.5% of all cold emails received a response? As such, marketers need to put extra effort into their cold emails to make them more relatable, convincing, and engaging for the target audience.
To do this, most marketers rely on various templates for cold emails. Each template focuses on a different aspect of the “selling point” or the sales pitch that aims to convert the prospect into a customer. This is the core aspect of any cold email; the part which makes the reader or prospect engage with the cold email and convert into a paying consumer. Yet, no email can start with the sales pitch directly. The prospects have never met you, and they have little to no reason to care about you or your product – no matter how relevant or helpful it is. Hence, cold emails must focus on enticing and coaxing the recipient to read the email. It must address their challenges, pain points, and issues. The outcome is to show the prospect how you can help them solve their issues.
Moreover, every marketer needs to be confident about the expected outcome of their cold email. You may want the recipient to schedule a demo visit, set up a meeting over a phone call, or request you to send over the product information brochure. As a marketer, you must clearly convey to the reader what they will receive from your business in the initial communication itself – your cold email.
You could explain to prospects in great detail how your product can alleviate their pain point. You could boast about your service having the best review among industry competitors. Yet, if you cannot convey to the readers why they should even read your cold email, it will remain unopened or go straight to the trash. Safe to assume, it’s not what you want, right?
To add to marketers’ troubles, according to a study conducted by SuperOffice, 33% of cold email recipients decide whether to open an email based on the subject line alone. Even if the remaining two-thirds of your recipients read the email, not all of them will be sold on your pitch. To convey the most valuable information in the right way, marketers need to identify a suitable template and structure for their cold emails. One that convinces persuades and informs the reader, without being too pushy or boastful.
Consequently, most cold emailing campaigns leverage tried-and-tested cold email templates that can maximize the conversion of prospects. Think of higher open rates, replies, and conversions!
Here are the ten common types of cold email templates that can help you maximize your open rates by building a genuine connection with prospects through a persuasive and conversational structure:
1. Before–After–Bridge (BAB)
Before — This is your current situation
After — Imagine what your situation would be like if you solved a certain pain point
Bridge — Here’s how we can help you get there
Describe a problem that is pertinent to your prospect in the opening of your cold email. Then, explain how things would be better if the problem didn’t exist. Finish by describing how your idea, product, solution, or service can assist them in getting there.
This design works since pleasure and pain can compel individuals to react. By providing a means of easing one’s pain points, the BAB template uses these universal triggers to persuade recipients into reading the cold email.
Source: blog.klenty
2. Problem – Agitate – Solve (PAS)
Problem — Isolate the prospect’s pain point
Agitate — Agitate the pain point
Solve — Offer the prospect a practical solution
The PAS template highlights the journey from a problem to its resolution and describes how your product/service is the perfect tool the prospect needs to be successful. Instead of having them picture their situation without the problem (the “After” stage in the BAB type), this type of cold email is based on the idea that pain is a more effective motivator than pleasure.
Source: hyperise
3. But You Are Free
We are sure you have heard of reverse psychology. Under no circumstances are you to imagine a pink elephant wearing a bowler hat. Pretty sure we know what most of you are thinking of right now!
This type of cold email is also based on a similar persuasion tactic, making it one of the most effective cold emailing techniques out there. It makes a request to the prospect but also mentions that they are free to do whatever they like. Yes, it does work – this technique was shown to be an effective means of increasing compliance rates in 42 psychological studies on over 22,000 people.
Source: yesware
4. Star – Chain – Hook
Star — Describe a life-altering idea
Chain — Follow it with a series of facts, sources, reasons, benefits, etc.
Hook — Direct reader to the Call-To-Action
An attention-grabbing opening should introduce your main point. Set up a chain of facts, references, reviews, and benefits to establish credibility and convert the prospect’s attention into interest. The prospect should then be persuaded to take the desired next step through an engaging Call-To-Action.
The chain is the crucial component of this cold email formula. You have a better chance of persuading prospects to take the desired action if you provide evidence that supports your claim, right?
Source: getmailbird
5. Attention – Interest – Desire – Action (AIDA)
Attention — Draw the prospect’s attention.
Interest — Make it interesting through personalization
Desire — Generate desire for your offering
Action — Ask the prospect to act
The first sentence draws the prospect’s attention typically by posing a relevant and significant question. Then, by giving pertinent information about why they should engage, the prospect’s curiosity is aroused. The offering is then made more appealing by adopting the straightforward tactic of FOMO (the fear of missing out). Fear is a great motivator, right?
After reading the cold email, the prospect is inspired to take action because there is clear guidance on what they should do and what they might miss out on.
Source: medium
6. Star – Story – Solution
Star — Draws focus on the main element of your cold email, which could be you or your business
Story — Talks about how the “star” faces the same problem as the prospect
Solution — Introduces a solution that helps the “star” win at the end of the story
Storytelling is among the oldest ways of communicating information. When we read a story, our brain acts as if we’re living or actually experiencing it. Hence, a story makes it easier for your audience to comprehend the idea you’re trying to sell them. This tactic can enable you to capture the prospect’s interest via cold emails and forge an emotional connection that will increase their desire to respond and engage.
Source: peertopeermarketing
7. The Reader’s Digest Model
Legendary copywriter John Caples studied Reader’s Digest magazines to learn how they hooked readers in the very first paragraph. He discovered that the most effective articles were short, specific, fact-filled, and used very few adjectives. Most importantly, they sparked curiosity. To increase your chances of receiving a response, this type of cold email focuses on writing a highly engaging introduction.
Source: yesware
8. The 3-B Formula
Brevity — Keep it concise
Blunt — Get to the point quickly
Basic — Make it simple
This cold email strategy resembles the Reader’s Digest format. It clearly conveys to the reader who you are and what you expect of them. Being blunt sets the expectations and commitments upfront since most prospects are wary of marketers selling products or services they do not need. By being concise and simple, you avoid making prospects think about what you’re asking or selling.
Source: freshworks
9. Praise – Picture – Push (The 3P’s Formula)
Praise — Open your cold email with a sincere praise
Picture — Describe and ask your prospect to imagine how your product/service delivers results
Push — Encourage the prospect to commit
The 3Ps cold emailing formula is rooted in psychology. Praise is an excellent motivator. Receiving a compliment is like a social reward that makes the prospect more open to what you have to say next. Next, by asking prospects to picture how your product/service will deliver results, you create a cause-and-effect situation.
This type of cold email can lend more credibility to your sales pitch using psychological tactics. Moreover, pushing the prospect into taking action makes them more likely to commit.
Source: mailshake
10. Awareness – Comprehension – Conviction – Action (ACCA)
Awareness — Describe a relatable situation or pain point
Comprehension — Describe how it affects the prospect
Conviction — Create desire by illustrating how your solution/product can easily fix the issue
Action — Ask the prospect for the desired response
Although this approach resembles the AIDA formula at first glance, the “Comprehension” and “Conviction” elements better highlight the sales pitch. It clarifies the issue at hand while expressing confidence that a solution is feasible. Moreover, the prospect never has to second-guess how to respond as this cold email template has a defined target action.
Source: mailshake
To Sum Up
These cold email copywriting formulas have been proven to work in captivating, engrossing, and convincing various audiences. Every digital marketer needs to be aware of this often-overlooked aspect of cold email personalization. Leveraging the right type of cold email based on your sales pitch, products/services and audience can be highly effective.
