26/09/2017 8 Ways To Write A Cold Email That Gets A Response From Even The Busiest People | Freelancer Blog

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8 Ways To Write A Cold Email That Gets

A Response From Even The Busiest
People
Posted on 21 September, 2017 - Last Modi ed on 21 September, 2017
Freelancer › Community › Sales & Marketing › 8 Ways To Write A Cold Email That Gets A Response From Even The Busiest People

PROOFREADING TEMPLATES EMAIL MARKETING HUMAN RESOURCES COMMUNICATIONS EMPLOYERS

Did you know the average of ce employee receives 121 emails every day? And that only 30% receive
the recipient’s immediate attention? Human Resource managers receive two or three times this
amount every weekday.  However, this doesn’t mean you should give up sending cold emails to
prospective employers or clients.

In the corporate realm, human resource managers use a variety of techniques to lter out job
applications. If the email’s subject line appears wordy, the human resource manager moves on to the
next. Nowadays, companies have their own job application or product pitching email templates.

Are you wondering how to write captivating cold emails that will get you that dream job or expand
your customer base? Here are 8 proven tips that will enable you to stand out, and receive your
prospect’s undivided attention.

1. Use engaging email subject lines

An email subject line plays the same role as an appetizer. Its role is to stir enough curiosity to make
the prospect want to open and read the engaging content inside the email. Imagine yourself walking
into a bookstore and coming across a book with a plain front cover, written by an unknown author.
Would you be interested in buying it? Of course not.

What is the advantage of using short email subject lines? It helps you capture the prospect's attention
at a glance. In addition, short subject lines that contain simple vocabulary prevent misunderstanding.
Engaging subject lines are personal, so you can overcome the unfamiliarity barrier. Personalization
refers to addressing the recipient by name in the email’s subject line. For example

 “Hi Dr. John, Mary Sutton from Harvard recommended we talk.”

When you’re creating email subject lines for cold emails, avoid using all caps and exclamation marks
to emphasize the urgency of your email.

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2. Send your emails early in the morning Log In Sign Up

Now you know a typical employee receives over 100 emails every weekday, how do you make sure
your cold email stands out favorably? By learning about your prospect’s email reading habits. Simple
observation and email analytics indicate that virtually all of ce employees spend approximately two
hours each morning reading and responding to emails.

Remember, most of ce employees pay attention to 30% of new emails in their inbox. Sending cold
emails just a couple of hours before the beginning of a new business day makes sure your email
lands in the rst page of your prospect’s inbox.  If you send it quite early, the prospect can read and
reply to your email while taking breakfast, or driving to the of ce.

You can schedule emails for the following morning using automated email software such as
MailChimp.

3. Send brief emails

You’ll achieve improved success with your cold emails by sending short and simple messages. Doing
this enables prospects to easily understand your point. This reduces the time it takes to receive
replies. Another advantage of sending short emails is they easily t into an of ce employee’s daily
routine. How? Nowadays people love reading emails on their smartphones or tablets while on-the-
move. A short message easily ts into compact screens, and makes reading convenient while on tea
breaks or traveling.

Here’s a simple format to help you write brief cold emails.

Introduce yourself in the opening sentence of the email.

State the reason you’re getting in touch
Ask for a response
Conclude in a formal tone

By adhering to this format, your prospects will read and understand your message in less than three
minutes.

Are you thinking of launching an email marketing campaign? Let the expert email copywriters at
freelancer.com create and format your emails for you.

4. Communicate your requests clearly

One reason why cold email job applications fail to bear fruit is because of beating around the
bush. Some people give call-to-action statements without prescribing a suitable time frame for a
response. For example, “I would like to book an appointment in the near future.” In this scenario, the
prospect has no de nite idea of what the sender means by "near future". The correct way of
expressing the call-to-action statement is:

“I would like to book an appointment around 17th-21st of July 2017. If this is okay with you, kindly
communicate a suitable date.”
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Stating exactly what you want doesn’t make you appear aggressive. In fact, it helps the prospect to
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understand exactly what you need from them. Below is an example of an ambiguous request.

“I’m looking for an opportunity to become a part of your successful software development company.”

The word “opportunity” does not shed any light on the speci c needs of the job seeker. The human
resource of cer would be in a better position to assist the job seeker if the message appeared in the
following way:

“I’m looking for a part-time computer programming job in your software development company.”

5. Proofread your email

It’s easy to dismiss a product or service when you see typos in the advertisement. These small
mistakes makes it seem like the company behind the brand is negligent. Human resource managers
pass negative judgments when they come across grammatical errors in job applications. 

No matter how many years of experience you possess in sending emails, it’s always advisable to
proofread your messages before submission. Assuming, instead of using a dictionary to gure out
correct spellings, can cost you a job interview or put off prospective clients.

After typing a job application or sales copy, take a one-hour break from the computer. After the break,
print your email and read it aloud. This lets you spot incorrect spacing and grammar errors you
wouldn’t have noticed through silent reading. You can also use online grammar editors to check the
wrong usage of phrases, tenses and ll in missing punctuation marks.

6. Point out a common identity

Did you know that an average person receives 5-10 spam emails every week? If your prospects can’t
see any difference between you and them, they’ll assume you’re just another spammer. Successful
cold emailing follows a series of small victories. The rst battle you ought to win is proving you’re not
just another stranger.

Thanks to LinkedIn and Facebook, you can easily identify your prospect’s friends, what content they
like posting, and the schools they attended. If you nd a shared interest, a mutual friend or common
academic background, use it in the email subject header. Here is an example.

“How do you know Fred Gavin from Barclays Bank? We live in the same city”

The above example is suitable when reaching out to a prospect you share a mutual friend with.

7. Avoid desperation
All human beings have an innate desire to pursue their own interests. This innate aw causes people
to assume their prospects with cold emails are going to be great. But just because you urgently need
a job, it doesn’t mean the human resource manager will treat your situation as an emergency.

Most spam messages contain the word ‘urgent’ in their email subject lines. No matter how badly you
need employment or business, avoid using the word “urgent” in your cold pitches. If you need to meet

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your prospect, use words such as ‘request’ or ‘suggest’. 

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Here’s an example.

“I’m requesting a 20-minute meeting on Wednesday morning at 10 am.”

8.  Customize your email according to your prospect’s unique needs

Prospects only respond to call-to-action statements if the outcome is a win-win situation for them.
Your cold email should clearly show that you have an in-depth understanding of the business or
organization.

Summing it up
Cold emailing is an art that gets better with practice.  Always use simple words to prevent message
distortion and delayed responses. Last but not least, create captivating subject lines to boost your
cold emails opening and response rates during email marketing campaigns.

Do you have speci c questions you’d like to ask? Let us know by posting them in the comments section.

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Posted 21 September, 2017

EdwardSuez  Staff

Sales & Marketing Guru

Edward is the Sales & Marketing Correspondent for Freelancer.com. He is currently based in Sydney, and is a
self-confessed ice-cream fan.

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