To be successful in your cold outreach campaign, your email copy needs to be on point.
Email copywriting is a critical component of any email marketing. It’s what helps you stand out from your competitors, and get your message across in a way that leads to new sing-ups or relationships. Good email copy can be both persuasive and a good source of valuable information, so it’s important to make sure it meets all of your target audience’s needs and at the same time doesn’t appear too pushy or salesy.
In this article, we’ll share some useful tips on how to write effective email copy for your cold outreach campaigns.
AIDA method - 4 sequence emails
The AIDA acronym stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. This method is used the most in the world of copywriting and consists of 4 emails with a very specific purpose.
Attention – Start with a hook that grabs the reader’s attention. Make sure to use powerful verbs (for example, ensure, accomplish, transform, accelerate, apply) and intriguing subject and opening lines. If your email isn’t attention-grabbing or interesting to read from start to finish then your chances of getting opened are slim to none.
Interest – Once the reader is interested in what you have to say, you need to keep them engaged. Use strong custom visuals, persuasive language, and compelling arguments.
Desire – Convince the reader that what you have to offer is valuable enough for them to take action.
Action – Motivate and encourage your audience to take action you want them to take. Provide enough information and arguments so they clearly understand the need to act and feel confident about it.
Let’s take a look at how you can incorporate AIDA into your cold outreach emails.
“A” = Attention. Think about what topics interest your target audience the most. At this stage, the goal is not to provide them with a straight solution yet but to show them you have information and possess good knowledge that might be of use to them.
“I” = Interest. Understand and know the biggest problems and pain points of your audience. This way you will be able to offer them the most suitable solution.
“D” = Desire. It is necessary to create a desire around your product or service and it’s usually done through an “emotional connection” by showing a glimpse of the personality of your brand. It moves the consumer from an “I like it” attitude to an “I want it“.
“A” = Action. Get the audience to engage with your company and take the next step e.g. download the brochure, make a phone call, subscribe to your newsletter, or participate in live chat, etc.
Keep in mind that this technique is being widely used by businesses worldwide due to its popularity and effectiveness, therefore it can quickly become mainstream. Try being creative and don’t shy away from trying and testing out other techniques as well.
How to write successful sales emails
The most effective way to write a sales email is to write in a way that guarantees open rates and ideally gets replied to. I understand it’s easier said than done. To create such an email, once again, you need to deeply understand your target audience’s goals, fears, challenges, and pain points. Once you have a clear understanding of that, you can start to tailor your message that is highly specific to them.
Be understandable from the very first lines of your email. They need to know who you are and what you do. Create a unique and original story. Give them added value in your email. Don’t employ any aggressive sales or overly pushy techniques. Provide only useful information in your message.
Regarding timing, don’t write to your audience every day, and don’t write to say anything. If you have nothing to contribute, don’t do it. Postpone your outreach if necessary. Make sure that when you do it, it’s of the highest quality. We recommended sending out 4 emails over a period of 4 weeks, for example:
Email 1: “Intro”
Email 2: ” Re: question”
Email 3: ” Follow-up”
Email 4: ”(no subject) “
How to write an intro email
The intro email is one of the most important of the entire outreach. You must make sure you get right or the entire outreach campaign might fail. The best thing to do in your introductory email is to prepare your audience for a follow-up message. For example, you can add to the end of your email:
I will publish a full article on the subject, I am currently working on it. I take this opportunity to give you a preview.
Or:
In 15 days, we will organize an event in Milan on this topic. Spots are not available yet, but as soon as the registration opens online, I'll send you a quick hello with the link.
In our examples, the language used is very informal and you will need to adapt it to your target audience.
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The reason is, you want to void looking like a spammer. Your goal is to have a completely normal conversation with an individual online.
Personalize your exchanges and use terms such as “a quick hello”, and “preview”, which allows you to create a connection.
Creating a bond with the audience is one of the essential aspects of cold emailing, and at the same time, the most complex to achieve, requiring creative thinking.
This also acts as a great introduction to the rest of your emails. All you have to do next time is pick up where you left off.
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The follow-up email is a rather subtle art between “not too much” and “not enough”. Knowing how to follow up without making the recipient feel attacked might be tricky. It is up to you how to do it, but keep in mind to proceed with caution. Here’s an example of a ready-made follow-up email:
Hello! Remember last week I messaged you about an upcoming event/article? Well, it's now ready! It was a huge effort, but we are happy with the result. 😁 We have compiled the 7 best topic templates, with statistics and a super qualitative case study. Here is the link: [link] (call to action towards website, landing page, or other) Let me know what you think. Sincerely, Business
The Win-Back Email
The win-back email is used for the audience who did not result in a positive impact on your outreach.
Why: Maybe the topic wasn’t particularly relevant to your contact and they weren’t intrigued by the issue you raised.
What to do: To re-capture their attention, you can try one last email to win them back called a win-back email.
Let’s go back to our first example:
Hello! I emailed you on Monday about best topic templates. Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong, but I get the feeling this isn't your priority right now. I understand. Actually I also deal with other topics, which I think might interest you more. Here are the top 3 most read at the moment: How to become an expert in > link here. How to do xyz > link here. Find xyz to make zyx > link here.
Tailor this example to your audience. If they don’t open this email, you’ll want to wait some time before contacting any prospects who haven’t responded with a new campaign. Remember if you are often reported as spam, the rate of deliverability is going to decrease over time.
Here you will find some golden rules: Pay attention and clean up your database regularly.
Mistakes to Avoid
These are the 7 most common content mistakes you should avoid making:
- Messy formatting. A poorly formatted or cluttered email will not only be difficult to read but also difficult for the recipient to take action on.
- Intrusive copywriting. Bad copywriting and sales messaging can make people mistrust your content and your brand.
- Mistakes. Write correctly and have your colleagues check your emails.
- Not asking questions. When you ask thoughtful and genuinely interesting questions, people are more likely to respond to your outreach.
- Not providing context. It can seem like you’re trying to deceive your audience and they are going to have a hard time understanding your intentions.
- Using spam words. It will make your audience think you’re a spammer or a bot.
- Not having a signature. Have a branded signature included at the bottom of every message you send to look professional.
Final Thoughts
Writing cold outreach emails is a love-hate relationship. It takes a lot of time and effort as a well deep understanding of your target audience, their interests, and pain points. Take your time. Do not rush the process as you might end up with a very low engagement and eventually a failed campaign.
