Email is one of the main channels of communication for businesses around the world. Companies utilize email not only to interact with employees, but also with customers. The popularity of the medium makes it an excellent prospecting and lead-generation tool.
However, creating a successful cold email marketing campaign is more than just entering an email address, punching in a subject, drafting up a quick message and pressing send. If you want to see high-performing and consistent results, there are several aspects to consider as you’re crafting an email.
Keep reading for several tips and tricks to optimize your email campaigns to help increase engagement.
- Warm up your domain name
Next up, you should try and warm up your new domain name before using it for cold emails to increase the likelihood that you reach your audience. Start off with sending just a few emails manually for about three weeks. This will allow you to establish a reputation and get some initial responses from your recipients. Once warmed up, you can automate, gradually increase the number of emails and incorporate the cold email addresses you want to reach.
- Build your prospect base
Perhaps the most important part of building your cold email campaign is building a high-quality prospect base to actually send those emails out to. It’s always a challenge to get people to respond to unsolicited emails, so it’s important to select the right prospects and ensure that they are likely to be interested in what you’re offering. Compile your list of prospects, verify their email addresses and then segment your list so that you can personalize your messages.
3. Optimize your email copy
That brings us to our next point about optimizing your email copy. First and foremost, personalize your message in any way you can whether it’s adding their name or adding a line that’s unique to their own needs. Maybe you even include social proof by mentioning a shared contact. Avoid trigger words at all costs to avoid ending up in the junk folder (e.g., “free,” “sale,” “profit,” “do it,” “start now,” “get started,” “add to cart,” “buy now,” “order now,” “world-class,” “exclusive” … you get the point). You may also consider limiting the number of images or links used to ensure your message is delivered. Finally and most importantly, PROOFREAD!
4. Implement an email signature
Email signatures are often overlooked in email marketing campaigns. However, they can be a powerful tool if you give them some extra love and make your emails appear that much more credible and professional. Consider adding a headshot or company logo and looking at the design of your signature. Are there any broken links? Is your branding in line with the latest company guidelines? You might even include a strong call-to-action or hyperlinked social icons to get your readers to take action.
5. Set up your follow-ups
The campaign isn’t finished after the initial email goes out. Following up is a huge part of success with cold email marketing. If you want to increase your chances of getting a response, you need to be persistent. Take a second to remind your prospects of why you want to hear from them. You can even automate this, tracking your emails to set up follow-ups for different situations, including unopened emails, opened but unclicked, or opened and clicked but didn’t reply.
Cold email marketing isn’t going anywhere given that it’s a cost-effective and quick way to generate high-quality leads. Now that you’ve got the keys to success, there’s nothing standing in your way! Get drafting that next email! Remember, though, cold emailing is an experiment that needs to be tested and optimized until you get it right. If you’ve got questions along the way, the team at Double Play is always here to help.
