Cold Emailing Skills
That Set You Apart as a Marketing Leader

See also: Customer Service by Email

Although cold emailing sounds as simple as dropping emails to potential clients, it can be a lot more challenging than you imagine. You cannot just expect people to open random emails and read them until the end. Moreover, it takes patience and dedication to pursue leads out of the blue, even without expecting an acknowledgment from them. This strategy is similar to door-to-door sales, where you may be disappointed most of the time.

The average open rate is below 25% unless you know the art of compelling people to open them and check what lies within. But you do not actually require magic to win the cold emailing game as it is simpler than you imagine. Having the right skills can help you create emails that get the attention of the recipient and lead to conversions.

Here are the skills that can take you on top of cold email performance and set you apart as a marketing leader.

Empathy should be a priority

Writing cold emails is much like connecting with random people out of the blue. You cannot expect them to pay attention until you actually hit a sweet spot.

Empathy is the secret ingredient to getting there. Think like the recipient while writing the message to them. Consider their pain points because they will definitely be willing to read something that offers a solution to their problems. Focus on the right subject line so that the reader connects with you immediately. An empathic approach adds a human element to the email strategy and promises better open rates even when targeting a new target audience.

Be linguistically friendly

The success of cold emails boils down to the language you use in your content.

Developing linguistic skills should be a priority if you wish to achieve success with this random form of client communication. You need not use fancy words or flawless grammar to impress the readers. A compelling piece is clear and concise, without frivolous details that deter the reader from the core message. Also, friendly, conversational content can do the trick and build rapport with the recipient right away. Perfect your language skills to win the email game every time.

Learn the art of personalization

Seasoned marketers understand the value of personalization when it comes to creating successful campaigns. Personalizing your emails can help you double your reply rate, even with cold campaigns.

Start with in-depth research of your target audience because knowing them is the key to tailoring your messages to their expectations. Building your buyer personas and segmenting your audience is the right way to begin. Consider elements that address the recipient personally rather than sending across a generic message that hardly connects with them. Such emails do more harm than good because people steer clear of brands that treat them like random prospects.

Imbibe confidence to validate yourself

You must have a high degree of confidence to interact with a random stranger by writing an email out of nowhere. But developing that confidence takes some effort and smartness.

Consider validating yourself to show the recipient that you are credible enough to be trusted. For example, looking for a common connection is a good way to establish credibility. It also makes you more confident to approach a person you hardly know. You can seek a referral from an existing client and leverage it as a connection when writing to a prospect. The more confidently you approach the prospects, the better the chances of conversion.



Master the skill of persuasiveness

Good salespersons are great at persuading prospects, no matter how disinterested they are. In fact, they can sell products people don't even need.

When you look for a cold email service, ensure that people who write them have the skill of persuasiveness. The ability comes from understanding the needs and pain points of the potential client and offering them something they will ask for eventually. Besides making people buy once, persuasiveness also builds long-term relationships and boosts retention. It takes strong words and convincing reasons to make people act on your emails. Most importantly, you have to be consistent with frequency and messaging.

Win with clarity in writing

Clear and well-structured writing is another skill that sets you apart as an email marketer. It becomes even more crucial when you explore the cold marketing domain.

You have to ensure a compelling write-up that captures the interest of the recipient, builds curiosity and promises valuable information. Ensure it is engaging enough to make them want to know more and reconnect with your sales reps. Moreover, it should be concise yet valuable, with only enough information to hold the interest of the reader without boring them. At the same time, be credible and provide proof for every claim. It may be in the form of success statistics or client testimonials to establish the truth in your statement.

The last thing you should do is make loud statements that sound hard to believe because buyers are smarter than ever.

Avoid sounding like a template

While you must offer clarity and conciseness in your email content, ensure it does not sound like a template.

Such pieces turn off the recipients, and they will not open the email today or even look twice at any future correspondence. Using templates is just like telling your target audience that they are only a lead for your business, rather than a real person who deserves special treatment. You may want to use templates as a newbie, but remember only to reference rather than lift the entire content from it. The more natural your emails sound, the better the chances of hooking the readers for good.

Pay attention to detail

Covering details sounds counterintuitive when you seek to write concise emails. But you must have the relevant ones to drive action from the recipients.

Marketers need to pay attention to detail to ensure potential clients remember them and prioritize them over others. You have to emphasize precision and detailing while writing cold emails, specifically when it comes to personalization. Ensure that every detail is correct, right from the name of the recipient to spelling, birth date, and more. Even a tiny flaw will stand out and dissuade the lead from closing the deal.

Be generous

Generosity is another trait that sets successful marketing leaders apart when it comes to cold emailing.

Try to build rapport with the recipient by offering value in advance. Cold emails providing information or a consultation first are more likely to succeed. Being generous with giveaways is a small price to win the trust of your audience and retain it for the long haul. It also sets you up for winning with reciprocity, so you get something in return for something you give. The recipient is more likely to respond or return later whenever they require your offering in the future.


A good salesperson can ace all aspects of marketing, including cold emails. However, driving conversions and sales from random communication is easier said than done. But you must have these skills to impress the leads every time you write to them, even without knowing them. The good thing is that you can imbibe these skills and ramp up over time, no matter how you start.


About the Author


Erika Cruz is a digital enthusiast and always looking for different ways to explore marketing. Through her tips and tricks, she always likes to help others bring their best to the table.

TOP