Cold email outreach best practices from around the web

“Not another tips and tricks list!”

There’s no shortage of email tips and tricks. Lists abound all over the internet. Even the narrowly-defined activity of initial email outreach has long lists of advice.

Rather than rehash all the advice that’s out there, here’s a table.

It illustrates what’s helpful, what’s harmful, and what doesn’t make much of a difference either way.

Initial Email Outreach Practices: Best, Worst, and Indifferent

 

Most of this is common sense, but did you know…?

1. Emails with 28-39 characters in the subject line had the highest click rates. (Litmus)
2. Statistically people will decided within 2 seconds whether an email is worth reading. (SmartInsights)
3. 89% of consumers would delete an email on mobile that doesn’t look good. (KISSmetrics)
4. On average, our response rate increases by 50% when we follow up to an unanswered cold email. (Life-long Learner)

 

Good example – Here’s an example using some best practices.

Bad example – Follow the example below to ensure poor response.

Conclusion

Short, clear emails are effective. They should be personal and specific. Use the table above and the links below as your reference for writing initial outreach emails.

Sources

Many thanks to the following excellent sources of information:

Econsultancy	KISSmetrics	Mailchimp
Marketing Land	Smart Insights	The YouMoz Blog
Yesware	Business Insider	Ling-long Learner

And big recognition to Litmus for their comprehensive subject-line infographic.