Cold mailing – what do you need to know?

Are you in the B2B business and want to attract new customers? Or maybe you have an interesting product or service, but you can’t reach your target group? Cold mailing actions can make your task easier. You may think it’s spam, but a lot depends on the strategy. If you do not create it, your efforts will be in vain and will be treated by recipients as spam.

What is cold mailing?

Cold mailing is a tool used in marketing to attract potential customers via e-mail. Cold mailing is often the first step to establishing a relationship with a customer. That is why it is important to get the recipient interested in your product or service from the very beginning. Cold email is a personalized message and that is what makes it different from spam. If it is well prepared, it will not be ignored by the addressee.

Cold mailing types

Cold email can take many forms. However, they all have a common feature, which is the message construction. 

The BAB type, i.e. before-after-bridge. It is a message formulated in such a way as to define the problem, present an ideal situation, and finally the way of solving it.

The PPP type, i.e. price-picture-push. In this type of message, you first acknowledge the recipient, then link your product to their business, and finally point out the benefits of using your offer. 

The PAS type, i.e. problem-agitate-solve. This type is all about showing understanding of the recipient’s problem. You should then introduce your product or service and explain how it will solve the customer’s pain.

The AIDA type, i.e. attention-interest-action. At first, the message focuses attention on the recipient’s business to show that you have already worked with customers in that industry. This is followed by the benefits of collaboration, and finally a call to action.

The SSS type, i.e. star-story-solution. This is a cold mailing model that starts by showing your offer. The next step is storytelling. In the conclusion, we show the solution to the recipient’s problem.

Cold emails to customers – how to conduct a cold mailing campaign?

Welcome message – is the first step in establishing contact with a potential customer, thus it must not be an advertisement of your product or service. Instead of sales language, use benefit language to describe your product. However, don’t just focus on presenting the benefits. Treat them as additional information. Make sure to personalize the message, express your willingness to learn about the recipient’s needs, and tell about yourself or your company in a few words.

Added value – after 3-4 days from the first email you can offer something for free to your recipients. This could be an e-book, a DIY tutorial, an invitation to a webinar. Think about it, there is definitely something you can do for free for a potential customer. If you can offer more, then send another value-added email after another 3-4 days.

Breaking email – if the recipient hasn’t responded to your messages or contacted you in any other way, write them an email expressing your understanding that they don’t need your product. At the same time, emphasize that they can always contact you. You can also include links to your social media where they can follow you or a link to sign up for your newsletter.

Five tips that improve the effectiveness of cold emailing

1. Define your target audience
   
   This is the first step you need to take before you start any marketing efforts. Knowing your target audience is very important because it will ensure that your messages reach people who are potentially interested in your product or service. A cold email should be dedicated to specific people, this increases its effectiveness.
   
   
2. Catchy title is a half of success
   
   Title is what a user sees when they check their email inbox. Each of us sees titles in our mail every day that point out a wonderful offer. What usually follows? We skip them. Therefore, make sure that the subject line of an email grabs attention and encourages users to read it.
   
   
3. Focus on quality, not quantity
   
   Today’s customer is educated and sensitive to commercial offers. Therefore, focus on building trust through valuable content. But don’t go too far with making your message attractive. Of course, make sure to personalize it, but write in a simple and understandable language.
   
   
4. Remember about Call To Action
   
   What is the goal of your e-mail? If a client wants to find out more, fill in a form, register or make an appointment for conversation, signal it directly. It’s best if the message contains only one call to action, because then the recipient is not distracted by too many actions he or she has to perform. Remember that it was you who initiated the contact, so don’t require a huge commitment at the start.
   
   
5. Remind your recipient
   
   Don’t worry if the recipient didn’t reply to your e-mail. It might have ended up in another folder or in a long queue of emails. Therefore, remind them a few days after sending the first message. Follow up, i.e. reminding e-mail, is a very important stage in cold mailing. It allows you to build relationships and trust with your company. Show the recipient that you can be relied upon.

Cold mailing and GDPR

Before you start sending cold messages to acquire customers, you need to know the regulations related to personal data. These issues are regulated by GDPR. It turns out that you can’t send an email to every address found on a company website, especially if the purpose of message is to present commercial information. However, you can send a message in which you express your desire to make contact. You should also pay attention to choosing the right address. You should not send e-mails to addresses that include your full name in the address name. Therefore, sending messages to specific employees of a company is also inadvisable. It is best to choose addresses that are broad and do not contain personal information.