Cold Email Sequence Examples — Make Your Outbound Sales Emails Count!

Why Use a Cold Email Sequence?

Cold emails can still be extremely powerful for growing your business. However, nowadays, we receive too many offers, emails, and information. This is why one email without follow-ups will most likely be overlooked by your recipients.

A well-crafted cold email sequence helps you capture the attention of new prospects and build relationships with them, which is essential for finding leads and turning them into customers.

Secrets of a Successful Email Sequence

The key to a successful cold email sequence is personalization. By taking the time to create individual messages tailored to your recipient’s interests, you are much more likely to connect with them on a deeper level. Cold emailing is more than just sending out mass emails; it’s about creating genuine connections with people through personalized, meaningful communication.

That is why, although in this article, we provide email sequence templates, we also recommend treating customers individually and creating an email sequence that will fit your customer profile.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Cold Email Sequence?

Cold emails can be a hugely valuable marketing tool, allowing businesses to build relationships with potential customers quickly. A cold email sequence can help entrepreneurs leverage their time and effort, allowing them to craft messages they can send in bulk. 

For example, they might craft one message to go out to potential customers and a different customized message to a recipient who responds positively. By automating these emails, businesses can nurture leads and build meaningful relationships from scratch. This can often lead to increased customer loyalty and higher sales numbers over time, making cold email sequences an essential tool for today’s savvy entrepreneurs. 

Tips for Making Your Cold Email Sequence Successful

Creating a successful cold email sequence takes much thought and consideration. After all, you need your emails to be effective in garnering attention and driving conversions. Here, we present a few tips you can use before creating your automated email sequence.

Personalize your emails

Personalization is the name of the game in the 2020s. As Neil Patel points out in one of his articles, only about half the people personalize the body of their outbound sales email. And that's a big mistake.

The key is to craft messages that address your potential customer’s pain points or needs. You can send testimonials or examples from a similar customer as an example of resolving a similar situation. The right content for each element of your sequence will be crucial to getting a reply.

Automate email sequences

You can use automation or email marketing software to organize the nurture sequence. You can also create accounts for each of the sales reps on your team, and the software will send emails automatically on their behalf. You only have to prepare the content and decide what follow-up email sequence should be sent.

Mix channels

If you have more data about your potential customers, mix channels. Reach your potential customers not only through emails but also through their LinkedIn accounts, run a follow-up phone conversation, or even use WhatsApp if this is a tool your potential customers might use. This way, you will increase the chances that the customer will read the message on at least one of the channels.

Grab attention

Remember that your potential customer receives a lot of cold emails. To stand out from the crowd, you must first grab their attention. Start with a compelling and interesting subject line. This will get your email noticed and increase the chances of being read. Don’t use words like “offer”; rather, refer to the problems or needs of a particular customer.

Keep it short and nice

Establish consistency regarding when emails are sent as well as how often; instead of one long string of emails, break it into shorter segments that are sent at dedicated times. Keep communications conversational and friendly—this will help potential customers feel comfortable engaging with you!

Consider the timing

You probably know when the low season is in your industry and when the peak season begins. Try to contact your customer when he or she has more free time, as they most likely won’t have time to check out your emails during peak season. Also, take advantage of market or business situations. Use situations like changes in the law, Google algorithm updates, important market events, etc., to refer to the current position of your potential clients.

Plan the call-to-action (CTA)

Plan ahead what your customers should do, and make this action easy for them. An effective CTA can boost conversion rates significantly. 

If you want them to get more information about your offer first, prepare a landing page you can send them with more details. Or if you want them to meet with you, use meeting scheduling tools to make it easier to arrange a convenient appointment.

Whatever you do, keep the content relevant, try to stand out from the crowd, and be sure to follow up consistently!

How to Write Effective Cold Email Opening Lines?

Writing effective cold email opening lines is like making a great first impression — it can make or break your opportunity to engage a prospect. Your opening line needs to pique the interest of the recipient immediately.

Here’s how you can achieve that:

• Start with something you both know or like to make them feel comfortable.
• Say something nice about their work to show you've checked them out.
• Ask a question that makes them think and want to answer.
• Offer a quick tip or useful info to show you're helpful.
• Keep it short and sweet to get them interested fast.
   

Remember, the goal of the opening line is to engage the recipient enough that they want to keep reading your email. By starting with something relevant, interesting, and personalized, you set the stage for a successful cold email sequence.

Cold Email vs. Spam — Differences

Cold emails are like those friendly, unsolicited knocks on your door from a neighbor who's just moved in. They introduce themselves, offer something of value, and are respectful of your time and space. They've done their homework, so they know a little about you and make sure their message is relevant. This is the outbound sales email at its best — personalized, purposeful, and professional.

Spam, on the other hand, is the equivalent of someone throwing a bunch of flyers over a fence, hoping someone picks one up. It's impersonal, often irrelevant, and frankly, it's clutter no one asked for. These emails are the ones that fill up your junk folder, the result of a "spray and pray" approach that's more about quantity over quality.

Cold emails are personalized, relevant, and considerate, offering value and an opt-out option. Spam lacks personalization, offers little value, and is pushy.

But remember, even a perfectly crafted cold email can become spam if it's sent to someone who obviously doesn't want it. The key is to always ensure that your outreach respects people's privacy and their right to say no. That's what keeps your cold emails cool and not frozen out as spam.

How to Set Up an Email Sequence?

Cold emailing can seem intimidating at first, but it doesn’t have to be. Creating your own cold email sequence and mastering the fundamentals can help ensure that you make a great impression in the inboxes of potential customers. The key is making sure that your emails are both personal and professional so the reader knows it is not just another useless email. 

Before beginning, decide on who will be receiving the emails, what type of offer you want to feature, and if there are any visuals that could help hook the reader’s attention. Once you’ve drafted your message, test it with a few recipients before going live — reaching out without testing runs the risk of alienating potential customers before ever getting a chance to build relationships.

Cold emailing is an effective tool for connecting with people, and although setting up your own cold email sequence takes time, with some practice, you’ll become an expert in no time.

Use automated email sequence tools

These days, relying solely on manually sending emails is no longer a viable option. For the most effective lead-nurturing process, it’s essential to set up an automated email sequence. A follow-up sequence will not only save time but also help to ensure that your emails get the best responses possible.

More than just following up on certain lead activities, an email automation sequence can provide significant advantages, especially when utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms like Hubspot. Such CRMs offer features that enable sending targeted emails based on specific criteria, maximizing the chances of engagement and conversion. Additionally, dedicated tools like Mailerlite facilitate the creation, sending, and automation of email sequences. By leveraging these tools, you can deliver valuable reminders to leads over time, influencing them to convert into loyal customers.

READ ALSO: Automated Lead Generation Software: Everything You Need to Know to Get More Leads

Cold Email Sequence Examples

Initial email

Hi [FIRST_NAME],

I hope this email finds you well. We noticed that you are running a PPC campaign and wanted to see if you would be interested in learning how we helped one of our customers increase their ROI by 120%.

We would be more than happy to schedule a call so that we can tell you their stories and give you some tips and ideas for your campaigns.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

[YOUR_NAME]

Follow up email

Hi [FIRST_NAME],

I hope you had a great weekend. I wanted to follow up on my previous email and see if you had a chance to check it out.

Our software helps HR teams get better results for their recruitment process. Just give me 15 minutes for a call, and I will tell you more about how you can cut this recruitment time and get a bit more time for other tasks.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Best,

[YOUR_NAME]

Lead nurturing email

Hi []IRST_NAME],

I hope you had a chance to check out my previous email.

To help you get a bit more insight into how our company works, I prepared a case study from a company with a similar profile to yours. We helped them solve the issue of unpaid invoices. If this is something that your company is also struggling with at the moment, maybe you will find it useful.

Please let me know if there is anything else that I can do for you, and have a great day!

Best,

[YOUR_NAME]

Re-engagement email sequence

Mail 1

Hi [FIRST_NAME],

I hope you’re doing well. We talked a few months ago about your issues with SEO.

I think I might have something that could help. Our company is running a webinar about the new Google algorithm update. If you’re interested in attending, we’ve reserved a free spot for you. Check the link below to learn more and confirm your registration.

Sincerely,

[YOUR_NAME]

Mail 2

Hi [FIRST_NAME],

It was great seeing you at our webinar on SEO last week. I hope you found it helpful and that you’re already seeing some improvements in your website’s ranking.

I wanted to let you know about a new service we offer that can help you take your SEO efforts to the next level. Our team of experts can work with you to develop a custom strategy tailored specifically for your company, which will help improve your website's ranking and visibility even further.

Would you be interested in scheduling a brief demo so that I can tell you more about this service? I think it could be really beneficial for your business. Let me know if you’re available for a call next week. Thanks!

Sincerely,

[YOUR_NAME]

Cold Email Sequences That Work

Cold email sequences don’t have to be impersonal or uninspired. In fact, when done right, they can spark meaningful conversations with potential customers effectively and efficiently. A great cold email sequence should start with a personalized message that resonates with the recipient and then continue with valuable information that educates them on the product or service being offered. 

Emails should also focus on building relationships rather than hard-selling products, stressing the importance of long-term connections over quick conversions. Finally, it’s important to remain consistent throughout the sequence; repeating key ideas and injecting personality wherever possible will help to capture and build interest from recipients.

If you’re not using a cold email sequence as part of your marketing or sales strategy, you are missing out! Cold emailing can be an extremely effective way to reach new customers and grow your business. And it’s not nearly as difficult or daunting as it may seem at first. 

By following the tips and tricks in this post, you should be able to set up your own successful cold email sequence in no time. We wish you a successful future campaign!