Cold emailing is a strategy used to reach out to potential clients as a way to inform them of your service and potentially start a conversation to work together. It’s a great way to hone in on the particular clientele you want to reach as you are directly writing to each one. This is a way to showcase your skill set and personality, address their pain points, and overall allow them to get a gauge of who you are and what you can bring to the table.
So, what is the best way to get these emails done and out?
Because let’s be honest if you are trying to scale your business but not focusing on outreach... Are you really trying to scale? And if that statement resonated with you… read on!
So, how to finesse the cold emailing game, you ask?
There are several approaches that work but it all boils down to 4 things:
✏️ personalizing each pitch
🌟 writing to establish credibility
📎 providing sample work
👉 concluding with an immediate call to action
It’s important to customize each email you send out. Your potential client should know you took the time to get to know their company and what they could potentially need from you. But don’t get too hung up on each detail, cold emailing is a numbers game so the more you send, the more likely you are to receive some responses. So email email email, then email some more. For me, I take 30 minutes to look up as many companies, names, and details as I can, then I’ll spend the remaining time writing out each email to send.
Any way you can make this process more efficient, the better. Time is money. When researching company personnel, always look for the CEOs or other higher-level roles. If it’s sent to someone who isn’t in charge of making decisions, your email may just get thrown out. I suggest using an email-finding system like hunter.io which helps you guess emails you may not be able to find by checking on LinkedIn. It may sound a little funny, but you’d be surprised how uncreative people are when creating their emails, it’s really not that hard to guess as you may think 🙂 So get those emails down and start crafting the body.
When it comes down to the content of your email, it’s okay to have a running base of your cold emails: a section that discusses who you are and why they should be working with you, but be sure to tailor your recommendations and attention-grabbing details to each client. If they can sense you spam multiple people with the same lines, they won’t be interested. It’s really not hard to tell, so be careful!
TIP: Track your work in a spreadsheet because as you build up your cold emails it will be hard to remember who you have already emailed and who you still need to follow up with. So stay organized! Organization saves time and we need as much of that as we can get.
The purpose of your cold emails is to convince them to hire you so if you aren’t answering their question, “Why should I hire you?” you are wasting your time! Be sure to back up your reasoning with quick stats or case studies. Remember, potential clients won’t dump a boat load of money into anything that doesn’t ensure results!
If you are new to your field and don’t have case studies, consider offering a freebie: something of immediate value, whether that be initial recommendations or pieces like articles, checklists, or ideas they may find useful. This will set you apart from the masses that flood into their inbox daily… or better yet offer a deal like, “If I don’t give you results within 30 days I will give a refund.” Convince them that they won’t be in the hole but instead be provided with immediate value after working with you.
Be sure to provide samples of your work upfront, let them see who you are and what you can do! No need to wait for them to ask for it… that’s a gamble.
TIP: Instead of adding a link to your email, embed the link within the email, that way it’s less likely to get flagged as spam and looks much more professional.
Communicate to the reader that you have value to bring, and be sure to create an environment where they will feel like they are missing out if they don’t respond. Because if you really know your stuff, they surely would be missing out! End the email by asking them to set up a time to chat and directing them exactly where to book a call with you. Do not leave it up to chance 🙂
If you keep all of these pointers in mind it won’t be hard to craft value-driven cold emails designed to elicit responses. Remember, the key to cold emailing is high volume! It’s a numbers game and I know cold emailing is hardly the glamorous part of being a freelancer. But it must be done, so hunker down and get to it!
Oh and don’t forget to follow up.