10 Actionable Tips for Effective Email Outreach

This is a short and sweet guide to help you improve your cold email outreach results.

They're tips for anyone working with a small budget and who needs to make the most of their email outreach efforts.

These exact tips helped me connect directly with people I had originally thought of as being out of reach.

People like former MIT professor and now famous podcaster Lex Fridman.

Using the general tips below, I established over 300 partnerships with companies and influencers over a 6-month period for an e-commerce company. All without spending a dime.

No spam or ‘gaming the system' tactics are needed. Just genuine relationship building through outreach campaigns using simple and actionable tips that will get you talking to those you wish to faster.

So, without further ado, let's get into it.

Cold Outreach Email Tips

1. Email Like a Real Person

A lot of people know this by now but it is worth noting that it is vital to have a real name in your business email address. This is infinitely better than reaching out to someone with an email name like start@8bitcontent.com.

Without a name or even a company email address, your chances of getting a response from cold emails are next to none. Believe me, I tried.

2. Divide and Conquer

You can't really talk about effective email outreach or email marketing without mentioning segmentation. Knowing your personas and grouping email recipients together based on shared interests, industry, location, and more is vital.

It helps to understand each target audience and send out personalized emails at scale. This helps you organize your email list, craft a more personable and relevant email pitch, and likely increase your response rates. 

3. Email subject line

You could offer the greatest opportunity in the world, but without a great subject line getting you through the door, it could be a waste.

Like a great headline, it should quickly convey some kind of benefit, mystery, or news to the reader, and if possible, all three.

There is one pre-requisite that I urge you to always include, the subject's name in the subject line.

There's a considerable amount of A/B testing involved in the sweet science nailing down the right ones. You've got to write a lot of them and they are typically unique to your messaging and personas.

I sent out hundreds of emails testing different subject lines and messaging. At first these cold emails didn't have a great success rate but over time, certain patterns started to appear. 

Ex: if your intention is to offer someone a partnership, proposal, or anything in between, your email has a better chance to be opened and responded to if the subject line looks like this:

Jane Doe X 8-Bit Content

This is usually my go-to format that seems to work almost without fail with a high open and response rate. It's eye-catching and, more than likely, bound to be opened.

It's also very easy to implement this tip in an email blast through mail merge and the like. It can be this simple: [Name/Company] X 8-Bit Content.

4. Length

Most people have very little time to waste and they like their content to get to the point as quickly as possible.

Emails therefore should be concise and to the point. Many people have learned this by now and yet I still receive long, drawn-out emails regarding so and so doing whats and what with no end in sight and no clear point as to how it'll relate to or benefit me.

Classic examples of this are introductory emails where several paragraphs are spent at the beginning explaining what a company does. In an effort to make sure a relative stranger will read past the first few sentences, prioritize the beginning of the email to clearly state what benefits you're offering the reader.

If possible, summarize your business later on in a sentence or 2.

Also, be sure to include lots of whitespace.

Hi ……, Hope things are well with you and yours.

As _____ of ______, I am curious if you would be interested in our… As many of us have experienced through our daily lives, we're not starved for content, we're bloated.

You are likely reaching out to busy people. So it is your responsibility to get to the point ASAP.

5. Break Convention

This isn't to say that you should disregard the suggestions mentioned above but rather reconsider some of the common tropes used when emailing acquaintances, potentially even relating to how you communicate with superiors.

Replace formal, literary language with plain, friendly, and human language.

Perhaps the most common culprit which often sets the tone for the rest of the email is ‘Dear'.

Although an age-old term of respect and endearment, starting your email with ‘Dear' can inadvertently create a barrier of entry of sorts between you and the subject.

Although the word's meaning is literally the opposite, in today's world of business it can be often read as distant, unfamiliar, and even insincere.

Here are some suggestions.

Replace:

• ‘Dear ________,’ with ‘Hi/Hello/Hey _________,’ (Particularly if talking to someone within the same age range or younger. Older generations can be an exception to this as they may appreciate it if you address them with ‘Dear’ but overall I’m sure you get the idea.)

• ‘I’m writing to inform you…’ with ‘Just letting you know…’

• ‘Yours sincerely,’ with ‘All the best,’

The list goes on and on, but the point is, we should put the quill down. It's 2020 and 46% of emails are opened on mobile devices connected to 1 of 2,666 artificial satellites orbiting the Earth. It's ok if our email language reflects a more contemporary tone.

Again, this isn't to suggest using sloppy or unprofessional language to appear friendly. Rather, it's a means to build rapport quicker for ongoing correspondence.

6. Classic Formatting

This can also relate to the tip of breaking convention.

Do you know what feels better than receiving a carefully designed and ‘personalized' email that is obviously part of an email blast-out using Mailchimp? A carefully written email from an individual at the company seemingly written specifically for you.

Let's say your mission is to promote a sale. Try sticking to the tried and true regular email formatting. You can carefully write the email copy to be personable and appear to be directed specifically to that individual. Include their name and company in the email copy. The messaging can be the same.

They're your VIP and you're delivering them the message, you're just doing so in a format that feels more familiar and substantial.

7. Clearly state exactly what’s in it for them

A cardinal sin that most emails commit is vague and generic messaging. Sure, there's a call to action at the end but it's never crystal clear why the reader would even want to take the next step.

Say you're interested in establishing a partnership with an affiliate site whose business model runs on advertising. You should highlight that your product will engage their audience and bring traffic, even reminding them of shared audiences and interests.

8. Follow-up

It is possible that your first email will not get a reply. Don’t take this personally or let your ego get in the way of trying again — it’s possible they didn’t see it.

If necessary, you could 1 or 2 short and friendly follow-ups a week or so apart, quickly reminding them of what your intention is can work wonders, as long as you don't abuse it.

9. Space them out

If you are going to follow up, make sure you don't harrass them and land in the spam folder. You need to always be courteous.

Just a side note for email mailing lists. People receive emails all the time and are likely to unsubscribe if they notice you’re sending more than they expected.

A lot of companies seem to disregard this and race to terrorize their mailing list as often as they can. Please, for the sake of humanity, show your respect by spacing them out. An email, say, every Tuesday is okay, but multiple times a week can be overkill.

10. Email signature

Ideally, your emails will be filled with value. This can include your email signature. It can be a great place to promote something you've done that may be of interest to your segment.

This could be some kind of social proof like a testimonial from a customer, or a link to a blog post that may help them. Your email signature can be icing on a cake.