Knowing how to cold email is a valuable skill you can use to get something from someone you barely know. However, since everyone has access to the email you have, it's getting harder to get an open and a reply.
These are a few tips you can use to successfully cold email.
Before The Email
Let the recipient know you exist before you email them by following and interacting with their social media accounts. This way they've gotten a few notifications with your name.
Also, research them in a non-creepy way (hehe). Understand their current wants and see if you could tie that later to your email. If the person is a professional, it would also be wise to research the company they founded / work at.
Even if you find a personal detail about them, subtlety mention this in your email. Again, don't want to be and be seen as a stalker. This shows that you took the time and effort to find out more about them.
How to start
The first critical drop-off is the subject line. If you want to email that person, others probably do to.
The subject line should differentiate your email from the rest.
How? Figure out a way to pique their curiosity! It doesn't need to be 'professional' in fact, being informal may help you stand out. Oh and, if someone has recommended you to them, mention that.
Now you've got them to open the email. What next? They're likely to read the first 3-5 lines and if that doesn't interest them, delete the email. Here's what you should include.
Start off by establishing the context and your ask.
You can use "Hey name, I'm writing this email to establish context Here's what I want from you ___ " This would also be a good place to hint at what you found researching them.
Now they know exactly what you need, and whether or not they can meet those needs. Next, go on to establish your credibility and what's in it for them. If you send out an email that's all about you, there's a rare chance you'll get a reply.
If the person has a following, don't waste lines trying to please them with compliments. It's likely they get tons of those emails and probably will not read the rest.
The email itself
Start the second paragraph with a heading. Like it's an article. Maintaining a clear purpose for each paragraph is important because the person you're emailing likely has less time and
patience.
Throughout the email, the main goal should be to provide value. What you're offering should be tied to their current needs. That helps in establishing a clear transaction — 'I will solve this problem for you and in exchange, I want this'
Also, try to use the simplest language. A good test for simple language is looking at the text from the point of view of a 5-year-old and seeing if they would understand what's written.
Using complicated words, makes you look even less sophisticated according to science. See more.
Try to be informal and even hu
morous if possible. It's quite simple if you think about it — in an office full of people in grey formals, you're going to remember the person in the hoodie.
Lastly, address potential judgments. This reduces the doubt they have in fulfilling your ask — after all you're a stranger. You could be upfront about this or try to weave in such 👇 comments, this helps them remember you and address a judgment.
For reference, I was emailing a startup founder and I weaved this in after listing what I wanted.
Well, that's it! Thanks for reading — hope this helps you.
