The Six Biggest Cold Email Mistakes You’re Making in 2022

If you’re like most small businesses, you’re probably using cold email to reach out to new customers and promote your products or services. However, there’s a good chance that you’re making some big mistakes that are costing you dearly in terms of wasted time and money. If you are unsure of what cold email is – we covered that in a recent blog post. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the six biggest cold email mistakes being made in 2022 so that you can avoid them in your own business.

1. Not Personalizing Your Emails

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when sending cold emails is not personalizing them to your recipient. Generic, one-size-fits-all emails are easy to spot and will immediately turn off potential customers. Instead, take the time to research your recipients and customize each email to them specifically. This will show that you care about your customers and are more likely to result in a sale.

The Benefits of Personalized Emails

There are several benefits to personalized emails, including:

• Increased opens and click-through rates: Generic emails are easy to spot in a crowded inbox. They often get lost in the shuffle or deleted without being opened. However, personalized emails are more likely to be opened and read because they stand out and look like they were meant specifically for the recipient.
• Improved relationships with customers: When you take the time to personalize your emails, it shows your customers that you care about them and are willing to invest the time to build a relationship. This can lead to repeat business and customer loyalty.
• More sales: Ultimately, the goal of any email marketing campaign is to generate leads and make sales. Personalized emails are more likely to result in a sale because they show that you understand the needs of your customers and can offer them a solution that meets those needs.
• Improved deliverability: Email providers (such as Gmail) use engagement metrics (such as opens, click-through rates, and bounces) to determine whether an email should be delivered to the recipient’s inbox or sent straight to their spam folder. By personalizing your emails, you’re more likely to improve these engagement metrics, which will result in better deliverability for all of your future emails.
• Increased ROI: A study by DMA found that personalized emails have 29% higher open rates and 41% higher click-through rates than non-personalized emails. This means that not only will you save time by personalizing your emails upfront, but you’ll also see a greater return on investment from your email marketing campaigns overall.

2. Not having a strong subject line

Another mistake that businesses make is not having a strong subject line. Your subject line is like the headline of an article; it needs to be interesting and specific enough to make someone want to read more. A good rule of thumb is to keep your subject lines under 50 characters and make sure they address the recipient’s pain points.

How to write a Strong Subject Line

The best way to write a strong subject line is to think like your customer. What are their pain points? What are they looking for? Answering these questions will help you zero in on a specific problem that your product or service can solve. Once you’ve identified the problem, be as specific as possible in your subject line. Vague subject lines like “Check out our new product!” are likely to be disregarded, while subject lines that are specific and address a pain point are more likely to be opened.

For example, let’s say you’re a web design company introducing a new service that helps small businesses increase their online visibility. A strong subject line might be “Introducing our new service: help for small businesses looking to increase their online visibility.” This subject line is specific and addresses a common pain point for small businesses. As a result, it’s more likely to pique the recipient’s interest and prompt them to open the email.

3. Sending Emails at the Wrong Time

Another cold email mistake businesses make is sending their emails at the wrong time of day. Timing is everything when it comes to email marketing, and you need to make sure you’re sending your emails when they’re most likely to be seen and read.

For example, studies have shown that Tuesday mornings are the best time to send cold emails. If you sending an email newsletter, on the other hand, Friday afternoons are generally the best time to hit send. And if you’re sending a promotional email, Saturday mornings are typically the most effective time to reach your audience. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, so it’s important to test different times and days to see what works best for your business and your subscribers. But by paying attention to email timing, you can make sure your messages are more likely to be seen and read – and that’s the goal of any good email marketing campaign.

4. Not Offering Value is a Cold Email Mistake

Your recipients are bombarded with hundreds of emails every day, so it’s important that yours stand out from the rest. One way to do this is by offering value upfront. Whether it’s a discount on your products or services or access to exclusive content, give recipients something that will entice them to continue reading your email instead of hitting the delete button.

Ways to Offer Value in Your Cold Emails

Product or service discount – Everyone loves a good deal, so offering a discount on your products or services is a great way to add value to your emails. Be sure to include a call-to-action (CTA) so recipients know how to take advantage of the offer.

• Access to exclusive content – If you have exclusive content that your recipients would find valuable, consider offering it in your email. This could be anything from an eBook or white paper to access to a webinar or event. Again, be sure to include a CTA so recipients know what to do next.
• Tips and advice – If you have helpful tips and advice related to your industry, share them in your email! People are always looking for helpful information, so this is a great way to offer value without selling anything. Just be sure not to overdo it with self-promotion.

5. Not Segmenting Your List

Another mistake businesses make is not segmenting their email list. By segmenting your list, you can send more targeted and relevant emails to your subscribers, which will improve engagement and conversion rates. There are a number of ways to segment your list, including by location, age, gender, interests, and purchase history.

For example, let’s say you own a women’s clothing store. If you segment your list by gender, you can send emails specifically designed for women to your female subscribers. This might include information about new arrivals, special sales, or exclusive discounts. On the other hand, if you don’t segment your list and instead send the same generic emails to everyone on your list, you’re likely to see a lower engagement rate.

Why Segmentation Matters

There are a number of reasons why segmentation is so important.

• First, it allows you to send more targeted and relevant emails to your subscribers. If you know the age, gender, or location of your subscribers, you can tailor your messages accordingly.
• Second, segmentation can help you improve deliverability rates by ensuring that your emails are going to the right people. Third, segmentation can help you increase open and click-through rates by making sure that your emails are relevant to your subscribers’ interests.

How to Segment Your List

There are a number of ways to segment your list. The most common methods include segmenting by:

• location
• age
• gender
• interest
• purchase history.

If you’re not already doing so, start segmenting your email list today. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve engagement and conversion rates.

6. Failing to Test Your Emails

Lastly, before you start sending out mass emails, it’s important to test them first. Send a few test emails to yourself or a colleague to see how they look and make sure there are no errors. This will save you a lot of headaches down the road and ensure that your emails always look professional.

Why You Should Test Your Emails

There are a couple of different ways you can test your emails to avoid cold email mistakes. First, you’ll want to make sure that the email looks the way you want it to when it arrives in someone’s inbox. To do this, send a test email to yourself or a colleague and take a look at how it appears. Pay attention to things like the font size, colors, and layout. Are there any errors? Is anything misaligned?

It’s also important to test the links in your email. Make sure they all work and go to the correct destination. Nothing is more frustrating than clicking on a link in an email only to find that it doesn’t work. By taking the time to test your links, you can avoid this issue altogether.

Cold Email Can Work?

Cold email can be a great way to reach new customers and promote your business—but only if it’s done correctly. Avoid these six common cold email mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to success!  At On-Core Ventures, we believe in strategy before tactics.  This includes your overall approach to all outbound marketing, especially cold email campaigns, to get started with our services, please fill out this short form and we will meet with you virtually to see if we are a good fit.  If you just want to get our monthly newsletter that summarizes four new marketing trends important for your business, you can subscribe here.