Best Cold Email Guide for Agencies in 2023
Onur Genes
PublishedatI have sent over 3k cold emails in a month to prove how effective it is are the results.
I have sent these emails for getting a new client for my software development agency .
If you know this industry, it is fairly competitive and really hard to get a new client. As I have mentioned in my other article, using Nureply changed everything for me in this field.
At the end of this article, I will share the exact cold email template with you, so you can also test it!
If you are only here for checking the stats, here it is:
(Do not forget: this is a highly competitive industry and very expensive service, at least $20k per project)
Total Recipients: 795 🤞🏻
Sent Email: 3015 ✉️
Open Rate: %56 (445 people) 📬
Reply Rate: %11,2 (89 people) ✍🏻
Positive Reply Rate: %2 (15 people) ✅
Meetings Secured: 4 🚀
Why do you keep saying this hard?
Let's be honest, when you try to sell a service for $1000/month, finding a new client is easy. Even small businesses can buy it. But when you enter a high ticket service industry, it is getting much harder because it is not easy to pay $20k at once. So, if you are selling web development, mobile development, and UI/UX design, it is much harder to find new clients.
Don't get me wrong, it is possible and works but don't expect to get 10 clients only with a single cold email campaign.
How do you get that many replies with a low open rate (%56)?
It depends on a few factors. Let's dive in and see what worked for this campaign:
Email Deliverability
If you want people to read your emails, the first thing is to be sure if your email goes into the recipients' inbox. But how can you be sure?
Here are the tools and how I am using them to be sure about email deliverability:
Fix Your Technical Issues: Be sure to fix your DNS, DMARC, DKIM, and SPF settings. These are the keys to landing in the inbox.
Warm up your domains: This is a must. You don't have any other option. For this, I have used Warmup Inbox. It is a great service but if you have many domains, it can get expensive.
Using an old domain: My domain for this campaign is purchased and warming up for more than a year. It has a 0% Spam Rate right now and I am almost sure all of the emails are landing in the inbox.
Testing Email For Spam Words and Previews: I highly recommend Inbox Pirates for this. You can check email deliverability and previews. It helps you to understand what recipients are seeing and most importantly, avoid spam words.
Do not use images, if you don't have to: There are a lot of discussions going on about using images in your emails but if you don't have to don't use them.
If you cover all of the above, it is almost certain that you are going to land in the inbox.
Finding the real target
I have chosen e-learning companies. Why?
Because my agency delivered projects for Turkey's biggest Learning Management System company and we have a great recommendation from them. I can use this as a referral to show them we are capable of managing their projects.
Most people skip this step but that is the key. When your recipient saw you know this field, it is much easier to earn trust and of course, get a reply.
Okay, but what if you don't have any referrals or just starting?
It is easy. Give them a guarantee! For example: "If we can't get you 3 meetings this month, you will only pay for the domains"
But beware, this won't work for the high ticket sales, like software development services.
Optimized email copy
If you know your target and have done all the work on the technical side, congratulations, you have finished the easy part! 😅
The hardest part of all of this is writing a good email so you can explain everything shortly and understandably.
But what is the trick here?
Easy:
Do not use unnecessary words and write for a 5th grader (Do not say LMS, say Learning Management System)
Do not ask for big action (Do not ask for a meeting in the first email, but ask for "Can I send you more info?")
Do not send a wall of text (Writing shorter emails is harder but nobody has time to read that email)
Using a good subject line
This affects your open rates. My biggest mistake on this one was using a very generic subject line ("Quick question about {{COMPANY_NAME}}").
Cold emails are getting popular among marketers and people are using the same subject lines (including me) and as a result, most of the leads not even reading the email. So, I can not give you a piece of good advice on this but you have to try it and keep it VERY VERY SHORT.
I have compiled 10 different types of subject lines, you can use them as a reference.
Always use personalization
Using personalization is a great way to show them that you are a real person and interested in working with them. Don't copy-paste the same icebreaker or first line, always generate email icebreakers specifically made for them. Of course, it is not possible to do it for every company, but minimizing the number of duplicates is so important.
You can always, use Nureply for this, obviously :)
Alright, now give me your cold email template!
Yeah, it is time to give you what worked for me. But it doesn't mean it will work for you.
Still, you can use this as a starting point and test it. Never forget, always test your email with a small group of people. Don't copy-paste this template and wish for wonders. Other people reading this article will also copy-paste it.
Here is the best cold email template for agencies I have found so far:
Subject:
Quick question about {{COMPANY_NAME}}
Body:
Hey {{FIRST_NAME:there}},
Onur here. {{NUREPLY_FIRST_LINE:I can see you are creating a great learning experience for our generation. This is a great accomplishment. Kudos to you and your company!}}
We have worked with Turkey's biggest eLearning company for maintaining their mobile apps for 13 months and helped with the development of their eLearning platform.
I can see a great opportunity for working together.
Can I send through some more info?
Conclusion
I have learned a lot from this experiment and it generated a lot of value for my software agency.
Of course, the story doesn't end there. You have to show up in meetings, convert them to clients, and deliver the product. (I have skipped these parts because it is not about Nureply or cold emails)
If you have any questions, just let reach me out from live chat or, of course, send an email!
If you liked the article, share it so everyone can learn and grow with cold emails.