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No matter how much you prepare, cold emails are like shooting in the dark sometimes. After all, you are sending emails to people who have probably never heard of you or your product.
This is why cold email campaigns have a high chances of performing below your expectations. The good part is you’re not the only one struggling.
FYI, on average, only 8.5% of emails get replies. The rest of the cold emails are ignored in inboxes or spam folders.
But you’ve nothing to worry about. There are instant fixes that can save your struggling cold email campaigns.
Let’s dive in.
#1 Crosscheck Your Lead List
When your cold email campaign isn't doing well, it often comes down to one simple thing: you might be reaching out to the wrong people.
It can cause a bunch of problems, like high bounce rates and low response rates.
Imagine you're trying to sell your SaaS product, and you email the HR—that's not helpful at all. So, before sending out any more emails, ensure they're going to the right people who match your ideal customer profile. Mention their company and role to show you've done your homework.
But, again, knowing your ICP is just the start. What's even more crucial is to spot "buyer signals." These signals show that someone might be ready to buy what you're selling. To boost your campaign, reach out to leads who are showing these signals, like experiencing the problems your product can solve.
In a nutshell, the first thing to do to rescue your struggling cold email campaign is to check if you're emailing the right people interested in your offering. By confirming your email list and targeting the right crowd, you're giving your campaign an instant boost.
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#2 Audit Email Content
Cold email campaigns often perform poorly due to common content mistakes that trigger spam filters, create disinterest, or appear overly salesy.
To revamp your outreach strategy, it's essential to scrutinize your email content. Here's a checklist of issues that might plague your emails:
- Spam-triggering Subject Lines: Ensure your subject lines are not overly promotional, vague, or deceptive. Instead, craft subject lines that pique curiosity or address specific pain points.
For instance:
Generic ❌ "Amazing SaaS Solution Inside"
Improved✅ "{Competitor} achieved 60% reply rate with our SaaS tool" - Generic Opening Lines: Steer clear of clichéd openers like "I hope this email finds you well." Start with something more engaging and tailored to your audience. Try:
Generic ❌ "I wanted to introduce our product."
Improved✅ "I noticed your expertise in SaaS, and I have a unique proposition for you." - Lengthy, Sales-y Email Body: Avoid bombarding recipients with a laundry list of product features and benefits. Instead, focus on initiating a genuine conversation. Ask a question or share a relevant insight.
- Lack of Personalization: Generic emails that don't address the recipient by name or reference their specific needs can turn prospects off.
- Overuse of Buzzwords: Too many buzzwords and jargon can make your email sound insincere and automated.
- Image-Based Content: If you are targeting a B2B audience, never send image-based emails. Always go with plain text.
Here’s an example of a cold email template:
Hi [Recipient's Name],
I've been following your work in the SaaS industry and noticed your knack for effective outreach. Our tool can help you personalize outreach at scale without spending hours in manual research.
Interested in a quick demo to see how?
Best regards,
[Your Name]
#3 Optimize Send Timing
Timing is everything for cold email campaigns. The reason behind your struggling email campaigns can be the wrong send timing.
Statistics say cold emails perform the best when sent on Mondays and Tuesdays between 1 to 3 pm.
But it might not work for everybody. For instance, if your target audience isn’t office goers, sending emails on Mondays and Tuesdays may not work the best.
So, let's talk about how you can the best send timing for your cold email campaigns.
- Know Your Audience: First things first, get to know your audience. Think about where they are, what they're up to, and their daily habits and change your campaign send timing accordingly.
- Tools Are Your Friends: Tools like Smartlead can be a real game-changer. They let you conduct A/B tests, which are like trial and error sessions to refine your timing.
- Experiment a Bit: Don't be afraid to mix things up. Try sending your emails at different times and on different days. See when your audience is most active and engaged. Smartlead and similar tools will give you valuable insights to help you make the right call.
By getting your timing right, you increase the chances of your emails being seen and acted upon. It's all about connecting with your audience when they're most receptive. So, go ahead and fine-tune your email send timing, and watch your cold email campaign's performance soar.
#4 Follow Up
Why do most cold email campaigns underperform?
One major reason is the absence of follow-up emails. You might have crafted a killer subject line and a captivating opening, but sometimes, all your prospects need a nudge – or several.
Picture this: Nearly 80% of sales occur after the fifth follow-up email. That's right, your initial email might not work wonders, and that's perfectly normal. It's often the persistence in follow-ups that can transform your campaign's performance.
Understanding the importance of follow-ups is crucial. It might take more than five emails to get a response. Don't be disheartened if your first attempt falls on deaf ears. Keep those follow-ups coming.
But, how?
When launching your cold email campaign, don't leave the follow-ups to chance. Create a well-thought-out email sequence with 4 to 5 follow-up emails. You can easily manage this with a tool like Smartlead, which allows you to schedule a series of follow-up emails right within your campaign sequence.
For an even more potent impact, use templates and consider crafting sub-sequences for behavior-based email sequences with Smartlead. By tailoring your follow-ups to your recipients' actions and responses, you can significantly boost your campaign's efficacy.
Note: Always stop sending emails to recipients who want to unsubscribe.
#5 Run a Technical Check-Up
While your cold email campaign's success largely depends on your outreach strategy and messaging, overlooking the technical aspects can result in low reply and high bounce rates.
Here's a checklist of technical aspects that can fix your cold email campaign:
Custom Domain Tracking
Cross-check if you’ve correctly set up custom domain tracking for your campaign mailboxes. If not, it may result in inaccurate data tracking of your ongoing campaign and show you miscalculated analytics.
Mind Your Links
The number of links within your email copy matters. An excessive amount can raise red flags with spam filters, potentially relegating your messages to the dreaded spam folder.
So, if your campaign isn’t bringing results, check the number of links in the email.
Check SPF/DKIM/DMARC Protocols
These abbreviations stand for Implement Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC).
These protocols authenticate your emails, confirming their legitimacy and reducing the chances of them being marked as spam.
So, always always check these protocols.
Check for Blacklisting
It's crucial to verify that your domain hasn't been blacklisted in the past. Various online tools are available to help you with this. If your domain is found on a blacklist, take immediate steps to resolve the issue before sending any more emails.
Read UCEPROTECTL3 Blacklist to learn why your IP/domain has been blacklisted and its possible solution.
Caution with Self-Sending
Avoid sending emails from your own address to the same email domain. For example, sending an email from "you@yourdomain.com" to "you@yourdomain.com" may trigger spam filters. Instead, use alternative email addresses for testing and outreach.
A comprehensive technical check-up can fix your cold email campaign instantly.
Conclusion
if you're struggling with your cold email campaigns, the five instant fixes discussed above can help you turn the tide. However, before implementing these strategies, I strongly recommend running a technical check-up on your campaign to uncover and resolve any hidden issues.
In case you're battling deliverability problems, try Smartlead. It’s built focusing on cold email deliverability.
Plus, with Smartlead, the founder and customer support team are always one step forward to help you out with ANY challenges regarding cold email campaigns.
Sounds too good to be true? Check out this review.
Author’s Details
Rajnish Das
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Frequently asked questions
What is Smartlead's cold email outreach software?
Smartlead's cold email outreach tool helps businesses scale their outreach efforts seamlessly. With unlimited mailboxes, fully automated email warmup functionality, a multi-channel infrastructure, and a user-friendly unibox, it empowers users to manage their entire revenue cycle in one place. Whether you're looking to streamline cold email campaigns with automated email warmups, personalization fields, automated mailbox rotation, easy integrations, and spintax, improve productivity, or enhance scalability with subsequences based on lead’s intentions, automated replies, and full white-label experience, our cold email tool implifies it in a single solution.
What is Smartlead, and how can it enhance my cold email campaigns?
Smartlead is a robust cold emailing software designed to transform cold emails into reliable revenue streams. Trusted by over 31,000 businesses, Smartlead excels in email deliverability, lead generation, cold email automation, and sales outreach. A unified master inbox streamlines communication management, while built-in email verification reduces bounce rates.
Additionally, Smartlead offers essential tools such as CNAME, SPF Checker, DMARC Checker, Email Verifier, Blacklist Check Tool, and Email Bounce Rate Calculator for optimizing email performance.
How does the "unlimited mailboxes" feature benefit me?
Our "unlimited mailboxes" feature allows you to expand your email communications without restrictions imposed by a mailbox limit. This means you won't be constrained by artificial caps on the number of mailboxes you can connect and use. This feature makes Smartlead the best cold email software and empowers you to reach a wider audience, engage with more potential customers, and manage diverse email campaigns effectively.
How does Smartlead as a cold emailing tool can automate the cold email process?
Smartlead’s robust cold email API and automation infrastructure streamline outbound communication by transforming the campaign creation and management processes. It seamlessly integrates data across software systems using APIs and webhooks, adjusts settings, and leverages AI for personalised content.
The cold emailing tool categorises lead intent, offers comprehensive email management with automated notifications, and integrates smoothly with CRMs like Zapier, Make, N8N, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive. Smartlead supports scalable outreach by rapidly adding mailboxes and drip-feeding leads into active campaigns Sign Up Now!
What do you mean by "unibox to handle your entire revenue cycle"?
The "unibox" is one of the unique features of Smartlead cold email outreach tool, and it's a game-changer when it comes to managing your revenue cycle. The master inbox or the unibox consolidates all your outreach channels, responses, sales follow-ups, and conversions into one centralized, user-friendly mailbox.
With the "unibox," you gain the ability to:
1. Focus on closing deals: You can now say goodbye to the hassle of logging into multiple mailboxes to search for replies. The "unibox" streamlines your sales communication, allowing you to focus on what matters most—closing deals.
2. Centralized lead management: All your leads are managed from one central location, simplifying lead tracking and response management. This ensures you take advantage of every opportunity and efficiently engage with your prospects.
3. Maintain context: The "unibox" provides a 360-degree view of all your customer messages, allowing you to maintain context and deliver more personalized and effective responses.
How does Smartlead ensure my emails don't land in the spam folder?
Smartlead, the best cold email marketing tool, ensures your emails reach the intended recipients' primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Here's how it works:
1. Our "unlimited warmups" feature is designed to build and maintain a healthy sending reputation for your cold email outreach. Instead of sending a large volume of emails all at once, which can trigger spam filters, we gradually ramp up your sending volume. This gradual approach, combined with positive email interactions, helps boost your email deliverability rates.
2. We deploy high-deliverability IP servers specific to each campaign.
3. The ‘Warmup’ feature replicates humanized email sending patterns, spintax, and smart replies.
4. By establishing a positive sender reputation and gradually increasing the number of sent emails, Smartlead minimizes the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. This way, you can be confident that your messages will consistently land in the primary inbox, increasing the likelihood of engagement and successful communication with your recipients.
Can Smartlead help improve my email deliverability rates?
Yes, our cold emailing software is designed to significantly improve your email deliverability rates. It enhances email deliverability through AI-powered email warmups across providers, unique IP rotating for each campaign, and dynamic ESP matching.
Real-time AI learning refines strategies based on performance, optimizing deliverability without manual adjustments. Smartlead's advanced features and strategies are designed to improve email deliverability rates, making it a robust choice for enhancing cold email campaign success.
What features does Smartlead offer for cold email personalisation?
Smartlead enhances cold email personalisation through advanced AI-driven capabilities and strategic integrations. Partnered with Clay, The cold remaining software facilitates efficient lead list building, enrichment from over 50 data providers, and real-time scraping for precise targeting. Hyper-personalised cold emails crafted in Clay seamlessly integrate with Smartlead campaigns.
Moreover, Smartlead employs humanised, natural email interactions and smart replies to boost engagement and response rates. Additionally, the SmartAI Bot creates persona-specific, high-converting sales copy. Also you can create persona-specific, high-converting sales copy using SmartAI Bot. You can train the AI bot to achieve 100% categorisation accuracy, optimising engagement and conversion rates.
Can I integrate Smartlead with other tools I'm using?
Certainly, Smartlead cold email tool is designed for seamless integration with a wide range of tools and platforms. Smartlead offers integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Listkit, and more. You can leverage webhooks and APIs to integrate the tools you use. Try Now!
Is Smartlead suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises?
Smartlead accommodates both small businesses and large enterprises with flexible pricing and comprehensive features. The Basic Plan at $39/month suits small businesses and solopreneurs, offering 2000 active leads and 6000 monthly emails, alongside essential tools like unlimited email warm-up and detailed analytics.
Marketers and growing businesses benefit from the Pro Plan ($94/month), with 30000 active leads and 150000 monthly emails, plus a custom CRM and active support. Lead generation agencies and large enterprises can opt for the Custom Plan ($174/month), providing up to 12 million active lead credits and 60 million emails, with advanced CRM integration and customisation options.
What type of businesses sees the most success with Smartlead?
No, there are no limitations on the number of channels you can utilize with Smartlead. Our cold email tool offers a multi-channel infrastructure designed to be limitless, allowing you to reach potential customers through multiple avenues without constraints.
This flexibility empowers you to diversify your cold email outreach efforts, connect with your audience through various communication channels, and increase your chances of conversion. Whether email, social media, SMS, or other communication methods, Smartlead's multi-channel capabilities ensure you can choose the channels that best align with your outreach strategy and business goals. This way, you can engage with your prospects effectively and maximize the impact of your email outreach.
How can Smartlead integrate with my existing CRM and other tools?
Smartlead is the cold emailing tool that facilitates seamless integration with existing CRM systems and other tools through robust webhook and API infrastructure. This setup ensures real-time data synchronisation and automated processes without manual intervention. Integration platforms like Zapier, Make, and N8N enable effortless data exchange between Smartlead and various applications, supporting tasks such as lead information syncing and campaign status updates. Additionally, it offers native integrations with major CRM platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive, enhancing overall lead management capabilities and workflow efficiency. Try Now!
Do you provide me with lead sources?
No. Smartlead distinguishes itself from other cold email outreach software by focusing on limitless scalability and seamless integration. While many similar tools restrict your outreach capabilities, Smartlead offers a different approach.
Here's what makes us uniquely the best cold email software:
1. Unlimited Mailboxes: In contrast to platforms that limit mailbox usage, Smartlead provides unlimited mailboxes. This means you can expand your outreach without any arbitrary constraints.
2. Unique IP Servers: Smartlead offers unique IP servers for every campaign it sends out.
3. Sender Reputation Protection: Smartlead protects your sender reputation by auto-moving emails from spam folders to the primary inbox. This tool uses unique identifiers to cloak all warmup emails from being recognized by automation parsers.
4. Automated Warmup: Smartlead’s warmup functionality enhances your sender reputation and improves email deliverability by maintaining humanised email sending patterns and ramping up the sending volume.
How secure is my data with Smartlead?
Ensuring the security of your data is Smartlead's utmost priority. We implement robust encryption methods and stringent security measures to guarantee the continuous protection of your information. Your data's safety is paramount to us, and we are always dedicated to upholding the highest standards of security.
How can I get started with Smartlead?
Getting started with Smartlead is straightforward! Just head over to our sign-up page and follow our easy step-by-step guide. If you ever have any questions or need assistance, our round-the-clock support team is ready to help, standing by to provide you with any assistance you may require. Sign Up Now!
How can I reach the Smartlead team?
We're here to assist you! You can easily get in touch with our dedicated support team on chat. We strive to provide a response within 24 hours to address any inquiries or concerns you may have. You can also reach out to us at support@smartlead.ai
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