Nobody is immune to bad cold emails.
Not even companies like KISSmetrics, who has enchanting web copy and an amazing blog.
Whether it’s the first cold email or the last, nothing kills your cold email campaign faster than bland, un-targeted messaging.
This week I’m making my anonymous email critique public to show how even great companies, like KISSmetrics, struggle with creating personalized emails at scale. We’ve always been big fans of KISSmetrics’ product and are in love with their content, but even their cold emails need some tweaking.
So if you’re looking to improve the performance of your campaigns, here are a few lessons learned from KISSmetrics’ cold emails that you can learn from.
KISSmetrics Email #1: The Intro Email
Subject: Contact Us
Good afternoon, I was looking to connect with a member of your marketing team who might have an interest in learning more about KISSmetrics.
I’d love to share some best practices on how we are continuing to help SaaS businesses like yours increase sign-up conversion rates with our optimization and analytics platform.
I have attached a .pdf sharing more. Please let me know the best time to connect with your team.
Cheers,
Cold Email Mistake #1: Making your subject lines an afterthought
“Subject:Contact Us”
As I scroll through my inbox each day, it’s obvious that most of companies fail to understand the importance of subject lines. Too many companies focus on crafting the body of their message, but still neglect their subject lines.
Subject lines are the first step in engaging a cold prospect with your message. If you don’t grab their attention immediately with this one line, no one will ever even get to your Call to Action.
The problem with this subject line is that it’s vague and not compelling enough to pique my interest. It doesn’t tell me anything about the product or how it can help me. If I can’t tell how the product you’re selling is relevant to my business by the subject line, chances are I’m not going to open it, and neither will your prospects.
Cold Email ProTip #1: Effective subject lines make prospects think and wonder, leaving them wanting more. Avoid generic lines like, “contact us” or “last chance.” These subject lines look exactly like all the others filling you prospects’ trash folders. If you want your prospects to take notice, you need to engage them on a deeper level. You can do this 2 ways: 1) pose a question about their business for example, “Question about {Company}’s email conversion rates” 2) offer a piece of valuable advice like, “idea to 10x {Company}’s conversion rates.”
Cold Email Mistake #2: Turning off prospects with generic, mass messaging
“Good afternoon, I was looking to connect with a member of your marketing team who might have an interest in learning more about KISSmetrics.”
Increasing your open and response rates is all about reaching out to your prospects with highly personalized, targeted messaging. Your prospects want to feel special and know that you understand their pain points and needs. They’re not interested in all the things your product can do; they only want to know how you can help make their lives better.
There is nothing personal about this line. It’s a perfect example of a standard, untargeted email that is easily overlooked.
When I receive emails asking to speak to the “right person,” I (and everyone else) immediately knows that you haven’t done your homework and didn’t take enough time to understand me or my business needs. You shouldn’t be sending out cold emails if you don’t know what type of prospects you’re sending them to.
Cold Email ProTip #2: Yes, it is possible to write personalized emails on a mass scale. The key to successful personalization at scale is developing your buyer personas. Think about your optimal customer: Is it CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, VP of Sales, or marketing managers at tech startups? These are very different roles, each with its own unique responsibilities, so it doesn’t make sense to send the same message to each of the personas. Make sure your messaging is addressing the specific needs of the prospects you’re targeting.
Once you’ve established who your customer is, you can easily create a highly targeted list of prospects. This list enables you to send emails to prospects who are more likely to be interested in your product/service. With this list you can address each prospect individually with custom inserts like, {First} and {Company}. These extra touches give cold emails a more personal and conversational feel that resembles a “one-on-one” even though it’s mass.
KISSmetrics Email #2: The Breakup Email
Subject: Trying to connect one last time…
I wanted to try one final time to ask for your guidance. I understand that this is an extremely busy time; I was hoping you could connect me to the right person to determine if person-based analytics are a fit for Online Media Group Inc.
In the meantime, I will send you some information now-and-then regarding upcoming webinars and events that will allow you and your team to assess the value of KISSmetrics at your own pace?
Cold Email Mistake #3: Relying on your prospects to access your value
“In the meantime, I will send you some information now-and-then regarding upcoming webinars and events that will allow you and your team to assess the value of KISSmetrics at your own pace?”
As long as you continue feeding your prospects the same valueless message, no matter how much information you dump on them, you won’t change their minds.Your prospects aren’t wowed by your company’s awards or the endless list of features your product has to offer. They’re only concerned with what kind of value you can add to their lives.
It isn’t your prospects’ responsibility to determine the value of your product/service.
Don’t be lazy.
You need to spell out the value for them in a way that’s compelling specifically to them. Think about the problems your buyer persona faces on a daily basis. How can your product/service help solve these problems and make their lives easier?
Cold Email ProTip #3: When demonstrating the benefits of your product/service, it’s always better to show your value rather than just talking about it. Including social proof is a great way to prove that you can offer real benefits to your customers. Prospects are more likely to say “yes” when you can point to tangible results from real customers, so take the time to invest in a solid case study. This will ease your prospects’ doubts and make it easier for them to take the next step with you.
Cold Email Mistake #4: Leaving your prospects hanging without a call to action
The goal of a cold email campaign is to get your prospects to act. Don’t expect your prospects to research your product/service on their own time. Whether you want prospects to click through to your website, or schedule a demo, your emails need to tell your prospects exactly what you want them to do next.
The issue with this email is that it lacks a clear call to action. Your CTA should reiterate why you’re reaching out and offer a compelling reason for your prospects to respond.
Cold Email ProTip #4:
Frame your CTA around open-ended questions. Avoid yes/no questions that are easily dismissed by your prospects. Instead, ask questions that will make them stop and think like, “when’s a good time to talk?” or “when do you have 5 minutes to discuss xyz”
Your prospects are more likely to respond when you’ve set a clear time limit on your conversation. Asking someone for just 5 or 10 minutes of their time is more appealing than trying to sell them on a demo before you’ve spoken with them. This approach is less imposing and will help take the dread away from the call..
If you’d like to see more advice on cold email campaigns, check out our “Fool-Proof Guide to Cold Email.”
