✨ Understanding Cold Emailing

In today's world of sales, cold outreach has become a go-to strategy. If you have an email inbox, you’ve probably seen countless emails asking for your attention.

Your prospects are constantly flooded with cold emails, many from businesses just like yours. To break through the noise and actually get a response, you need more than a generic message, you need a smart, engaging approach that goes beyond the basics.

Think of cold emails like ads. If they don’t grab attention or inspire action, they’ll be ignored. People won’t respond to dull, impersonal pitches about products they don’t care about.

Not sure how to craft an email that stands out? No worries! We from Seleqt have got you covered. From writing compelling copy to ensuring your message reaches the right inbox, we’ll guide you through the entire process.

What is a cold email?

Before we dive deeper into cold emailing, let’s make sure we’re clear on what it actually means.

Cold emailing is the practice of reaching out to people you’ve never interacted with before—potential customers who don’t yet know about you or your business. However, it’s important to distinguish this from spam.

Unlike spam, which often relies on deceptive subject lines and mass, impersonal messaging, a well-crafted cold email is targeted, relevant, and personalized.

A strong cold email strategy focuses on creating tailored, engaging messages that spark interest and build rapport with potential clients. The goal isn’t just to get noticed but to start a conversation that could lead to a lasting business relationship.

Whether you love it or hate it, cold outreach is a powerful tool for lead generation. When done correctly, it can bring in high-quality leads with minimal effort.

Why you should start with cold emailing?

Cold emailing often gets a bad reputation because many businesses misuse it, sending out generic, impersonal messages that end up ignored. But when done right, it’s one of the most powerful tools for finding new customers and expanding your reach. Instead of seeing it as a shot in the dark, think of it as a way to start meaningful conversations with potential clients.

The negative perception of cold emails comes from poorly written, thoughtless messages that feel more like spam than genuine outreach. Many people treat them like outdated billboards, expecting prospects to instantly respond with interest. But in today's world, that approach simply doesn’t work.

You can’t just list your services and hope for a flood of inquiries. Instead, crafting a compelling, well-researched, and personalized email is key. A carefully tailored email campaign can achieve high response rates!

Consistently reaching out helps people remember your business, making it easier to turn cold contacts into long-term relationships. Beyond lead generation, cold emails are also a great networking tool, allowing you to build valuable connections when you provide real value. Over time, regular communication nurtures trust, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Once you’ve perfected your first campaign, automation can help you scale your efforts while keeping your outreach targeted and effective. This allows you to generate leads with minimal effort, giving you more time to focus on turning them into customers.

At the heart of it all, cold emailing is about starting conversations with potential customers. The more you engage and build relationships, the more likely they are to choose your business when the time is right.

What you need to know before you start?

Your goal should be to spark a conversation, not immediately close a sale. Unless you’re in e-commerce, expecting an instant purchase from a cold email is unrealistic.

Think about it from the recipient’s perspective. Their inbox is overflowing with messages, most of which they ignore. To craft an email that people actually want to read, keep these key principles in mind:

🟣 Focus on delivering value rather than pushing a hard sell.

🟣 Personalize your message, no one wants to feel like just another name on a list.

🟣 Approach the email as the start of a conversation, not just a pitch.

🟣 Make sure the recipient would genuinely benefit from what you’re offering.

🟣 Keep it concise but informative, respect their time.

🟣 Write in a natural, conversational tone. Avoid unnecessary jargon or complex language.

🟣 End with an open-ended question to encourage engagement, but don’t be too aggressive.

When done right, cold emailing feels less like an intrusion and more like an opportunity for connection.

Here are two templates where the key principles are included:

Template 1

Hi [First Name],

I’ve been speaking with other [Industry or Position] professionals, and a common challenge they’re facing is [Key Issue]. Over the past year, we’ve helped companies [industry], leading to [Money Saved, Revenue Added, Productivity Increases].

If this is something you’re dealing with as well, I’d love to set up a quick call to share some ideas that could help. Let me know a time that works for you!

Kind regards,
[Your Name]
[Function] at [Your Company]

Template 2

Hi [First Name],

[Your Name] from [Your Company] here, an sales engagement platform for small businesses and sales teams.

I'm reaching out to you because I noticed on LinkedIn that you are working for [Company name]. Based on your role, I imagine that [role responsibility] is one of your key focus areas.

I'm not sure if you are in the market, but since [comapny 1], [company 2], & 400+ more companies in the SaaS space all use [Your Company] for outreach that feels personalised and more human. I thought you might be interested in improving your sales team.

Worth a conversation?

Kind regards,

[Name]

[Function] at [Company]

This structure works great for us and other B2B sales companies alike, but it’s definitely a good idea to slightly tweak it when deciding to create cold email templates for your unique audience.

For more tips and template structure we have made a cold email guide for you.

🚚 Deliverability

All emails pass through the provider's ISP (internet service provider) gateway, and the ISP will block any email it thinks is spam

How to avoid SPAM

Here are seven key strategies we’ve found that help businesses ensure their emails reach their intended audience.

Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records

At Seleqt we wrote a blog about setting up your records.

Warm-up

The internet assigns two types of addresses to everything online, including email: the domain name address and the IP address. If your IP address has a poor reputation, your emails are more likely to end up in spam folders.

To build trust, you need to warm up your email account. Start by sending messages in small batches and avoid large email blasts or frequent daily sends. Over time, as recipients open and engage with your emails, your IP will gain credibility, allowing you to scale up your sending volume.

Maintain Consistency with Your Sender Name

Using a consistent sender name builds trust and familiarity. If your emails come from various names, recipients may not recognize them and might delete or ignore them.

For instance, a UK business school used multiple sender names in its emails, making it unclear who the messages were from. This inconsistency led to lower engagement. A better approach is to send from a recognizable name, such as “Eva from [Company Name].” Authenticity matters, avoid using fake names and ensure your sender represents a real person or department.

Segment Your Email List for Better Targeting

Segmenting your email list allows you to send more relevant content to different groups of subscribers, increasing open rates and engagement.

There are countless ways to segment your audience, such as by demographics, purchase history, or user behavior. Avoid mass email blasts, subscribers prefer personalized messages that address their specific needs and interests.

Regularly Clean Your Email List

An outdated or disengaged contact list can harm your deliverability. Regularly review and remove inactive subscribers and verify email addresses to keep your list clean.

One client discovered that 10% of their subscriber list contained inactive email addresses from a company that had merged with another firm. Removing those addresses significantly improved their deliverability rates. Ensure your email list remains current by eliminating contacts who haven’t engaged for a long time and verifying addresses periodically.

Wrap-up

Here are seven strategies we've implemented at Seleqt to keep our emails from landing in spam folders:

🟣 Gradually increase your sending volume to build trust with email providers and warm up your inbox.

🟣 Steer clear of common spammy phrases like "free," "guaranteed," and "limited-time offer."

🟣 Keep the number of links and attachments to a minimum to reduce the risk of being flagged.

🟣 Use spam-checking tools before sending your emails to ensure deliverability.

🟣 Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate your emails. (We’ve linked to our guide in the first comment!)

🟣 Send emails at varied intervals to avoid spam filters. At Seleqt, we randomize sending times to help with this.

🟣 Write concise, natural-sounding emails that resemble communication from a colleague rather than a salesperson.

By following these tips, you can improve your chances of reaching your recipients' inboxes.

🤖 Automate your campaign and see it working

When you totally understand what email outreach is and you decided to start sending your email templates to your prospects it is time to automate your email campaign.

Email may play a pivotal role in your marketing strategy, but there's no reason for you to do everything yourself. That's where automated email campaigns come into play.

In a nutshell, automated email campaigns are emails or a series of emails that are sent out automatically

Efficient lead generation

With the help of email automation, businesses can easily identify and target potential leads. Our lead finder feature enables businesses to access a large pool of potential customers. Automating lead generation helps businesses find and contact many leads, boosting their chances of success.

Automate follow-ups

Follow-ups are an essential part of any outreach campaign. Automating follow-up emails ensures that no lead falls through the cracks and increases the chances of a response. Set up a series of automated follow-up emails that are sent at strategic intervals, reminding your recipients about your initial email and providing additional value or incentives to encourage a response.

Craft hyper-personalized emails

One of the most critical aspects of successful outreach campaigns is personalization. Generic, impersonal emails are unlikely to grab your prospects' attention.

That's where our AI snippets feature comes into play. It uses hyper-personalized icebreakers to create compelling cold emails that resonate with your audience. Using AI, you can customize your messages for each person, making them feel important and more likely to respond positively.

Conclusion

Seleqt simplifies email campaign automation by allowing you to create personalized outreach at scale. With its intuitive platform, you can easily find email addresses of your prospects and send tailored emails to them. Seleqt ensures your messages are delivered and saving your sales team valuable time.

Manual outreach can be time-consuming and inefficient. With our email outreach feature, you can automate your email-sending process. You can send many personalized emails to potential customers without spending a lot of time on each one.

Automation helps you reach more people, generate leads, and grow your business consistently. 🚀