Do you find yourself reaching out to people and never hearing back? Are you wondering why everyone seems to be booking that client, the podcast episode, the event, but you? As a virtual assistant, one of my roles is to reach out to potential leads for my clients. After many years of sending out cold emails for myself and those I work for, I thought it was time to share with you 5 top tips to get a reply from a cold email.

1. Keep it short and sweet

It’s too easy to fall into the trap of wanting to share everything about yourself in the first message. The truth is, if an email arrives in someone’s inbox from someone they don’t know, the likely hood of them clicking on it is small, let alone reading it. If they click on the email and an essay unveils in front of them, your email will likely go directly into the trash. 

To avoid this and be one step closer to a reply from your cold email, the most important thing is to keep it short and sweet. A simple structure to follow for your emails could be something like this:

Hi (enter their name here)

Introduction as to why you’re emailing them specifically,

Followed by what you offer and why it matters to them.

Kind regards,

A strong signature: 

• Name

• Link to website

• Link to LinkedIn or the most active social media platform

• Business logo (if applicable)

P.S (we’ll go into more details about this aspect later in the article)

2. Make it personal

This advice is perhaps the most obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people miss this simple hack. The key to any cold email is making it personal. To do this, you must always start the email with the person’s name. This ensures the receiver is aware the email you’re sending is not another spam email sent out to hundreds of people simultaneously by an automated system. If you miss this, you miss the chance of getting a reply, so get that first name on there ASAP!

3. Nail the first sentence

Another common mistake people make when writing cold emails is starting the email with a lengthy introduction about themselves. The trick is to start with a sentence about the person you are emailing, not yourself. Give them a reason WHY you’re emailing THEM specifically. This can be done by referencing a recent project they’ve worked on; the receiver will feel appreciated and acknowledged. From this, they will want to give more of their time and continue reading the email. 

4. Have a clear CTA

CTA stands for Call To Action. Your call to action is the whole purpose of why you’re emailing. Either you want something from them which will greatly benefit (psst. If you’re emailing for help and the receiver see’s no positive outcome for them, start to rethink the phrasing of your request; even if you’re ultimately gaining more knowledge or skills from them, people always want to feel like they’re gaining something. So be sure to make it clear what they will benefit by giving their time and skills for you) OR you want to offer them your skills/ a product/ your services.

Your second sentence needs to be your CTA, whether it be an invitation for a call, an event you are hosting or a video of your work for them to watch. Give them something to remember you for, to invest more of their time in. 

Similarly to the first tip, the trick is to keep this CTA appealing. A short video, a 30-minute event, and a 15-minute call are all methods which will consume their time, but not enough where it seems an absurd request.

5. The magical P.S 

Following on from discussing your perfect CTA. Your P.S is another area where you can capture your receiver’s attention. Often, cold emails are skim-read; therefore, the receiver’s eyes end up at the bottom much quicker than when they read other emails. The P.S is where you can work your magic. If you need your second sentence to explain your product or the request and reason for emailing, the P.S is the perfect place to place your CTA and leave the receiver with a final enticing invite to stay connected with you. 

So there we have it, 5 top tips to get a reply from a cold email. If you’re finding you want to be doing more outreach and networking but don’t have the time, then I am here to help you. As a Virtual Assistant, my ultimate purpose is to take time-consuming tasks such as cold emails and make them a seamless process alongside your business’s core purpose. Contact me at oliver@olivergallen.com or click here, and I’d be happy to talk.