A cold email works best when it is short, specific and asks for one thing. Enter what you do, who you are writing to, something true you noticed about their business and the one step you want them to take. You get four different short emails, each with a subject line, a word count and a reading time, so you can pick the one that sounds most like you.
People decide in a few seconds whether an email is for them. A short message that shows you looked at their business passes that test. A long one about your company does not, because the reader has to work out why it matters to them.
Specific beats clever. 'I noticed your booking page does not load on a phone' tells them you really looked. It also points to something you can fix, which makes your offer easy to understand.
The observation and offer version leads with what you noticed, then says what you do. The question opener starts with a short question about who handles the thing you offer. The quick win names a small fix they could make. The plain version skips the observation and states the offer in two lines, which suits warm contacts.
Try more than one. Send one version to a small group and another to a second group, then compare who replies. With a few dozen emails the result is only a hint, but it beats guessing.
The call to action should be the smallest step that moves things forward. A short call or a quick example is easier to agree to than a meeting about your whole proposal. Make the step something they can do in one reply.
Do not chase with the same message. If there is no answer, wait a few days and send a different short note that adds something new, such as an example, and stop after a few tries.
Short enough to read in under a minute. A common rule of thumb is about 50 to 120 words. The tool counts words for each version and shows a reading time based on 200 words a minute, so you can see how quick each one is to read.
One that is short, plain and about them or their business. The four versions use different subject lines so you can test which one gets opened. Avoid all capitals and exclamation marks.
Yes. They are built from fixed structures (an observation and offer, a question opener, a quick win and a plain version) with your details filled in. Results come from templates, so edit them until they sound like you.
Rules for unsolicited commercial email differ by country and by whether you write to a business or a person. Check the rules where you and the recipient are, include who you are and give a clear way to opt out. This tool does not give legal advice.
It is the word count of the longest version divided by 200 words a minute, shown in seconds. A 100-word email takes about 30 seconds to read.
Related: Sales follow-up email templates, Email subject line tester, Agency pricing calculator.
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