It's Day 9 of Let's Talk About It with #30Guestsin30Days on DETAILS! Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.
If we’d be honest, we both have had to reach out to people we don’t know for help. But, how can you go about it?
Meaning of a cold email
A cold email is an email you send to a person that doesn’t know you, your business, or what you do. Usually, you send a cold email when you have a benefit, opportunity, or favour to gain from the recipient.
Why you may need to send cold emails:
You will not always know the people that can help you. At a particular point, you’ll need to reach out to other people outside your circle.
How Not to Send Cold Emails
>> Do not send a generic email: We all know what generic messages look like. A generic email can be sent to multiple recipients because the content is not personalized to one person.Do avoid these.
>> Do not send cold emails to ask questions you can find answers to on Google - If whatever help you desire can be found online, don’t make a fool of yourself by asking such questions.
>> Avoid long emails: Everyone is busy. Even if not busy, everyone has something to do with their time. We all do the quick scan when we see a long message online. Except you’re interested, you likely won’t read the entire thing. So, your cold email must be succinct, straight to the point, and must be clear.
>> Do not send grammatically incorrect messages: I mean, this is the first impression that a person would have of you. You’d want to make it look good.
Now that we’ve seen how not to send cold emails, let’s get right into how to send cold emails that will get you the result you desire.
>> Have a catchy and direct subject line
Your subject line determines whether the recipient reads it or not. It should address the purpose of sending the email, and not be too wordy.
>> Send a personalized introduction:
After your salutation, have a brief introduction of yourself. However, make your introduction personal. For example, if you watched that person speak somewhere, you may say My name is (…) I watched your interview on(….) I saw your post on(…) This shows that you know the recipient, and of course, get him or her to continue reading. You can congratulate the recipient for a recent promotion, a new job or
Before you can do this, you must have conducted your research on the recipient and know what a good conversation starter would be.
>> Be clear and direct about the reason for emailing
I am emailing you to (…) You’ll need to be direct so that your recipient knows exactly what you need from them. Politely ask for what you need and give them options to help you. Would they need further information from you? Or will they need a call?
Acknowledge that they have busy schedules but that their help will go a long way. Remember, nobody owes you anything.
>> Have a Call to Action:
So what next after they’ve read your email? You tell them what to do next. Should they reply to your email? Or ask to schedule a phone call? Ensure that you conclude with a clear and specific option for them to take. For example, I am available by email or LinkedIn messaging and will be happy to respond to you…
Sign out with your closing regards and don’t forget to include your name and telephone number. They might just want to give you a call!
In Conclusion
Cold emailing is an art that can be learned. Nevertheless, some people may not reply to you no matter how well-crafted the email looks. Don’t get discouraged, but keep trying.
So, why not compose that email right now?
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LinkedIn: Iyanuoluwa Adeyemo