Don't write like a template (even if you are a template)

[armdrejoan]

Templates are a great time saver and allow you spam database to replicate a tried and tested message across multiple recipients, but if you’ve chosen your inspiration from some online gallery, remember to stand out or your recipient will perceive your message as the same as dozens of other competitors.

If you use templates, customize them to make them more like you and your brand. There’s no need to use hyperbole or stubbornly crafty words: good writing requires being clear and concise.

Be friendly: The best emails, the ones that build rapport, are conversational. Don’t dive headfirst into why your product is superior to the alternatives, but start by painting the picture of how it will be useful. This is the part where you empathize with your reader, and it can be reassuring to tell them about an experience you or a testimonial customer has.

Keep your email short and clear
This is not a contradiction to the previous point. The secret to writing a perfect email is to provide enough information and package it in a content that is both educational and “fun” to read (it’s called infotainment ).

Before you explicitly ask for something as decisive as a purchase, you need to build trust and recognition. An easy way to do this is to offer value up front, which is why a good cold email should offer information and a free consultation. This approach establishes a very powerful agent in persuasion: reciprocity, a dynamic by which humans naturally tend to reciprocate a favor.

Here are some clear goals to get straight to the point:

Offer a preview of your product or a free demo.
Share an article that helps understand the offer.
Offer guidance or survey results that might make a difference in the reader's business.
Don’t be afraid to give a deadline when you’re waiting for a response: urgency, expressed politely and without ultimatums, gives a reason for action. If your offer is time-limited, mention that; if you’re trying to schedule a meeting, suggest a specific date and time!