Cold email course

The reply rate tells you how many of the people who opened the message, replied to it. Of course you want it as high as possible, and you also want the majority to be positive.

The first thing that influences the reply rate is your target group. You need to reach people who can benefit from what you have to offer. We talked about it in the first lesson.

The other factor is the content of your email. The elements you A/B test to get your reply rate into better shape are:

• email intro
• value proposition
• call to action
• your signature

A bad email intro may ruin your whole work. If you start off by talking about yourself and your company, nobody will read further and consequently nobody will reply. Instead, explain why you reached out to this particular person. Ask an intriguing question concerning their business or industry that will hook their attention. Create at least two versions of an intro and check if your reply rate increases. 

Another thing to test is a different value proposition. Try highlighting another benefit of your solution and check if it turns out more appealing to prospects. And sometimes even small tweaks to the wording of your pitch can make a big difference. Prepare version B of your email with a slightly paraphrased value proposition, and versions C and D referring to totally different benefits. Check which one wins and stick to it.

Next element that has an impact on the reply rate is the CTA at the end of your email. You may go for a general version like “Do you have time to talk about it this week?” or a more precise one, such as “Do you have 15 minutes  to talk about it on Wednesday?”. Or even a more precise one, like “Do you have 15 minutes to talk about it on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.?”. Check which one works best in your case. 

And lastly: your signature. You’re probably thinking what has an email signature to do with reply rate. The answer is: it strengthens your credibility. Make sure it includes your full name, job title, company name and address, and a link to your company website at a minimum. Experiment with other elements such as your photo, links to social media profiles, or phone number. But keep it short and simple to avoid using too much HTML, which alerts spam filters.

Ok, it’s time to move to the last section of this lesson on how to maintain and improve your deliverability rate.