By the end of 2026, a whopping 395.5 billion emails will have been sent. Each day.
Now, let’s do some quick math. That means the average person will receive nearly 50 emails every day. Quite a lot, right?
In these competitive conditions, perfecting agency outreach can seem tough.
But in reality, it comes down to understanding three key areas: reputation, volume, and engagement.
In this article, we break down helpful tips to boost your cold emailing efforts in these 3 areas.
We’ll show you how to build a great reputation that gets people’s attention, adjust the number of emails you send, and create content that excites your recipients.
So let’s get started:
Why does sender reputation matter for agencies?
Sender reputation is important for agencies because it’s basically how email providers perceive you as a sender.
Think of it as your agency’s online scorecard.
If you have a good reputation, your emails are more likely to reach people’s inboxes instead of getting stuck in the spam folder.
Why does it matter?
When your emails reach potential clients, you have a better chance of getting responses and building relationships. For agency outreach specialists who rely on email to connect with new clients and grow their business, it’s very important.
A stellar reputation also means your emails are seen as trustworthy. If email providers trust you, people are more likely to see and trust your messages too.
This can make a big difference in how successful your campaigns are.
📚 Are you interested in learning more about sender reputation? Check this article.
#1 Tips on reputation
If you want to keep a solid sender reputation, follow our practices:
Make building trust with each email service provider a top priority
When you’re reaching out via email, imagine that an email service provider is a gatekeeper to your audience.
You want to be on their good side so your emails get through to the inbox and not the spam folder.
That means:
- keeping your email list clean using email list cleaning services,
- and staying away from spammy email tactics.
If you can do these two things, your messages will reach the people you want to talk to.
💡 Examples of email list cleaning services: Bouncer, ZeroBounce, BriteVerify
💡 Examples of spammy practices to avoid:
- 👉 buying email lists
- 👉 using misleading subject lines
- 👉 overusing sales language
- 👉 sending unsolicited attachments
- 👉 overloading emails with too many links
📚 Find the best email service providers here.
Use warm-up tools
When you’re using a new email address or launching a campaign, always start small.
Gradually send more emails over time using warm-up tools. This helps email providers see you as a legitimate sender, not a spammer rushing in.
| Are you looking for a warm-up solution? Start with Woodpecker’s Email Warm-up tool. Woodpecker engages in real conversations to naturally improve your sender reputation. All so your emails have the best chance to bypass the spam detectors and hit the main inbox. It’s not just effective, but also more affordable than other warm-up tools. If you’re ready to see the difference, start your 7-day free trial today and experience top deliverability.  |
💥 Bonus: here’s a structured table format for your email agency outreach campaign schedule using warm-up tools that can help you gradually increase your outreach as you establish your agency’s credibility:
📚 Read: how to warm up your email address before cold outreach & why is inbox warmup necessary?
Keep an eye on email engagement metrics
How many people open and read your emails? Who clicks through? Who replies?
These numbers tell you a lot about what’s working and what’s not.
If you see a dip in these numbers, it might be time to switch things up.
Remember, good engagement means email providers will likely treat your emails better, and that’s good news for getting your message across.
👀 Metrics to keep an eye on:
- open rate
- click-through rate
- conversion rate
- bounce rate
- unsubscribe rate
- reply rate
- engagement over time
Rotate and refresh email addresses when needed
Using the same email address to send tons of messages can lead to problems with email providers as they might start seeing your activity as spammy.
To keep your email delivery healthy and make your messages reach the inbox, it’s a good idea to occasionally switch to a new email address. Alternatively, you can give the existing one a break.
Craft a solid backup strategy for emails
You also need a backup plan for your emails. This could mean keeping copies of essential communications or setting up a secondary email account just in case the primary one encounters issues.
With a strategy like that, you can swiftly address technical glitches or security concerns without interrupting your outreach activities.
Fine-tune your follow-up emails to boost engagement
Your follow-up emails should evolve based on your audience’s responses. Adjust them to include content that resonates more effectively, whether it’s some cool insights or updates that spark interaction.
Tailoring your messages to meet the interests and needs of your recipients will:
- help increase engagement
- and lead to more successful conversations and conversions.
Here are a few real-life examples of how you can fine-tune follow-up emails in various scenarios:
“Thanks for joining our webinar on digital marketing trends! We noticed you asked a question about SEO strategies. Here’s a detailed guide on the latest SEO techniques we think you’ll find useful.”
“Thank you for purchasing our eco-friendly water bottle! Many of our customers find our guide on sustainable living practices helpful for making the most of their purchases. Check it out here!”
“Hi [Name], your subscription to our cloud storage service will expire in 30 days. Renew now to continue enjoying seamless service without interruption. As a thank you, here’s a 10% discount on your renewal.” |
📚 Check out how you can boost sales with follow-ups here.
Other tips on reputation include:
- Adjust your email content for peak performance
- Strategically manage the format and length of your emails
- Take proactive steps to keep your open rates high
- Stay committed to working on email reputation
Why does volume matter for agencies?
Volume is another vital aspect of email outreach for agencies.
If you send too many emails from one mailbox, it might start to look like spam to email providers. From there, the way to hurt your sender reputation is very short.
But there’s a balance to find.
Sending too few emails might mean you’re not reaching enough potential clients to grow your business. So, you have to figure out the right number of emails to send. This makes messages reach people without overwhelming them or getting marked as spam.
For agency outreach practices, managing email volume wisely is key to keeping campaigns effective and building strong relationships with clients.
The outcome? Your outreach efforts are more successful.
Tips on volume
So let’s look closely at how you can master your cold email volume:
Steer clear of overwhelming single mailboxes with too many emails
It’s really easy to think that sending tons of emails from one mailbox will get you better results.
But the thing is that it can backfire.
If you overload a single email address with too many outgoing messages, you risk being flagged as spam. That’s not what you want, right?
It’s better to spread out your emails across several mailboxes to keep things smooth and your reputation intact.
💡 What could that look like in practice?
- Industry-specific outreach:
Email address: [email protected]
Purpose: Targeting specific industries with tailored marketing solutions.
Examples: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
- Geographic targeting:
Email address: [email protected]
Purpose: Reaching potential clients based on their geographic location.
Examples: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
- Service-specific campaigns:
Email address: [email protected]
Purpose: Promoting different services offered by the agency.
Examples: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Keep emails away from the spam folder with Woodpecker’s solution for cold email campaigns. Try it for free to see how it works.  |
Strike the balance between volume and engagement
You need to send enough emails to keep your audience engaged but not so many that it becomes overwhelming.
Monitor how your audience responds to different volumes of emails. If engagement decreases with higher volumes, it’s a sign to reduce the frequency.
📚 How many cold emails should you send per day?
Get the lowdown on provider limits versus what’s safe to send
Your email service may let you send thousands of emails daily, but that doesn’t mean it’s beneficial.
Be sure to differentiate between maximum limits and optimal practices. Aim for an email volume that maintains high quality and low bounce rates to protect your sender reputation.
📚 Worth reading: what are the sending limits of various email hosts?
Keep tabs on and adjust your open and engagement rates
Regularly check the open and engagement rates of your campaigns.
If you notice a dip or if things aren’t going as well as expected, don’t hesitate to tweak your approach.
Sometimes, small adjustments in your email content or timing can make a big difference in how people interact with your emails.
Be aware of what missed opportunities in low engagement could cost you
Low engagement doesn’t mean just fewer clicks or less interaction. It can put you at risk of missing out on potential leads.
Understanding the impact of low engagement makes you realize the importance of optimizing your emails. Improving your engagement rates will boost your chances of converting contacts into clients.
💡 Common reasons for low engagement & how to fix them:
- poor subject lines -> rewrite
- lack of personalization -> personalize and add more details
- sending frequency -> increase or decrease
- irrelevant content -> rewrite
- timing issues -> adjust
- unresponsive design -> redesign
- spammy appearance -> rewrite
- poor segmentation -> fix
Choose lasting durability over just racking up the numbers
Focus on building a long-term strategy for your email campaigns rather than just trying to send as many emails as possible.
Quality always trumps quantity.
A well-thought-out approach that puts meaningful interactions first will lead to better long-term results and a stronger reputation.
Other tips on volume include:
- Use the power of early email innovations
- Create content that ramps up engagement
- Consistently measure your campaign’s performance against industry norms
- Clear up common misconceptions about bounce rates and email deliverability
Why does engagement matter for agencies?
Finally, we’ve got engagement.
This is pivotal for agencies because it shows that people aren’t just receiving your emails, but also interacting with them.
When someone opens an email, clicks a link, or replies, it means your message is working.
Good engagement helps improve your sender reputation, so it’s more likely that email providers will deliver your emails directly to inboxes.
In agency outreach, engagement is a sign that your strategies are effective. It tells you what works and what doesn’t, so you can tailor your approach to better meet the needs of potential clients. High engagement rates often lead to more conversions = more clients are interested in your services.
Generally speaking, engagement lets agencies build relationships and grow their business.
#3 Tips on engagement
So are you interested in boosting those engagement metrics?
We know how to do it:
Engage in every email you send
Every email you send should have a purpose and engage your recipient.
Whether it’s sharing useful information, asking a question, or providing an update, each email should feel personalized and relevant.
Thanks to that, you’ll help keep your audience interested and involved.
💡 Here’s how this could go:
Useful information:
- “Here are 5 actionable tips to improve your website’s conversion rate.“
- “Check out our latest blog post on leveraging Instagram for business growth.“
- “Download our free ebook on content marketing strategies for startups.“
Questions:
- “What are your current marketing goals for this quarter?“
- “How do you currently handle lead generation for your business?“
- “What challenges are you facing with your current branding strategy?“
Updates:
- “We’ve recently launched a new case study showcasing our successful SEO campaign.“
- “Our team just attended a digital marketing conference and learned some valuable insights we’d love to share with you.“
- “Exciting news! We’ve expanded our services to include email marketing automation.“
Basic personalization:
Advanced personalization:
📚 How does personalization impact cold email deliverability?
Spark lively conversations with feedback and opinion questions
One great way to increase engagement is to ask for feedback or opinions in your emails.
This shows that you value your recipients’ input and starts a two-way conversation.
People like to share their thoughts and feel heard, so it’s a nice strategy to deepen their connection to your agency.
Boost engagement by embracing multi-channel strategies
Don’t limit yourself to just email. Integrating multiple communication channels like social media, phone calls, or even direct mail can take your outreach efforts to another level.
With a multi-channel approach, you’ll reach your audience through their preferred methods of communication. The result? Increased engagement, naturally.
📚 Check out how Woodpecker integrates with your favourite tools for multichannel marketing campaigns
Improve follow-up emails with captivating visuals and media
To keep your audience engaged, you should also consider adding eye-catching visuals or media to your follow-up emails.
Examples include anything from relevant images, infographics, or short videos that complement your message.
Elements like that will make your emails more interesting and can help convey your points more effectively. Once again, this will set you up for better interactions with your recipients.
Use gentle nudges as calls to action
Instead of using aggressive or demanding language in your calls to action, opt for gentle nudges.
By that, we mean phrases like “Feel free to reach out,” or “Let us know your thoughts at your convenience.”
Such soft calls to action are less intrusive and more inviting. People will feel more comfortable responding at their own pace, and this can increase the likelihood of engagement.
💡 More examples:
- “We’re here to help whenever you’re ready to discuss further.“
- “If you have any questions, we’re just a quick email away.“
- “Feel free to get in touch whenever it’s convenient for you.“
- “We’d love to hear from you whenever you have a moment.“
- “Your feedback is valuable to us whenever you’re ready to share.“
- “We’re eager to learn more about your needs whenever you’re comfortable.“
📚 What does the perfect CTA look like?
Draw attention with irresistible lead magnets
You can attract more interest and engagement by offering valuable lead magnets.
It might be a free ebook, a white paper, or access to exclusive content that is relevant to your audience.
Your lead magnets have to be compelling and directly relate to your audience’s interests or needs. When you provide something of value, you also give people a good reason to engage with you.
Other tips on engagement include:
- Try out incentives to secure meetings
- Tailor your outreach with conditional email campaigns
- Start with light and straightforward initial emails
- Always fine-tune your email content to keep engagement high
Conclusion
If you want to learn even more about perfecting outreach, check out our two seminars on agency outreach here and here.
| If you’re looking for a cold emailing solution, check out Woodpecker. Woodpecker makes it easy for agencies like yours to send cold emails and manage client accounts. It delivers emails smoothly and offers tools to monitor success. With a simple interface and helpful support, you can focus on growing your business. Trusted by over 13,000 professionals, Woodpecker is known for its reliability and effectiveness. It’s a great solution for those looking to streamline their outreach efforts and achieve better results. Sign up for a free trial today!  |
Other than that, best of luck!