Let’s talk about some great tools that’ll help you send emails that actually get replies.
There are plenty of cold email tools out there, so how do you choose the right one? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. You will learn about the best features, user reviews, and pricing. A special treat at the end for your emails – nonstandard tools to make your messages stand out!
Get prepared for perfect email wingman candidates that might support you in expanding your outreach and making every email count.
What is a cold email tool?
A cold emailing tool is software used in the sales process to send emails to potential customers without any prior contact with the sender. It helps automate and personalize mass email campaigns and generate leads and sales.
Who should use cold email marketing software?
There are no limits here, but here is a list of teams, businesses and individuals who may really benefit from using cold email software.
01 Sales teams
Cold email marketing software is a must-have for sales teams. It helps them build a predictable automated sales process, as it makes it easy to send out a bunch of personalized emails fast and keep track of all follow-ups. They get to see who’s interested and tweak the approach to get better results.
A sales team literally has an extra pair of hands in your sales process that fits with the tools they already use. So, a team can expand their sales outreach and turn prospects into customers without the extra stress.
02 Marketing agencies
With cold email marketing software, agencies can create and manage large-scale email campaigns, both to get customers for themselves and generate leads for clients. The tool allows them to send thousands of personalized cold emails tailored to the recipient’s interests or needs.
This means better responses and more interest in what they have to offer. Plus, it helps them see what’s working and what’s not, so they can keep getting better at reaching the target audience.
03 Start-up founders
Building a customer base from scratch while managing limited resources can be tricky for start-ups. Cold email campaigns are a cost-effective part of start-up growth strategies – they help founders reach potential customers and investors quickly.
A cold email tool can ease this process with email automation features. For example, scheduling and sending bulk emails without manual input. It frees up valuable time, and founders don’t have to start hiring if they’re not ready for that.
On top of that, as start-ups look to expand their reach, multichannel outreach becomes a thing. A cold email tool integrates with other platforms and enables founders to coordinate their messaging across different channels.
04 Recruitment agencies
Recruitment agencies often need to contact lots of potential candidates quickly, and cold outreach campaigns are a big part of that. A cold email tool can be used to organize and run these campaigns – it can manage large contact lists, so no potential candidate is overlooked, and email sentences can be set up easily.
Also, many of the cold email outreach tools integrate with platforms like LinkedIn, improving LinkedIn outreach. Which is great for recruiters because they can reach out to professionals where they already are.
05 Freelancers
Freelancers often juggle multiple projects and clients, making it challenging to reach out to new leads consistently. A cold email tool can be a solution. They can set up automated follow-ups, and stay on top of potential clients without having to manually remember each interaction.
Email tracking is another feature that proves invaluable, as it informs freelancers who’s opened their emails and who’s interested in their offerings.
Many cold email tools offer a free plan, which is perfect for freelancers who are mindful of budget constraints.
5 features of cold email tools to look for
The must-haves. Check if your cold email outreach software of choice has them all.
Deliverability monitoring
They keep your cold emails landing where they should – in the inbox, not the spam folder. Deliverability tools help you maintain a good sender reputation, and without it, your emails might end up in the spam folder, ignored and unseen.
Think of it as a guardian for your email campaigns, always making sure your emails play nice with every email service provider.
Bounce shield
You can have your contact details cleaned up before you send anything out. Bounce shield uses email validation to stop spam emails and bounces before they happen. So your list is clean, and your messages are on track.
Your automated follow-ups reach the right people without any hitches as well. It’s a smart filter for your email list
A/B testing
If you want to find what works best in your email campaign, look for an A/B testing feature. It lets you try different versions of your cold emails to see which one gets the best response. Fine-tune your personalized email campaigns, and make each one better than the last.
Custom tracking domains
Give email tracking power a boost! Custom domains are a part of dedicated cold email software that helps with your email warm-up and ensures your cold emails get noticed. Because the domains support email automation, you get more accurate stats and a stronger sender reputation.
Multichannel outreach
When using multi-channel outreach, you may easily keep things consistent and improve communication. It is because you reach out to potential customers through multiple channels, all integrated into one platform, so no more juggling between the apps and tabs.
Multichannel outreach in cold email tools speeds up the sales cycle as well – you engage prospects on their preferred platforms, whether it’s email, social media, or calls.
9 Cold email outreach tools to test out
Once you know what to pay attention to when choosing your sales engagement platform, now it’s time to reveal the best cold email software candidates.
#1 Woodpecker
This cold emailing software is a great choice for agencies, sales teams, and more.
Best features and benefits
There are many other great capabilities. Check out the whole feature list.
🔴 Deliverability capabilities – you can personalize messages, monitor deliverability metrics, and understand bounce reasons – all necessary for successful email campaigns. There’s no need to worry about your email going to spam folder.
🔴 Multichannel outreach – email-LinkedIn-call combined sequences can make your cold email efforts more effective.
🔴 Advanced tracking – monitor your cold email campaigns. Keep an eye on bounce rates, reply rates, click rates, open rates, and more.
🔴 Integrations – connecting Woodpecker with other tools takes only a few clicks. The process is simple, and you can use your favorite platforms right away.
🔴 Email verification – before sending each email in your campaign, Woodpecker checks your email addresses for invalid addresses to reduce unwanted email addresses.
Reviews
This is what G2 reviewers like about Woodpecker:
- simplified and effortless system for easy navigation
- user-friendly dashboard for effective report analysis and data visualization
- A/B testing capabilities
- intuitive and easy-to-use interface
- good support team and customer service
- automated email sequences with customization options
- ability to send cold emails based on recipients’ time zone
- integration options with other platforms like Sendgrid and Google Mail
- effective campaign management with follow-up sequences
- continuous upgrades and new feature additions
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
Pricing
The pricing structure is based on the number of prospects contacted. For instance, reaching out to 500 prospects costs $29/month.
#2 Instantly
The tool focuses more on cold email outreach rather than general sales engagement. But it might be considered as one of the cold email marketing tools, and users tend to choose it.
Best features and benefits
- generative AI
- email warm-up function
- B2B lead database
Reviews
According to G2 reviewers, Instantly:
- has an easy setup and workflow
- lacks features to assist in targeting and analyzing campaign effectiveness in niche industries
- lacks mobile optimization, making on-the-go adjustments difficult
- is unintuitive
- might be a budget barrier for startups and smaller businesses
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
Pricing
Starts at $37.00/month.
#3 Lemlist
If you’re looking for a tool for cold emailing, it’s one of the options. Lemlist is designed for sales and marketing professionals.
Best features and benefits
- spam check
- warm-up
- automate follow-ups
- deliverability tools
Reviews
According to G2 reviewers, Lemlist:
- comes with customizable email campaigns leveraging Google Sheets and Zapier integration
- has technical issues with email campaigns
- provides poor customer support with a complicated and demoralizing refund process
- has recurrent software bugs, and lack of intuitive user experience, and unannounced price increases and billing issues
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
Pricing
Starts at $59/month.
#4 Smartreach
Smartreach is a cold email outreach tool. However, before committing, check out the reviews and list of features first.
Best features and benefits
- multichannel outreach
- shared inbox
- deliverability tools
According to G2 reviewers, Smartreach:
- offers easy to use with automated follow-ups and a user-friendly interface
- has occasional errors with integrations, causing disruptions in workflow
- lacks behavioral-based workflow creation for prospects within campaigns
- needs improved prospect list management
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
Pricing
Starts at $23/month.
#5 FastOutreach
This tool focuses mostly on getting leads via emails. It also adjusts the style of writing to your own.
Best features and benefits
- customization of your email campaigns
- AI support
- integrations
Reviews
There are no reviews on popular platforms about Fast Outreach.
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
#6 GMass
GMass offers cold email capabilities as well as email list builder, email verification, and bounce management. It’s a Gmail account plugin.
Best features and benefits
- A/B testing
- automatic follow-ups
- personalization
Reviews
According to G2 reviewers, GMass:
- costs higher than some users would prefer
- might be a bit complicated when learning A/B automation, and follow-up sequences
- lacks some advanced features compared to competitors, like email warmup and mobile functionality
- not user-friendly interface
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
Pricing
Starts at $19.95/month.
#7 Saleshandy
Some say that it’s robust cold email software, but the reviews are quite mixed. It’s best suited for IT services, SaaS, recruitment, outbound sales, and agencies.
Best features and benefits
- email warm-up
- wide range of features
- email deliverability capabilities
Reviews
According to G2 reviewers, Saleshandy:
- comes with robust reporting and is praised for automation features
- has a medium to high learning curve, especially for A/B testing and follow-up sequences
- has high service costs as outreach scales
- misses tools like rotators and built-in CRM integration
- involves a lengthy setup process
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
Pricing
It starts at $36/month.
#8 Mailshake
Some say it’s one of the best cold email software, but the reviews reveal the contrary opinion about Mailshake. Let’s see its features and the reviews.
Best features and benefits
- deliverability tools
- integrations
- personalization
Reviews
According to G2 reviewers. Mailshake:
- lacks in-dashboard video tutorials
- doesn’t have as robust integrations as the competitors
- could work on the interface – it’s not so user-friendly
- comes with solid analytics
Free trial – yes or no?
No, but there’s a demo available.
Pricing
Starts at $58/month.
#9 Vocus.io
It’s a basic cold emailing tool for running cold email campaigns that lacks some advanced features like deliverability tools.
Best features and benefits
- personalization
- tracking
- follow-ups
- CRM integration
Reviews
According to G2 reviewers, Vocus.io:
- is simple and easy to use
- lacks advanced features compared to other tools
- has some performance issues like bugs and slow response time
- could have better tools for importing/exporting contacts
Free trial – yes or no?
Yes.
Pricing
Starts at $5/month.
Complementary/non obvious cold emailing tools
And something extra for you! You gathered non-standard tools to make your email even better.
Canva for graphics
You can create eye-catching headers or images that make your email pop and get noticed in a busy inbox. Use Canva and make your cold emails shine.
👉🏻 Check out Canva.
Bitly for shorter links
No more messy, lengthy links. Bitly shortens website links so they don’t scare readers away. It also lets you see how many people clicked on your links, so you know what your readers are interested in.
👉🏻 Check out Bitly.
ChatGPT for grammar and style check
Use ChatGPT to check your emails for spelling or grammar mistakes. It can also help you write in a way that sounds natural and friendly. Write an email, paste it in there, and ask: How can I make my email more appealing? You’ll be surprised, it’s a mine of ideas.
👉🏻 Check out ChatGPT.
Survicate for quizzes
With Survicate, you can add quizzes to your emails, and make them more interactive! For example, you can get insights into what the person you’re emailing is interested in or needs help with.
👉🏻 Check out Survicate.
ReallyGoodEmails
Not necessarily a tool but a platform that displays emails that are already sent to recipients. Take a look and get some inspo! It’s always good tp learn from the best, isn’t it?
👉🏻 Check out ReallyGoodEmails.
Conclusion on cold email software
We’ve provided some robust options, now it’s your turn to make the choice.
Pick one that feels right, tweak your messages, and start sending. Use these tools to give your emails a boost, but don’t forget to add your own flair.
How to choose the right cold email software? Analyze your needs and budget, and go through the tool you already use. It will help you to narrow down the options.
But if you don’t know yet, Woodpecker is a great tool to try out! Sign in and grab your free trial.
FAQ Section
1. How does a cold email platform differ from a sales engagement platform, and which features are crucial for personalized cold email campaigns?
A cold email platform is specifically designed for sending out cold emails to potential leads, focusing on features like cold email templates, custom domain tracking, and managing unlimited email sending accounts. It’s optimized for outreach processes that involve email as the primary channel. On the other hand, a sales engagement platform offers a broader set of tools that encompass not just cold emailing but also cold calling, social selling, and integrating with CRM systems for a unified sales process. For personalized cold email campaigns, crucial features include the ability to segment and target specific audiences, personalize emails at scale, track email opens and responses, and utilize dedicated account managers for strategic guidance.
2. What benefits do unlimited email accounts offer in a cold email platform, and how can they impact the success of sales engagement efforts?
Unlimited email accounts in a cold email platform offer the flexibility to scale outreach efforts without the constraints of account limitations. This feature allows businesses to segment their outreach by different sales representatives, regions, or product lines, enabling more targeted and personalized communication strategies. The impact on sales engagement efforts is significant, as it allows for more extensive testing of messaging and strategies, better management of sender reputation across different campaigns, and the ability to reach a wider audience without the risk of being limited by email sending caps. This scalability can lead to higher engagement rates, more opportunities for personalization, and ultimately, more successful sales outcomes.
3. Why is a dedicated account manager an important feature for most cold email tools, and how can they enhance the outreach process?
A dedicated account manager is an important feature for most cold email tools because they provide personalized support, strategic advice, and best practices tailored to your business’s specific needs. They can help optimize your outreach process by analyzing campaign performance, suggesting improvements, and assisting with the implementation of advanced features like custom domain tracking and segmenting email lists for personalized campaigns. Their expertise can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your sales engagement efforts, ensuring that you’re not only using the platform to its full potential but also continuously refining your strategies to achieve better results.
4. How can custom domain tracking in cold email templates contribute to the effectiveness of a sales engagement platform?
Custom domain tracking in cold email templates contributes to the effectiveness of a sales engagement platform by improving email deliverability and building sender credibility. By using a domain that recipients recognize and associate with your business, you reduce the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam. This feature also allows for more accurate tracking of email opens, clicks, and responses, providing valuable insights into recipient behavior and campaign performance. Custom domain tracking enhances the personalization and professionalism of your outreach, leading to higher engagement rates and more successful sales engagement efforts.
5. In what ways can personalized cold email campaigns and unlimited email sending accounts drive the success of a sales engagement platform?
Personalized cold email campaigns and unlimited email sending accounts drive the success of a sales engagement platform by enabling businesses to reach out to a broad audience with messages that resonate on an individual level. Personalization increases the relevance of the communication, improving open and response rates, while unlimited sending accounts allow for extensive segmentation, A/B testing, and continuous outreach without the fear of hitting sending limits. Together, these features support a more dynamic and effective sales process, allowing businesses to fine-tune their messaging, target the right prospects, and scale their efforts according to campaign results and market demands. This strategic flexibility and capacity for personalization are key to maximizing the impact of sales engagement activities via cold email platform.