.webp)
Before founding Coldlytics, my career was built on cold email success! If anyone tells you (and I hear this a lot) that cold email is dead…frankly, they’re not doing it right.
Over the course of my career, I’ve sent millions of cold emails. While I’ve maintained stellar open & click rates, the real win was that I added hundreds of millions of dollars in pipeline value. My cold emails even had a role in closing single deals worth north of $20 million.
In other words, I know a thing or two about cold email success.
Since you’re here, you’re probably wondering how your cold email campaigns measure up. I’ve gathered data from sources far and wide, and I’ll also include a few of my own benchmarks to help you gauge success.
Getting attention for your business can feel like an uphill battle—especially through cold email. 20% to 40% isn’t a number to write home about, but platforms that specialize in cold email delivery can see average open rates as high as 53%. With over half of your list seeing each email, a well-constructed message will generate results.
This is proof that exceptional rates are possible with the right approach—despite many marketers claiming cold email is dead. I know from experience that a quality list and a personalized message (more on that later) can open real doors. My goal was to hit 70%+ on my campaigns.
This massive differential here depends on a few factors:
For example, if you’re able to do a quick site audit for each lead, you’ll generate a much higher response rate than a boilerplate message. Obviously, that limits the number of leads you can contact, but you’ll get a much higher ROI for each person on your list.
Email has long been considered one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing, especially for its ability to reach a limitless number of contacts simultaneously. It’s not the flashiest type of marketing, but the tools are inexpensive, with minimal manpower needed, and the direct reach of a massive audience is unbeatable.
Just sending one or two polite reminders can more than double your chances of hearing back. People are busy, inboxes get crowded, and your first message might get lost in the shuffle. Following up shows persistence and professionalism, and it often makes the difference between being ignored and getting a reply. Marketers who fall short of the $42 ROI are giving up too easily.
If you’ve been around email for a while, you’ve likely heard that shorter emails perform better than longer ones. And that’s true…to an extent. Too short, and you’re not giving enough context to respond. Gone are the days when 1-2 sentences of pure intrigue can generate significant interest.
There’s almost no more effective marketing strategy than sharing social proof—especially if that proof comes from someone they know. Of course, finding mutual connections and mentioning them in each cold email is a significant undertaking, but sharing success stories within the industry isn’t a heavy lift. The best results come from sharing stories of clients you’ve had in the same field as the ones you’re reaching out to.
That’s too low a number, especially since some inbox providers report an open whether one happened or not. The key here is “sales” emails. Work to make your emails genuinely helpful by solving an issue that your target market is facing. They’ll understand you’re selling something, but position yourself as so valuable that they can’t resist.
Luckily, most email providers automatically format your emails to look good on pretty much any device and screen size. However, you paid good money for your list (or spent a ton of time building it), so it’s worth sending a test or two to yourself to ensure it looks great on your phone.
The #1 reason for such low reply rates is poor data sourcing and validation. Ensure that wherever you procure your list isn’t selling that same list to dozens of other marketers. You want emails that go to decision-makers’ inboxes and have been verified. Bounce rates above 5% are unacceptable.
A 7.5% bounce rate means you’re investing in low-quality data. A much higher percentage of those emails are likely going to generic inboxes or to people who no longer work at companies. Shoot for bounce rates as close to zero as possible, such as with Coldlytics.
Email has survived this long because it’s a non-invasive way to receive and send messages. They’re easy to ignore, yet virtually everyone checks their email multiple times per day. Take heart that you’re investing in a medium that your contacts prefer.
Personalizing a subject line stands out in an inbox because few do it. Generally, this means adding the person’s first name, but it could also be done using their city, company, industry, or another piece of information.
By using their name, you’re showing that you took more time and attention than many other cold email marketers. While you can use merge fields to automate adding a name to the subject line, it still gives the appearance that you aren’t mass-blasting everywhere with your offer.
You could use simple personalization features already mentioned, such as name, industry, or location. However, the next step that sets you apart from almost all others would be to specifically research something specific about the recipient. For example, call out a specific campaign or social post they did, or do a quick site audit.
Of course, personalization doesn’t just result in opens and clicks, it makes you more money. If your personalization of the email can call attention to a specific need they have and proof that you can fix it, you’re way ahead of the game.
Segmentation refers to grouping your lists by certain characteristics, such as demographics, interests, or actions they’ve taken. Sending emails specifically targeted to those segments results in a massive rise in revenue. For cold email, start by purchasing a hyper-targeted and high-quality list.
Segmenting emails results in more relevant messaging. For example, you could segment emails based on whether the recipient opened a previous email. This suggests increased interest and you could send a more aggressive follow-up series. Sending more emails to more engaged people results in higher open rates.
The more relevant the email is to the recipient, the more likely they are to open it. If one segment of your list consists of CEOs, a subject line specifically mentioning “CEO” will certainly boost your open rates.
More email recipients are growing savvy to a sender’s ability to automatically add their first name to an email. However, adding a second personalized field (such as their city) can help the recipient feel like it’s a more one-on-one interaction.
Never stop a campaign after a single email, as even a single follow-up helps tremendously. Most people need 7+ exposures to a brand before they buy, so continuing to send emails over a longer period can do wonders for your revenue.
This statistic outlines just how long the customer lifecycle can be. Most people aren’t ready to move forward with you after a single email out of the blue.
Stopping at just one email means you’re potentially losing over half of the possible revenue! Many of your recipients may have missed the first email, didn’t have time to fully read it, or are just cautious by nature. Keep sending.
In fact, keep sending longer than you probably think! Of course, this depends on the industry that you’re in, as B2B clients often take longer to land. If your 8th email still brings in results, don’t stop.
In a similar vein, this stat shows that you’ll get 3x the responses simply by putting together a longer sequence. Some of these might be people asking you to stop, but overall, more sends will lead to more revenue.
Many marketers with a warm list send every day, especially to new subscribers. However, the logic reverses when you’re cold emailing, as sending each day to someone who doesn’t know you can result in more unsubscribes and spam rates than otherwise.
When you get a response, send one back immediately! Either have a notification go to your phone, or even set up an auto-response to help maximize interaction.
This statistic can be wildly dependent on industry, but a Monday or Tuesday send during business hours will likely hit your B2B audience the best. If you’re in B2C, try mornings, evenings, or even weekends.
It’s even more important for cold email, because the recipient has no idea who you are. The “From” line won’t have significance to them, so work extra hard on crafting intriguing subject lines.
Even better than numbers are specific numbers. Humans are hardwired to take note of this. For example, don’t say “about 1,000” when you can say “994.” Specificity grabs attention.
Here’s another stat that can be wildly based on industry. For certain audiences, emojis can humanize you, while in others, it might be considered unprofessional. Choosing the right emoji also plays a part.
One of the most profitable marketing activities is to split-test. No one picks the absolute, optimal subject line on the first try. There’s always room to improve, and improvement means more revenue.
Adding a company name can help the email appear more human, and it shows that someone took the time to find out where you work. Of course, this can backfire with overly-tricky messaging like “[Company] laying off 50% of workers” when that’s clearly not true.
It’s copywriting 101 to understand the pain points of your potential audience. The trick is to convey this succinctly in a subject line.
While desktops (depending on provider) can show 55+ characters, remember that 81% of emails are opened on mobile. Keep them short, simple, and curiosity-inducing.
Now that you’ve seen the statistics, what factors matter the most?
First and foremost, your lead data should be as pristine as possible. Your emails should be directed to the decision-makers directly, rather than ending up in a general office or a low-level employee's inbox. The best lists will have up-to-date addresses with only a few bounces.
Plus, you should get plenty of information for each lead, including:
If you’re not getting this type of information, find a company that will give you enough actionable insight to send effective cold emails.
The more you can customize each email that you send, the more likely you are to get a response.
We put together a cold email template that works for any niche, based on my experience sending millions of emails.
Lastly, one of the most important drivers of revenue for cold email is persistence. The majority of marketers give up after a few sends, but most results happen after several contacts. For example, it’s commonly said in the marketing world that a prospect needs seven touches before they’ll become a customer. Why give up after 2-3 emails to a cold lead?
Quality data for cold email, phone, or direct mail. Researched on demand.
Businesses worldwide are igniting their sales pipe with Coldlytics.
Be one of them.