10 Great cold email examples – Learn how to stand out in 2024!

Most people tend to ignore cold emails unless you make them appear less pushy.  

Did you know? Personalization can increase cold email open rates by up to 50%, making cold emails more relevant to recipients. 

Many skilled writers and copywriters have long been using scientific principles of persuasion to make cold emails more effective. 

The best way to understand what a successful cold email looks like is by looking at the good cold emails ever sent. It will provide valuable insights for your email campaigns.  

We have compiled the 10 best cold email examples from seasoned marketers and sales reps who have brought business leads.  

Before we explore some great cold email examples, let’s first understand the different types of cold outreach email businesses send. 

What are the various types of cold emails businesses send?

Cold emails serve different goals, including lead generation, direct sales, and networking.

Let’s understand the various types of cold emails and discover who sends them and with what aim:

1. Sales pitch cold emails 

These emails are straightforward and aim directly at selling a product or service. 

The focus is on highlighting the benefits and features of what’s being offered, persuading the recipient to make a purchase. 

Effective sales pitch emails are concise, clear about the value proposition, and include a call-to-action that encourages the recipient to take the next step, such as scheduling your next sales call or a discovery meeting. 

2. Media pitch cold emails 

Media pitch cold emails are used to promote information about your service or product to influencers, journalists, and bloggers. 

The goal is to spark interest and show why your story is worth sharing. It’s all about creating a buzz! 

This approach falls under advertising or inbound marketing, which can help the prospects increase their brand exposure and attract press coverage.

3. Networking pitch cold emails 

These emails are all about building connections. Regardless of the immediate outcome (be it a backlink, new marketing cooperation, or a product sale), the aim is to expand the network. 

4. Brand pitch cold emails 

You send this kind of cold email to contact other businesses for potential collaborations that could benefit both parties.  

Think of it as a strategic alliance, where connecting can lead to greater reach and success than going it alone. 

With collaboration, both brands can expand their reach and impact beyond what they could achieve alone.   

5. Content promotional cold emails 

It is used to promote high-quality content like blog posts or articles. The objective is to acquire backlinks and get mentions, or references, increasing the content’s visibility and reach.

6. Link-building cold emails 

Link-building emails are all about contacting other websites to link back to your content.  

By acquiring backlinks to your website, you’re boosting your digital presence, making it easier for potential customers to find you online.

7. Cold follow-up emails  

If you don’t get a response to your first email, sending a follow-up email can help you find more leads and keep the chance open.

A study reveals that 80% of sales required a minimum of five follow-ups. So, make sure you don’t miss showing up with a meaningful follow-up with the right person and at the right time!

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Let’s move to the much-awaited part of the blog post – the best cold outreach email examples.

10 Best cold email examples to learn from for boosting lead generation 

If you wish to discover the idea behind these cold email campaign examples, explore the main highlights and try to practice them in your next campaign.

Let’s take a close look at each of the cold email examples and learn what makes them successful: 

Cold email example 1: Perfect subject line with a personal touch

No matter how great your cold email is, it is of no use if the recipient doesn’t open it. 

Subject lines impact the opening rate of your cold email. 

I noticed that the top-performing cold email subject line examples have impactful elements like a personal touch to catch the recipient’s attention or a clear value proposition.

These elements work together to make the email stand out in a crowded inbox and prompt the recipient to open the message.

Below is a winning example of what a compelling subject line looks like:

Main highlights: 

• Personalization by adding a name: Steven makes it more personal and grabs attention at the first point.
• Pique interest: The phrase “your cat is amazing” gives a more connecting vibe as it mentions something that prospects care about.

Cold email example 2: Hyper-personalized and solution-oriented  

Earlier cold emails were about telling your story, but now they are written, presenting how the target audience perceives things.

Hyper-personalized cold sales emails can significantly enhance engagement rates by addressing the recipient’s specific interests, recent activities, or demonstrated needs.

This approach is unique and uses data-driven insights to craft messages that feel tailored for each individual.

Here is one of the best hyper-personalized cold email examples for you:

Main highlights: 

• A well-thought-out introduction: The sender targeted the marketer’s concern and researched the prospect’s support system, indicating a detailed preparation.
• Showing numbers as proof: Mentioning the past work and success of improving 21% of customer retention presents a strong value proposition.
• Offered value for free: The sender shares areas where the recipient’s system may need improvement, expressing an understanding of their needs.
• A clear CTA (Call to Action): Suggesting a few ideas followed by a CTA; “request for 5-minute discussion“ shows respect for the recipient’s time while encouraging engagement.

Cold email example 3: The best way to sell your professional services

Cold email templates can help you with the correct format and flow of messages. However, you must tailor content to win a positive response to your cold outreach message.

Below is one such cold email example showing how to sell your professional skills smartly:

Main highlights: 

• Personalized opening: The email begins with a friendly and customized note about the recipient’s recent feature, which reflects the sender’s keen interest in the recipient’s business.
• Recognizing a gap: Identifying a need of the recipient, ‘the one highlighted in red,’ enables the sender to show her expertise.
• Expert positioning with relevance: The sender presents themselves as an “experienced customer success story writer” and shares case studies as social proof to establish credibility.
• Value-based selling approach: Throughout the email body, the sender highlighted how they met the needs of their prospects and resolved their problems.
• A clear CTA: A request for a 15-minute quick call discussion is the best CTA to put in a personalized cold email like this to discover more about the recipient’s desires and needs.

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Cold email example 4: SaaS product email marketing for lead generation

Inbound marketing teams constantly look for ideas to generate more leads for the business, and effective cold lead-generation emails can help extensively.

Here is one of the good cold email examples that SaaS business marketers can try out in their upcoming cold email campaigns:

In the formal world of cold emailing, this casual and playful tone in the above example made the email more humanized, engaging, and fun to read.

Main highlights:

• Attention-grabbing subject line: The subject line “I will buy you Chipotle” is quite unconventional for a business email, which can spark curiosity and prompt the recipient to open the email to understand the context. 
• Tailored solution offering: The email references the recipient’s recent attendance at a live call coding event and introduces a new solution that could integrate with their current tools and potentially improve efficiency. 
• Incentive-based offer: The sender makes a unique offer – putting at least one rep on a software trial with the promise of a free Chipotle meal if there’s no increase in calls or pickup rate. This type of offer is unusual in B2B emails, making it memorable and encouraging for the recipient to consider the trial. 
• Compelling CTA: “Game on?” is a casual yet effective method to prompt interaction/ response from the recipient. 

Cold email example 5: Pinch of humor + creative flair

Below is one of the most creative cold email marketing examples that carries a light-hearted tone with a pinch of humor in it:

Main highlights:

• Themed visual presentation: The email features a University of Oregon Ducks theme, using both the text and an image of a duck Funko pop to create a memorable association.
• Humorous language: Phrases like “your marketing team can’t duck around” and “Would that be worth quacking about?” add a layer of humor, making the email stand out in the recipient’s inbox. 
• Visual engagement: The image of a branded Funko pop character makes the email visually appealing and suggests the type of gifts the platform could provide, demonstrating their service. 
• Guiding with a straightforward next step: The sender included a clear call-to-action offering a confirmation link for the Funko Pop and demonstrating their service.

Cold email example 6: Hitting possible pain points of the prospect

If your cold emails successfully target the pain points of your recipients, you’re on the right track to receiving responses.

The winning cold sales email examples are the ones that can decode and address the possible challenges of their target audience.

Gaining this level of insight requires in-depth research and analysis, allowing you to craft the best cold email campaigns that align deeply with your prospects.

Here is one of the best B2B cold email examples for sales to learn from:

Main highlights:

• Contextual opening: Addresses the high-level concerns of a CEO, such as headcount and Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth, which are critical metrics for any business. 
• Economic insight highlighted: The sender empathizes with the challenges of acquiring new customers, referencing the current economic climate to create a common ground for discussion. 
• Customer retention focus: By highlighting the importance of customer retention over acquisition, the sender touches on a key strategic area for many businesses. 
• Direct questions: The email poses direct discovery questions about the company’s customer retention strategies, prompting the recipient to think about their processes and potentially realize a need for the sender’s services. 
• Proposing a solution: The sender first highlights the most common concerns of a business and then positions themselves as a solution.
• Provoking closing: The closing question, “Are you leaving money on the table right now?” encourages recipients to think about talking to the sender.

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Cold email example 7: Strategic call to action

Creating compelling CTAs in cold emails is crucial.

The best cold email call-to-action examples use clear, action-oriented language, personalization for impact, and highlight immediate benefits to encourage swift responses.

Here is the meaningful CTA example for you:

The image above presents one of the prime cold email sequence examples, showcasing the method of engaging and warming up a cold email prospect.

It presents a strategic blend of personalization, respect for the recipient’s time, and a clear call to action, paving the way for a potentially fruitful exchange.

Main highlights:

• Personalized opening: The email opens with a warm greeting, acknowledging the recipient directly, which helps establish a connection.
• Element enhancing engagement: Mentioning a past event (the Q-and-A session) in the email reconnects the recipient with earlier interactions, making them more open to the conversation.
• Tailor offer: The sender expresses a deep desire to create something valuable and customized for the recipient, showing a willingness to provide personalized service.
• Interactive inquiry: The email encourages the recipient to share their challenges, promoting a two-way conversation to uncover their needs and position the sender as a problem-solver.
• Clear call to action: Using a question as CTA like, “What content problems keep you up at night?“ is a good way to get a precise response and opens doors for the next discussion.
• Subtle footer: The email unsubscribe option is a considerate and legally compliant approach that grants recipients control over communication.

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Cold email example 8: A winning B2B cold outreach

Crafting well-written cold outreach emails can help establish new business relationships.

The below example demonstrates the art of combining personalized communication with an enticing business proposal:

Main highlights:

• Clear introduction: The sender introduces himself and his role, establishing his identity and the context of the message right away.
• Value proposition: It outlines the value his software offers – enabling marketers to create interactive marketing materials without the need for coding or IT.
• Targeted inquiry: The mentioning of the recipient’s LinkedIn profile shows a level of personalization and research that can make them more receptive.
• Call to action: The email ends with a specific request, asking for just 15 minutes of conversation, making it a small commitment for the recipient.

Cold email example 9: Flattering compliments

In the world of B2B, the focus is not only on making sales but also on building lasting relationships and trust with clients. Sales are a natural by-product of these meaningful connections.

Praising your prospects for their work is a good tactic in any cold email outreach, and the following example shows it well:

Main highlights:

• Compliment and engagement: The sender begins by complimenting Kara on her recent podcast appearance, showing that they’ve done their research and are engaged with her work genuinely. 
• Targeted question: By asking a specific question related to Kara’s field of expertise, the sender aims to start a conversation about the recipient’s needs.
• Relevance and familiarity: The mention of DiscoverOrg and its standing on the platform introduces the sender’s product while assuming a level of familiarity that Kara may have with it, bridging the gap for a potential need.

Cold email example 10:  Meaning follow-up email

Cold follow-up emails offer a second chance to impress and engage the recipient with a clear value proposition. A study found that sending a first follow-up email can increase the reply rate by 49%.

Here is one of the impressive cold email follow up examples for you:

Main highlights: 

• Acknowledgment of previous contact: The sender acknowledges the fact that they have been too sales-oriented, showing they are mindful of how their message was received. 
• Apology for timing: The apology in the email expresses consideration for the recipient’s schedule and time. 
• Confidence in value proposition: The sender expresses confidence that they can add value to the recipient’s customer support system, suggesting that they have a solution that could benefit the recipient. 
• Call to action: The recipient requested a short conversation providing two modes to connect (email or a phone call), respecting their time and preferences.
• Closure with a decision prompt: The kind of ending statement request enhances the chance of winning responses faster.

Insightful read: How often to follow up on sales leads?

Boost your cold emailing with Salesmate! 

To ensure your cold email reaches the appropriate person at the prospect’s company and avoids landing in the spam folder, you need –

• A powerful cold email strategy
• The best cold email software

Salesmate CRM enhances your cold email marketing with advanced tools, including an intuitive drag-and-drop email builder, AI-driven content creation, and personalization at scale for targeted outreach.

Your team gets the support of productivity tools like marketing and sales automation.

Campaigns by Salesmate streamlines your email outreach process by creating targeted lists and audiences, conducting A/B and multi-variant testing, and managing subscriptions.

Additionally, it provides in-depth campaign analytics, send time optimization, as well as other features like email throttling and branded link tracking.

Salesmate provides the best cold outreach email templates that are easy to customize. Further, to accelerate growth, automate your cold outreach and follow-ups with Sequences.

By utilizing these tools, Salesmate CRM can help you become more efficient and effective in your cold emailing efforts. 

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Wrap up

In all the cold email examples, we have studied – personalization, value-based approach, and psychological triggers are common elements enhancing it. 

Further, the subject line of the cold email outreach is one of the important elements to boost open rates, so make sure you make them – personalized and relevant to the recipient.

If you talk about structure, the cold email outreach campaigns that these examples have followed:

• Personalized introduction
• Concise opening line
• A clear message with some value
• Powerful CTA

To improve your responses and conversions, investing in Salesmate – a CRM and cold outreach tool could enhance your sales process exponentially.

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