A recent analysis showed which cold emails get 90%+ response rates
A recent analysis shows which follow-up cold emails get results.
You've just sent a cold email.
If you're like the rest of us, you'll probably get no response on your first email.
This often means you should send a follow-up email.
What should you send in your follow-up, cold email? A recent analysis might provide a clue.
How a follow-up, cold email should look (according to ChatGPT)
Ugh. Not ideal. AI is still pretty bad at creating cold emails to us.
This kind of cold email received a 16% response rate, according to this analysis.
Moving the intro into the subject line improved open rates by 300%+
People are busy. They also read a lot of their emails on their mobile devices. So get to the point in the subject line itself. In this analysis, the CEO changed the subject line from "checking in" to a subject line that emphasized what the email is about:
Textio contract logistics | hello from Textio CEO
Your Textio start date | hello from Textio CEO
Textio rollout plan | hello from Textio CEO
The result? A significant boost:
Being brief, direct and vulnerable in the email body resulted in 90% response rates
Many follow-up cold emails are quite long. This analysis showed that shorter emails result in more replies:
Now that we established how much to write, what about the things to write about?
Notice the outlier here? "Brief, direct and vulnerable" emails outperformed most of the common follow-up emails being sent (like asking for an update, offering help, asking for feedback, etc.) Here's an example of such a message:
"It seemed like you were initially excited to partner. When people go quiet on us, it usually means our product or process disappointed you somehow. Can you tell me what happened so we can get better for next time?"
Hope you found this to be useful!
Isn't this just spamming?
I personally see a big difference between spamming and targeted outreach to people you truly believe you can help.
(And depends how many emails you send)
How big is your sample size for these cold email follow-ups? It helps when people share hard numbers, not only the percentage.
It helps a lot
Do we only do cold emails in B2B business?
Great insights on cold emails! I'd like to add that timing can be a game-changer for response rates. Contrary to popular advice, I often send cold emails over the weekend and have noticed significantly higher response rates. During weekdays, professionals are often flooded with emails, making it easy for cold outreach to get lost in the noise. But on weekends, the inbox is much quieter, allowing my messages to stand out without as many distractions. While work-life balance is important, the reality is that many still check their emails during off-hours—and a well-timed email might be more welcome than you'd expect!
Me too
Super helpful content!
Short and to the point is always best. Thanks so much for sharing this valuable information.
Yeah, I'm less and less impressed with what Chat gpt spits out for outbound email content. We've definitely found that the brief, vulnerable message for follow-up with a simple signature works best.
100% agree with what you said.
I think the general consensus now (especially given how everyone is so attention constrained) is to keep it to 1 paragraph.
And with that, 2-3 sentences, with a single call to action phrases like:
Book an appointment (hit reply or click link)
Download the guide via this link
Buy today and save 25% (offer ends today)
Etc.
The playbook is that the recipient needs to make only one simple decision at a time, with some simple facts, or leading to a page with longer copy.
This article provides practical tips for improving follow-up emails, emphasizing clarity and vulnerability. It's a great reminder that simple adjustments can significantly boost response rates.