What is your conversion rate on cold email?

If you’re emailing prospects, chances are that while cold email is essential to help you generate new customers, you struggle to convert.

Don’t get me wrong, you convert. You just don’t covert anywhere near where you feel you should. 

It’s hard to find out what works through pure experimentation.

Unless you’re sending out a hundred emails a day and using some methodical approach, it will be hard to draw any conclusions from your cold prospecting efforts. 

That’s why having effective cold prospecting email templates in your toolbox is helpful.

With email templates specifically designed for prospecting through cold email, you have a framework you can build on to find what works and what doesn’t.

Also, it gives you different ways to approach different prospects.

Maybe your last prospect was a startup in its early stages, so it was easy to get hold of the person in charge of sales, marketing, or operations. Maybe your next prospect involves conversing with a seasoned serial entrepreneur who is harder to reach. 

Having several templates gives you the flexibility necessary to appeal to different contacts in a variety of situations, instead of sending out the same old email to everyone.

Treating everyone the same is a sure way to fail at cold email prospecting. 

If you winced a bit because that’s you, then you need to up your game with these cold prospecting email templates. (And before we dive in, if you need a guide to how to adapt these cold email templates to fit your purposes, check out our article on that.)

Cold prospecting email templates: Table of Contents

• The previous results email
• The personal interest email
• The competitor email
• The helpful email
• The “one thing” hook email
• The one-sentence pitch
• The super target template

1. The previous results email

Few things speak as loud as results when you’re using cold email. 

If your product or service has been around for a while, chances are you have some kind of results you can point to in your emails. 

(Remember: the more relevant the results are to what the prospect wants, the better.)

Because it’s based on those previous results (without any other bells and whistles), this is a dependable and straightforward template you can use in pretty much any situation.

Here’s the email:

Why this email works

Hubspot ran a similar email that netted them:

• 57% open rate
• 21% response rate
• And 16 customers

Pretty nice for one email, right? 

The biggest reason this email works is because of social proof. 

Cold emails are distant. The other person knows you’re human (hopefully), and sees what you’re selling, but that’s about it. 

You want to pull in that prospect quickly, and social proof offers undeniable … well, proof, that you’re not just spouting hot air. 

When you say something like this:

Any prospect will do a double-take and pay closer attention.

This is a simple email and easy to put together, but it’s effective.

2. The personal interest email

Sometimes, all you need to do is make a connection.

What’s one way to do that? Find out what they like, such as:

• Hobbies
• Favorite shows, movies, podcasts, etc.
• Favorite sports team
• Or anything else with which they’re obsessed

Never forget that no matter how much you work to attract and convert prospects, the act of prospecting comes down to communication. 

That’s you reaching out to another human being in an attempt to communicate something to them — and hoping for a response. 

With that in mind, the best way to turn a cold conversation into a warm moment is to make a connection with your prospect by identifying with a personal interest of theirs.

You don’t even need to share that similar interest with them; you simply need to show them that you’re willing to do your homework, learn about them, and connect on a human level. 

Here’s the email:

Why this email works

Anyone who reads that email will know right away that you took your time to learn about them and craft an email that was personalized for them. There are few ways to catch someone’s attention in a cold email that work better than that. 

This email works for another reason if you craft it right: it connects something they know with your product. 

Subconsciously, this gets them to look upon you and your offer more favorably, whether they realize or not.

3. The competitor email

This is arguably the most timely of all the templates on this list if you apply it when conditions are right. 

If you can find a situation where it fits, it creates a message that’s difficult to ignore, particularly if your prospect is currently having trouble with a competitor’s service or product. 

The basic idea is this: when one of your competitors is having issues with an aspect of their product or service in an area that you’re strong, reach out to their customers to snag them during that opportune moment:

Why this email works

Again, timing is the factor of this email that can give you a big hit, because it offers a considerable advantage. But if the timing is off, then it’s a hard miss. 

However, if you make sure to time this with recently expressed frustrations with a competitor’s product, or emerging issues with their service, and you reach out quickly, this hook can net high conversion rates. 

The gist of this email is in the angle, so the structure is super straightforward:

This makes it one of the easiest emails to craft, along with being one of the best converting (when sent at the right time). 

4. The helpful email

Another direction you can go is to simply reach out with helpful information.

You could offer content on your blog, podcasts, comprehensive guides, or video content you’ve created to help answer questions or share significant value that your clients and prospects find useful.

For example:

Why this email works

Who doesn’t like free?

With this email, you’re front-loading value in that initial touchpoint to generate some goodwill. The more targeted you can be about this, the better, as the last thing you want to do is send prospects content they see as irrelevant. 

However, if you do this right, this email does a great job of building reciprocity.

This email also demonstrates that you’re an expert on your subject, which tells your prospect that you might be the right person to go to for answers to their questions. 

5. The “One Thing” hook email

This next email is a bit situational. However, if you can find the right fuel to send an email like this (and you often will), it’s super powerful. 

The premise is simple: find something (just one thing, although more is fine) they can change or improve, then offer to have a quick chat with them about how they can implement that adjustment. 

Here’s the email:

Why this email works

This email combines several things that work:

First, it’s personalized. The premise of this email means you need to have done your homework, they’ll know you did when they read it, and they’re likely to appreciate your effort, often with a reply:

Then, it promises immediate, tangible value. The value you’re delivering in this email isn’t fuzzy; it’s crystal clear:

Plus, that value leads perfectly to your ideal CTA. Not only does the value you’re offering lead seamlessly to a call-to-action, but also you’re getting exactly what you want in the process: a phone call with them: 

6. The one-sentence pitch

What if you don’t have amazing results to show, or social proof to offer, or you can’t identify any competitive issues to exploit, and you can’t find any improvements to suggest?

Even if you don’t have any of that, you’re still not out of luck. There’s a simple and straightforward cold email template for prospecting that is easy to write and gets results. 

Here it is:

Why this email works

Like the competitor email, this one has a pretty clear structure:

Your one-sentence pitch is where you sell them on your product or service in this template. Make sure it’s enticing, but keep it to no longer than one sentence.

One important addition is to mention that you’re not 100% sure they’re the right person to email.

The reality is that when you have located contacts, you’ll often be unsure of whether you’re emailing the right person. 

If you include something like this, you’re safe. If they’re the right person, your email will work fine. If not, there’s a chance they’ll forward your email, particularly if they know the right person well enough to judge whether your pitch could matter to them.  

7. The super-target template

This last one might be the simplest, but it involves one of the single most critical lessons in high-converting cold emails.

Let’s jump right into the email: 

Why this email works

This one is, admittedly, a bit of a trick. That’s because there’s nothing special about the email itself (outside of what we’ve already talked about).

What’s special is how effectively it’s targeted. 

It’s as much about targeting the right prospects as it is about writing a good cold email. 

Instead of crafting cold email templates in a vacuum, take a look at your current customers and think about what kinds of cold email would have attracted them to your service. 

Doing this will give you insights about how to position your cold emails to prospects. It will make you more likely to attract people who are actually in need of what you’re offering. 

This email is targeted at early-stage remote startup teams, who commonly have trouble with conference software:

How’s that for specific?

Sure, you won’t always have the time to send such a pointed email. However, the more targeted you can make your cold prospecting emails, the greater the results you’re likely to see.

Up your game with these cold prospecting email templates

Depending on the product or service you’re selling, prospecting through cold email can be either tough … or tougher. 

So, you need every tool you can get to catch your prospect’s attention and maximize the return from your cold prospect efforts. 

Use these cold prospecting email templates as a starting point for your own collection of prospecting emails to cover every situation and every type of prospect. 

And don’t forget to check out these cold email resources to learn more about how to craft a great cold email that converts prospects:

• The Complete Cold Email Master Guide
• Top 7 Cold Email Software in 2020 (Features + Pricing)
• 3 Clever Ways to Drastically Increase Your Cold Email Outreach ROI
• 43 Cold Email Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened Instantly (and When to Use Them)
• 6 Ways to Write Highly Effective Cold Emails That Get Responses

Of course, great templates for prospecting are important — but you also need cold email software where you can get the most out of them. Check out GMass — we offer some of the best personalization, automation, and cold emailing tools of any email platform. Get started for free by hitting the Chrome web store.

Cold email templates aren’t something you just copy and paste… tweak a few words… and then watch the sales roll in.

Whether you’re… 

• Sending your first Gmail mail merge campaign
• Trying to schedule a new batch of sales calls, or
• You’re a seasoned cold email ninja

… cold email templates are your best friend. 

Sure, you want (need) to personalize each email based on who you’re pitching. And you will.

But the truth is that when you’re sending a large number of emails, you need a framework that you can scale. 

That’s where templates come in. 

A few key templates can give you a way of scaling your outreach efforts while also making personalization systematic (i.e., easier). 

For example, place a joke on line X and a personal note about their business on line Y. 

It’s always the same structure — easy to visualize in your mind and plan when you’re crafting a campaign, while simultaneously simplifying the writing of the emails themselves. 

Here are five of the most useful and versatile cold email templates we’ve ever seen, which you can use and adapt to virtually any situation. 

5 Cold Email Templates for Any Situation

Run a quick Google search, and you’ll find a ton of cold email outreach templates you can grab and use instantly. The internet is a wonderful place. 

The problem is, most are examples that have been used previously, in some cases by an entire company. 

Why does that matter?

First, they’ve been ripped already, hundreds if not thousands of times, and reused by others — quite possibly in your same space. 

Also, they often have nothing more than two or three sentences of explanation, which is not enough to understand how the email was crafted, only what the key gimmick is. 

Because of this, you might take the “template,” change it up a bit, and think you’re set. 

But then you don’t get the results you want and wonder where you went wrong.

That’s why, below, we’ll cover five real, fundamental templates. Plus, we’ll break them all down line-by-line so you’ll understand their inner workings.

After that, we’ll show you the fundamental elements that make a great cold email template. So, you’ll understand what makes a great cold email regardless of the purpose. 

That way, you won’t be copying an example. 

You won’t be taking someone else’s rehashed email that’s probably several years old. 

You’ll have everything you need to craft great cold email templates that make your cold email efforts so much easier. 

So, let’s start with the first template and one of the most common: a simple template to help you set up demos for your product (no matter what kind of product it is). 

1. Cold email template to entice someone to schedule a demo

One of the most common uses of cold email is to schedule product demos or sales calls.

These days, that’s often for a SaaS sales pitch, but you can use the template below for any product with very little modification. 

This email is longer than most of the templates we’ll provide, but it’s necessary to explain the product concisely. (Call it an MVD or “minimum viable description.” Yes, I just made that up.)

Here it is: 

Why this template works

Product demo or sales emails can often feel bloated. 

It’s easy to say too much and turn off your reader before they ever get to your CTA.

After all, anyone in charge of product adoption at a company is probably going to be busy.

However, it’s also necessary to explain what you’re offering. Otherwise, why would they want to schedule a time to see what you’ve got?

This template strikes the right balance between those two needs, getting to the point relatively quickly but also offering clear and relevant value.

In this template, the first line is the most difficult. You’re not just introducing yourself, but also summarizing your product or service in an enticing way:

These next two lines are important because it’s tough to find the right contact when you’re trying to schedule a demo. 

You might just need to go with anyone you can find that appears to be on the relevant team, so you can’t be sure if they’re the decision-maker:

Then you finish with a clear CTA, making it explicit what you’d like them to do, whether they are the right person or not:

If you know you have the right person, you can make the CTA even clearer by adding two suggested times for them to pick from. 

For more examples and inspiration, check out our entire collection of B2B cold email templates.

2. Cold email template to pitch your services

Assuming you’re not a SaaS seller (in which case the previous template is probably more relevant to you), pitching a service can be difficult.

That’s because you have nothing concrete to offer in your email.

However, with the right template, pitching your service can become much easier.

For example, with this template:  

Why this template works

If you’re in the service business, cold email is way more effective than sales calls. 

In the blink of an eye, you can send out an entire campaign to dozens of prospects (which GMass can help you do). Even if you don’t get a response, you’ve created that first touch-point, and now you’re off to the races. 

This email, in particular, is great for a few reasons.

It’s based on legendary copywriter John Caples’ example, and it includes a few important parts.

In the first line, you draw a credible connection to them that makes it personal:

If you’re not a user of their product or a fan of their work, don’t worry. 

You can offer any kind of praise or admiration for their recent work or success.

Next, in the same line, I’m getting straight to the point and mentioning why I’m emailing them. Boom. 

Then I’m dropping some personal credibility not just in a sentence but with a succinct list (everyone loves lists): 

And then I’m moving straight to the close.

But I’m not just asking for a time to talk, I’m specifically saying I have ideas that I think can help improve some aspect of their business, this works very well for piquing curiosity:

If you’re a recruiting manager who wants to use this type of cold email template and framework for your outreach to candidates, check out even more examples with our recruiting email templates.

3. Cold email template to entice a response by teasing a “one big thing” hook

Similar to the previous template, this one is even simpler but just as powerful.

This one comes from a different angle, though. 

As opposed to it having a specific purpose, this email uses a specific strategy: finding one thing, preferably an improvement, they can make, and offering to have a quick chat about it or show them how they can fix it: 

Why this template works

This template is great because it’s hyper-focused on the value you can give them:

It’s not the kind of template you can use every time, but depending on your product or service and how much information you can dig up about them, if you can pull it off, it can be super compelling. 

Another great part about this email is that the CTA is clear. They know exactly what is in store for the call, which makes them more likely to respond:

4. Cold email template to network or create a connection

Networking through cold email can feel pretty awkward and inauthentic, considering that you’re trying to create a genuine connection with a person you don’t know yet. 

However, if done right, it can be very effective without coming off awkward or needy. 

Here’s an example: 

Why this template works

There are just two pieces to this email, but those make it quite different than any other kind of cold email template.

First, the intro makes a connection and offers a compliment. Nothing new there. However, you then transition to a talking point, something that would interest them:

Then pitch your conversation starter:

For the CTA/conversation starter, you need to make sure your question is well-thought-out. 

You want to pique their interest on a subject you think they’d enjoy talking about and ask a smart, insightful, or entertaining question.

This kind of template is harder to replicate. However, what it costs in effort it makes up for in simplicity since you need just two things:

• The content, and
• A conversation starter/question

By the way, this same approach can be very helpful when using cold emails for job searches. or when you’re sending prospecting emails (and want templates for those).

5. Compelling cold email follow-up template

Are you sending a follow-up email for non-responses?

If not, you’re missing out on one of the single most important elements of any cold email strategy.

Here’s an example:

Why this template works

The reality is, most people you email are busy. And most people you email have inboxes that look like, well… a war zone. 

So the follow-up needs to be simple and get the point across in fewer words. (They can check the email thread if they didn’t get the original email — or, with GMass, you can send your automated follow-ups as replies in the same thread.)

If they got your original email, they already know your topic. So your follow up can be so succinct; it just has to rephrase your offer and close in two simple sentences.

That’s why this works. If you do follow up, you might just be asking them what they thought about your original offer and leaving it at that.

The problem with this is you’re making your original email pull the weight while they’re responding to your new email. 

For the follow-up email to work, you need to rephrase your offer + include another CTA:

To take your follow-up email to another level, you can even add a personal message at the beginning:

This works because you’ve already sent them one email. You might not have actually met them prior to this or have any connection, but the fact that you’ve messaged them before creates a kind of bridge so that this seems natural. 

Think about when you meet someone and exchange introductions. As soon as you know their name and shake hands, that layer of total unfamiliarity immediately melts. 

Now, you’re no longer strangers.

This can often make the follow-up email even more effective than your original email, as you’re moving it from being cold to warm(ish). 

And if you want even more cold email follow up templates, check out our even more in-depth guide on the art of the cold follow-up.

What makes a good cold email template?

So far, I’ve covered simple but effective cold email templates for just about every situation (anything beyond that ventures into lukewarm territory). 

Also, I broke down, line-by-line, why they work. 

I did this not just so that you’ll understand why that specific template works, but so that you know, fundamentally, what makes an effective cold email. 

However, let’s take it a step further.

My goal with this post is not to spit out a few templates and call it a day. 

Of course, you’ll want to start with the best cold email software program. But beyond that, I want you to be confident that you can craft great cold email templates for your own specific purposes, every time.

The truth is, your space, product, or service might require a bit of a different angle. 

Maybe it’s a certain tone that’s not usually taken in cold emails. Perhaps you’re trying to set up live in-person demos with local businesses, or something else unique. 

So, it’s not enough to have these templates; you need to know how to create your own customized templates. 

That’s because the more customized your cold emails are to your prospects, the better they’ll perform. 

So, let’s talk about what makes a good cold email template. 

These are the universal elements that you need to include in your templates no matter:

• The space in which you’re operating 
• The CTA you’re including, and
• The person to whom you’re talking. 

First, you need a compelling subject line. 

Cold email template fundamentals #1: Compelling subject line

Cold email subject lines are an art in themselves, so if you want to learn more about how to craft a great one, read our guide: 43 Cold Email Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened Instantly (and When to Use Them).

The reason your subject line matters is simple: if they don’t open the email, that prospect is dead in the water. Game over. 

In fact, it’s worse than that.

According to a study by Convince & Convert, 69% of people report an email as spam just by reading the subject line. 

That’s it. They don’t even click on the email and read what it says. In return, your deliverability is in jeopardy. 

All that work you spent writing a great intro line and a powerful CTA will be completely wasted if they don’t first open the email. 

And you get them to do that by crafting a great subject line.

When it comes down to it, there are three main rules you need to follow to create a great subject line: 

1. Keep your subject lines short
2. Don’t use clickbait subject lines
3. Offer something enticing

Keep your subject lines short

First, let’s get the easy one out of the way. Short subject lines get more clicks. Simple and easy.

Like this one, if you’re emailing YouTubers or influencers (substitute “subs” for “followers”): 

Mobile phones display 25 to 30 characters for email headings in the average email app. If you can manage it, try to keep your subject lines at or under that length.  

This isn’t always possible, and it also depends on your target market. (Professionals are more likely to read on their computer, but even so, don’t overlook mobile.) However, shorter is better.

Don’t use clickbait subject lines

Clickbait won’t necessarily increase your open rate, but using it will virtually guarantee your response rate will tank for those that do open.

One of the worst things you can do is break your promise, and what you’re promising doesn’t start when they first open your email — it starts in your subject line:

If your subject deceives them in terms of what your email is about just to get them to open your email, they’ll hit the spam button and call it a day. Even if they don’t hit the spam button, they certainly won’t respond.

You’re not trying to get short-term results (a high open rate) but long-term success (actual conversions), so invest in honest communication that builds trust instead of tearing it down, especially when you’re sending cold emails.

Offer something enticing

This might be the most important point of all because it’s the one thing that makes your subject lines clickable. 

By enticing, I mean, make your email interesting enough that it promises something of value to the recipient. 

That could be something that interests them, something you’re offering them, or even just humor. (People are attracted to honest human interaction, and humor is always appealing.)

For example, this subject line might speak directly to my prospect if they’re hiring managers: 

You could also come at them from a different angle, not mentioning them outright but something associated with the benefit of your product or service.

Like this, if your product offers healthy pre-made meals for children:

Either way, you’re speaking directly to them, which is one of the most powerful ways to offer the promise of value. 

Cold email template fundamentals #2: Speak their language

This is a deceptively simple point, but just as important as any of the others.

These days, most digital spaces welcome an informal, casual tone. If you send an email in a stuffy, overly formal professional tone, you’ll sound like a greedy robot who doesn’t care.

Don’t do that.

Then again, the point isn’t to sound casual and friendly.

Some spaces, like finance, and some purposes, like seeking investors, require more professionalism. If you sound too casual, you’ll come off as a joke and won’t be taken seriously. 

The point is, rather, to sound like… well, them.

You want to speak their language, communicate with them as if you’re on the same wavelength. 

It tells them that you understand them and what they’re doing, and it forms a kind of immediate mental connection.  

So, if you haven’t already, get to know your prospects. 

Dive deep into their mind so that you can understand what and how they think. 

Then write something you think would interest and resonate with them specifically. 

Cold email template fundamentals #3: Just one relevant, clear, and value-based CTA

Having a CTA is obvious. 

The thing is, I often see cold emails come through without one of these three things:

• The promise of value
• Relevance
• Clarity

Just asking them for a time to talk because you’re a fan of the product, work in the industry, or you have something to pitch them isn’t good enough. 

Why should they care? 

Maybe it’s relevant to them because they enjoy talking shop about their profession, but it doesn’t promise value to them, so it won’t be as effective.

Sure, you might get a response, but you won’t get as many responses as you would if you had infused that same CTA with value.

For example, this is the same approach but with a super-specific value proposition added:

A quick five-minute chat, and you get a potentially useful idea to improve your product from a fan. 

Could you pass that up? I didn’t think so. 

This CTA is also relevant, though, because it has to do with their product. 

If it had to do with a product you say could make them more productive throughout their workday, it’s still relevant, but much less so. 

I’d be far less likely to respond to that than to someone offering quick and potentially valuable feedback about my product. 

Lastly, make sure your CTA is clear. Don’t ask for coffee, ask for coffee Monday at 2 PM, or Tuesday at 4:30 PM EST, and ask them which they’d prefer. 

That clarity will further increase your response rate because you’re making it as easy as possible for them to respond. 

Cold email template fundamentals #4: Personalize, every time

Personalization is one of the most important principles of a good cold email. 

The last thing someone wants to read is something that looks like it was written for a thousand other people. 

Notice looks is italicized, and for good reason. 

A good cold email template very well might be written for 1,000 people, but with a bit of personalization, it becomes specific to one person, and they feel it. 

To them, you’re writing the email personally for their eyes.

For example, if you’re trying to network, mentioning a book they wrote or a subject they’re interested in is a great way to create an instant connection on the first line: 

When you do that, you’re communicating on a basic human level. People respond to that because we’re all attracted to authentic connection with other human beings.

If I can tell that you’re a real human reaching out personally to me and that you’re offering something potentially of value, I’m far more likely to respond.  

At GMass, we’ve spent years crafting our cold email platform to help your mass emails look like personal, one-on-one emails. That includes the ability to send messages as replies; to add personalization beyond just your standard mail merge options including entire paragraphs, links, images, and attachments; and to automatically detect first names from just an email address.

Make your mass emails feel like personal emails and you’ll make a stronger connection every time.

Cold email templates and beyond: Final thoughts

Templates are the best place to start, but no one knows your business or prospects better than you.

Take these cold email templates, along with the tips I have just covered for crafting an effective cold email template of your own, and do more than reuse others’ examples.

The truth is, once someone makes their examples public knowledge, everyone takes them and reuses them, which makes them far less effective.

But by taking these templates along with a good working knowledge of the fundamentals of a good cold email, you can craft effective cold email templates of your own that:

• Get responses
• Closes prospects, or
• Kindle a profitable business or career connection

(Or all of the above.)

So, learn the fundamentals of good cold email templates and good cold email strategy in general.

By doing so, you’ll become an email ninja who can create your own effective templates specifically crafted to your prospects and purposes, instead of being a rehasher and leaving your results up to hope and chance. 

And don’t forget to check out our other guides on crafting crazy-good cold emails:

• The Complete Cold Email Master Guide (Start here.)
• Our cold email copywriting guide is filled with tips and templates.
• Some more great templates: 5 High-Yield Cold Email Outreach Templates
• Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about crafting great subject lines: 43 Cold Email Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened Instantly (and When to Use Them)
• Get more responses: 6 Ways to Write Highly Effective Cold Emails That Get Responses
• Increase your outreach ROI (you’ve never seen these tips before): 3 Clever Ways to Drastically Increase Your Cold Email Outreach ROI

Ready to put these cold email templates to work? Get started with GMass for free and send your personalized cold emails that get the results you’re looking for.

Looking for the best cold email software?

While sending cold emails can be tricky, you now have hundreds of cold email tools to streamline the process for you! So you need to narrow down the right tool to help you with every aspect of the cold email process, from personalization to follow-ups to reporting.

In this article, I’ll highlight the 15 best cold email software solutions and show you how to choose a cold email marketing tool according to your needs. I’ll even cover three FAQs about cold emailing.

Cold Email Software: Table of Contents

(click on the links below to jump to a specific section.)

• Top 15 Cold Email Software
  • GMass
  • Woodpecker
  • Lemlist
  • Yesware
  • Overloop
  • Gmelius
  • Streak
  • SalesHandy
  • Klenty
  • MailRush.io
  • 5 Bonus Cold Email Tools 
• How to Choose Cold Email Marketing Software
• 3 FAQs About Cold Email Marketing
  • What is Cold Emailing?
  • What Are Some Best Practices for Cold Email Marketing?
  • Is it Legal to Send Cold Emails?

Let’s dive in.

Top 15 Cold Email Software

Here are the leading cold email tools for 2022:

1. GMass

GMass is a powerful cold email software with built-in cold email automation tools that lets you run sales and marketing campaigns right from your Gmail account. Its powerful mail merge capabilities have made it a popular cold email outreach tool used by employees of Uber, Google, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

GMass is also perfect for solopreneurs, startups, salespeople, and anyone who wants to use Gmail for cold outreach.

One of the best things about GMass is that it’s incredibly simple to use, and you can quickly get started — all you have to do is download the Chrome extension and sign up with your Google account.

Key Features

Here’s a detailed look at GMass’ key features that help you send effective cold email campaigns:

A) Email List Builder

GMass’ Build Email List feature makes it super easy to create massive mailing lists.

All you have to do is perform a Gmail search using a keyword, and GMass automatically builds an email list using the IDs in the search results.

For example, let’s say you are the business owner of “Ted’s Tadpole Tanks.”

If you want to send emails to everyone you’ve interacted with about your product or service, you can perform a Gmail search using the term “tadpole.” GMass will then auto-build an email list using the email IDs from the search results.

Additionally, if your recipient details are stored in an Excel, CSV, or Google Sheet file, you can quickly create a mailing list by connecting the file to GMass.

B) Powerful Email Personalization

As cold email prospects are usually people who don’t know you, they’re likely to mark your email as spam if it’s a generic message.

Instead, you should send personalized cold emails!

This increases your chances of connecting with your prospects without risking your sender reputation. Personalization can help your emails avoid the recipients’ spam filter and also boost your open rates.

GMass offers automatic personalization settings to help you out here.

It gives you powerful features like automatically:

• Adding personalized paragraphs – customize large blocks of text on a person-by-person basis.
• Including personalized images and links – add unique pictures and links for each email recipient.
• Detecting and entering first names – GMass auto-detects a person’s first name from their email ID and adds it to an email addressed to them.

C) Advanced Email Analytics and Mail Merge Reports

GMass auto-generates a Campaign Report each time you send a cold emailing campaign that gives a detailed breakdown of important email statistics.

Here’s an overview of some of the stats present in a Campaign Report:

1. Total Recipients: The number of recipients to which you sent an email campaign.
2. Unique Opens: The number of unique recipients who opened your email. Note: GMass only tracks the first instance to avoid inflating the number of opens in your report.
3. Didn’t Open: The number of recipients who didn’t open your email.
4. Unique Clicks: The number of unique recipients who clicked at least one link in your email.
5. Replies: The number of recipients who replied to your email.

The best part?
Most cold email tools like Mailshake, Saleshandy, and Mixmax, require you to open a separate interface to view reports, and having to switch between tabs to manage your stats can become an issue.

However, GMass places your reports under the [CAMPAIGNS] label in the Gmail sidebar — making it easy to access all your campaign data right inside Gmail. You also get web-based responsive reports and a dedicated dashboard for maximum flexibility.

D) Automatic Follow-Ups

Most email marketers have to follow up on prospects after the initial cold email.

Fortunately, GMass makes following up on even hundreds of recipients a breeze. It automates the process of sending follow-ups to help you engage your prospects and boost open rates.

You can even customize everything about these follow-ups, like:

• The trigger for sending follow up emails to recipients. For example, you can set GMass to send follow-up emails only when recipients reply to your campaign.
• The number of follow up emails a person receives.
• The automated follow up message.
• The time gaps between follow-ups.

E) Bulk Email Scheduling

With GMass, you can easily schedule bulk emails to reach your recipients at the right time.

All you have to do is just compose your email and schedule it. GMass will then automatically send the email at the specified time — you don’t have to be online when it goes out!

And if you want to change the schedule, you can simply reschedule it from the Gmail Drafts folder.

Pros

• Simple setup.
• User-friendly interface.
• Can build bulk email lists using any search criteria in your Gmail account.
• Quickly import any contact list from a Google Sheet file.
• Can automate email sequences using Google Sheets and Zapier.
• Can test email deliverability.
• Send drip campaigns on a set schedule or triggered by the actions of email recipients.
• Has a free email verification service.
• Has a powerful Gmail add-on for Android devices.
• Salesforce and HubSpot CRM integration.
• Active customer support.

Cons

• The tool works only with Gmail and Google Workspace accounts.
• Only works with the Chrome browser.

Pricing

GMass offers three comprehensive pricing plans to suit various user needs:

• Individual:
  • Standard ($25/month or $225/year):
  • Premium ($35/month or $325/year):
  • Professional ($55/month or $525/year):
• Team:

• • Professional (starts at $145/month for a team of five): supports all features

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.9/5 (680+ reviews)
• G2: 4.8/5 (660+ reviews)

Go back to the list of tools

2. Woodpecker

Woodpecker is a cold email marketing software that integrates with Gmail and Outlook. It allows you to send personalized emails and follow-ups and also lets you track them.

Key Features

• Automate email sequences.
• Cold email campaign scheduling and tracking.
• Automatic reply detection.
• Powerful team-activity dashboard.

Pros

• Auto-detects duplicate contacts in your cold outreach campaigns.
• Dedicated features for B2B lead generation agencies.
• Has a Google Chrome extension.

Cons

• No free plan available.
• Can’t send email attachments.

Pricing

Pricing plans start at $39/month per user to contact up to 1,500 addresses per month. ($44/month to contact 6,000 people; $49/month for unlimited contacts.)

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.8/5 (10+ reviews)
• G2: 4.4/5 (30+ reviews)

Want to find out more about Woodpecker?
Read my detailed Woodpecker email review.

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3. Lemlist

Lemlist is a popular email tool that lets you personalize anything in your cold emails or other methods of outreach (like LinkedIn).

Key Features

• Email automation triggers.
• Create personalized images and videos.
• Schedule automatic follow-ups.

Pros

• Use the A/B test feature to determine your most effective emails.
• Can use any customized cold email template.
• Integrates with Zapier and CRM software.

Cons

• As it works as a separate interface from your email, you’ll have to switch through multiple tabs to manage each cold outreach campaign.
• No free plan available.
• Can be challenging to set up a drip campaign.

Pricing

Pricing plans start at $50/month per user with unlimited cold outreach campaign emails, text personalization, and email deliverability features.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.6/5 (320+ reviews)
• G2: 4.4/5 (70+ reviews)

For more information on Lemlist, read my comprehensive Lemlist review. And see how the campaign creation process works in GMass versus Lemlist versus Mailshake.

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4. Yesware

Yesware is a sales prospecting tool used by professional sales reps and email marketers. It lets you create and send personalized cold email marketing campaigns in Gmail and Outlook.

Key Features

• Create custom email templates to personalize your emails.
• Schedule drip campaigns.
• Set follow-up reminders.
• Email tracking with real-time notifications.

Pros

• View each campaign’s data on a campaign dashboard.
• Can track how prospects use your email attachments.
• Has a Salesforce integration.

Cons

• Doesn’t have a free plan.
• No mobile apps for Android or iOS devices.
• May not clearly show who opened an email if it has multiple recipients.

Pricing

Pricing plans start at $15/month per user with email tracking, productivity tools, and reporting features.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.3/5 (160+ reviews)
• G2: 4.4/5 (710+ reviews)

Not sure if you should say ‘yes’ to Yesware?
Read my in-depth Yesware review to help you decide. 

Go back to the list of tools

5. Overloop

Overloop (formerly Prospect.io) is a lead generation and email automation tool that helps companies and freelancers find leads and reach out to them via cold emails.

It uses a credit-based system to discover email IDs of potential customers or prospective clients from their social media and other websites.

Key Features

• Search or verify email IDs of your list of prospects.
• Create personalized campaigns, including drip sequences.
• Customize and share email templates with your sales team.
• Reply detection – including tracking of bounce rates and out-of-office responses.

Pros

• Works with Gmail and Outlook.
• Powerful integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot CRM.
• Has a Chrome extension that helps you find prospect details from LinkedIn.

Cons

• Creating drip campaigns can be complicated.
• No free plan available.
• Unused email credits in a month don’t roll over to the next month — you lose them.

Pricing

Pricing plans start at $42/month per user with unlimited email campaigns, reporting features, and 50 email finder credits.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.3/5 (10+ reviews)
• G2: 4.3/5 (50+ reviews)

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6. Gmelius

Gmelius is a sales automation and cold email outreach tool that works with Gmail and is meant for team collaboration. It helps streamline your sales processes with its lead generation and email campaign features.

Key Features

• Personalize your outbound sales campaigns.
• Customize and share any cold email template with your sales team.
• Monitor your email campaign performance with advanced analytics.
• Schedule recurring emails to send weekly or monthly reports.

Pros

• Get real-time desktop and mobile alerts for lead engagements.
• Has a browser extension for Google Chrome.
• Salesforce and HubSpot CRM integration.

Cons

• No Zapier integration in the basic plan.
• Email campaigns are missing important features.
• No free plan available.

Pricing

Pricing plans start at $12/month per user and includes email open and reply rate tracking, automations, and unlimited email templates.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.7/5 (30+ reviews)
• G2: 4.4/5 (330+ reviews)

Go back to the list of tools

7. Streak

Streak is a CRM platform that integrates with Gmail. It can be a handy tool for the busy sales rep or marketer.

Streak helps you manage your sales funnel, send mail merges, and track cold calling and engagements.

Key Features

• Personalize mail merges with custom email templates.
• Schedule automated emails and follow-ups.
• Detailed email tracking reports.
• Email sidebar provides immediate context about each email.

Pros

• Has email filters to help you sort through prospect responses.
• Collaborate with your sales department on cold email campaigns.
• The Android and iOS mobile apps can log cold calls.

Cons

• No dedicated sales dashboard — your sales processes can clutter your Gmail inbox.
• Will have a lot of redundancy if you use another CRM.
• Base plan doesn’t offer any native integrations or data validation features.

Pricing

Has a free plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $19/month per user and support 5,000 contacts and 800 mail merge emails per day.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.5/5 (400+ reviews)
• G2: 4.5/5 (120+ reviews)

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8. SalesHandy

SalesHandy is a sales automation and email marketing tool that enables you to send cold emails and engage with leads.

Key Features

• Send personalized emails to multiple recipients.
• Automate follow-ups to individual emails or entire email campaigns.
• Built-in email limiter ensures you don’t send many emails per day and risk your domain reputation.
• An email verification tool helps check the validity of email addresses before sending emails.

Pros

• Free email tracking with Gmail.
• Schedule bulk emails to be sent to recipients in different time zones at a time they are most likely to be opened.
• Link tracking and real-time notifications when emails are opened.

Cons

• You have to pay separately for verifying email lists.
• No native mobile app for both Android and iOS devices.
• Limited mail merge capabilities.

Pricing

SalesHandy has a free plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $12/month per user with features like email tracking, templates, and analytics.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.5/5 (80+ reviews)
• G2: 4.4 /5 (110+ reviews)

For more information on SalesHandy, read my complete SalesHandy review.

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9. Klenty

Klenty is a sales engagement platform for sending personalized email and automated follow up messages.

Key Features

• Email automation and personalization.
• Open, click, reply rate, and bounce rate tracking with live-feed reports.
• Detailed reports to optimize every outreach campaign.
• Duplicate detection helps ensure no contact in your prospect database is accidentally contacted multiple times.

Pros

• Simple user interface.
• Easily import prospects from CSV, Google Sheets, or CRM in one click.
• Integrations with Zapier and Pipedrive CRM to automate your workflow.

Cons

• Contact management issues — adding a contact to one list could remove them from another.
• Lacks team management and collaboration features.
• No free plan available.

Pricing

Pricing plans start at $55/month per user with features like unlimited contacts, email cadences, API, Gmail plugin, and mail merge.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.8/5 (30+ reviews)
• G2: 4.6/5 (120+ reviews)

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10. MailRush.io

MailRush.io is a prospecting and cold outreach tool that lets send personalized cold emails for marketing campaigns.

Key Features

• Tracked email engagement metrics include delivery rate, click rate, open rate, and bounce rate.
• LinkedIn sales navigator searches for lead generation.
• Identify invalid email addresses.

Pros

• Create a drip sequence for your email marketing campaigns – automate emails and follow-ups based on recipient actions.
• Easy-to-use drag and drop email template builder.
• 24/7 live chat support available.

Cons

• No free plan available.
• Downloading large contact lists for email campaigns can be time-consuming.
• You have to pay extra for email validation and Linkedin prospecting.

Pricing

Pricing plans start at $19/month per user with one domain link and email automation features.

Customer Ratings

• Capterra: 4.2/5 (5+ reviews)
• G2: N/A

Go back to the list of tools

5 Bonus Cold Email Tools

I’ve highlighted some of the best cold email tools above.

But if you want to explore more tools, here are five bonus software you could check out:

• MailShake: A cold email marketing tool with live campaign management features like pausing email sending or adding new recipients to active campaigns.
• Contact Monkey: A powerful tool to manage cold email campaigns within your Gmail or Outlook email account.
• Snov.io: A cold outreach and sales engagement platform for marketers and sales teams, primarily for prospecting.
• QuickMail: This is a popular tool for managing sales outreach with detailed analytics on email campaign performance.
• SmartReach.io: A cold email platform for email automation, prospect management, and team collaboration.

Now I’ll explain how you can choose the best cold email software for your needs.

How to Choose Cold Email Marketing Software

Using a cold email tool is a surefire way to boost your email outreach and conversion rate.
But with hundreds of such tools available, how do you choose the right one?

To help you out, here are three key things to look for in excellent cold email software:

1. Personalization Features

Personalization is an essential feature of any cold email software.

Why?
Because it helps you make a meaningful connection with each potential customer or client.

While every cold emailing tool offers some personalization, the extent to which they provide it differs from tool to tool.

Some tools offer only basic personalization features such as automatically adding recipient names and addresses, while others (like GMass) also let you include customized images and links to your emails.

Invest in an outreach tool with a wide range of personalization features to make your emails more targeted. This will make your recipients more likely to engage with your emails, as they won’t feel like you’re mass emailing them.

2. Email Tracking and Analytics

A key feature of any email marketing software is email tracking and analytics.

Look for a cold emailing tool that tracks your email open rates, link clicks, bounced emails, and response rates. These statistics help you determine how effective your campaigns are and modify your future emails accordingly.

As most tools make this a premium feature, it’s smarter to invest in those that provide powerful email tracking features in their base plans.

3. Campaign Automation

A major benefit of using cold email tools is that they automate the process of creating and sending emails.

Look for a cold emailing tool that does most of the heavy lifting for you — like creating mailing lists, mass email personalization, and automatically sending cold emails and follow-ups or drip sequences.

(A drip sequence is a campaign that includes your initial email followed by a triggered sequence of one or more follow-up emails.)

And if the tool provides all these essential settings in a single compact tab, that’s even better. You can quickly launch an email campaign in seconds without having to juggle between different browser tabs!

Now that you know how to choose the best cold email software, I’ll go over some FAQs related to cold email marketing.

3 FAQs About Cold Email Marketing

I’ll answer three FAQs about cold email marketing to help clear any confusion you might have:

1. What is Cold Emailing?

Cold emailing involves sending outreach emails to people you haven’t interacted with before.

In a way, cold emailing is similar to cold calling, where you ring up prospects to see if they’re interested in a product or service. But unlike cold calling, cold emails are less intrusive.

Well-crafted, effective cold emails don’t push a hard sell but rather engage your ideal customer and give them the necessary information to encourage a response.

2. What Are Some Best Practices for Cold Email Marketing?

Here are three things to keep in mind for cold email success:

A. Have a Powerful Subject Line for Your Email

Subject lines matter.

Remember, it’s the first thing people see when your email lands in your prospect’s inbox. It could be the decisive factor in whether they open it or not!

How do you master it?
Including your prospect’s first name in the subject line is a smart way to add some instant personalization to your outreach emails.

With GMass, you can use recipient details like their name, company name, or other information to create subject lines that get your emails opened instantly.

You could also pose a question to the recipient to quickly grab their attention.

For example, if you’re marketing link building services, you could write:
“Hey John, does (company name) need a hand with SEO?”

As this shows that the email is clearly meant for John, he is more likely to open the email if his answer to your question is “maybe” or “yes.”

Additionally, ensure that the text in the subject line is fully visible to the recipient.

Think about it.

Would you bother opening an email if its subject line ends with “…”?
No, right?

While subject line length varies with email service providers and the device used by the recipient to check their inbox, it’s a best practice to keep the subject line to six to ten words.

Takeaway: Use a subject line that’s short enough for a potential client to view clearly but long enough to be informative and engaging.

B. Make the Email About the Recipient

Remember, the trickiest part of sending cold emails is making a connection with the recipient. That’s why, to craft highly effective cold emails, you should take a moment to get into their head.

The key is to make the email 95% about the recipient and 5% about your business. 

And while email personalization is essential, it doesn’t end with just including the recipient’s name.

You need to mention why you are emailing that person specifically and show them that you’re familiar with what they do. For example, including personalized images and links are effective ways to make the email about the recipient.

Another email strategy to follow is to get straight to the point.

No one wants to read an email that talks at great length about your company and its product or service. It’s best to give the recipient what they would like to know at the start of the message.

For example, if you offer content marketing services, you could point out:

• How your target audience can improve Google rankings for each blog post.
• The conversion rate boost their blog post will receive.
• Case studies to show your track record helping people like them.

To get this right and boost efficiency, you can create custom cold email templates that focus on the recipient.

Takeaway: Keep the email message short, personalized, and straightforward.

C. Make It Easy for the Recipient to Opt-Out

It’s always essential to include an unsubscribe option in your emails.

Why?
As you’re sending cold emails to people who don’t know you, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be interested in hearing from you. And if they aren’t, it’s a good email strategy to let them opt-out of your mailing list.

This way, you won’t be risking your sender reputation when cold emailing prospects.

The easiest way to do this is to provide an unsubscribe link at the bottom of your sales emails. This way, the recipient can quickly opt out from receiving your emails without marking your message as spam.

With GMass, you can insert an unsubscribe link anywhere in your cold email campaigns with the click of a button. If anyone opts out of your cold emailing campaign, GMass automatically removes their email IDs from your recipient list — you don’t have to do it manually!

Takeaway: Always include a simple opt-out link in your cold sales emails.

3. Is it Legal to Send Cold Emails?

It’s important to remember that different countries may have different legislation on cold emailing and spam emails.

In the United States, cold emailing is legal, and you can send emails to individuals you’ve never met. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates spam emails and cold emailing for business purposes. It has relatively liberal spam laws under the CAN-SPAM Act.

In the European Union, cold emailing is legal under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). However, it does have strict requirements similar to those enforced in the U.S.

Generally, both the U.S. and E.U. laws permit you to send cold emails as long as you:

• Mention how you found the recipient’s information and why you’re reaching out to them.
• Provide email recipients with the ability to opt-out or unsubscribe.
• Accurately include your contact details in the email.
• Identify any advertising in the email.
• Avoid using contact lists that third parties have obtained illegally, such as via website crawling bots.

If you fail to comply with these regulations, you may receive fines exceeding $43,000 in the U.S. and €20 million in the E.U.

Cold Email Software: Final Thoughts

Choosing the right cold email software doesn’t have to be confusing, and it can help you create rewarding cold email outreach campaigns with ease.

While all these tools offer something, GMass stands out for its simple UI and powerful cold email outreach features. It’s got everything you need to run cold email campaigns effectively.

Why not download the GMass Chrome extension and check it out today?