Are you tired of sending out countless cold emails that seem to vanish into the digital abyss? If you’re struggling to spark engagement and responses, you might be using the wrong email template.
Crafting cold emails that effectively reach, engage, and convert is an art. Simply stringing together a few lines about how great your offering is, isn’t going to cut it in the fast-paced B2B world.
However, a well-written, compelling, and persuasive email can make the difference between an empty inbox and thriving sales.
That’s why we’re going to share the best B2B cold email templates with you so you can convert your prospects into loyal, paying customers.
These templates are formulated by employing specific frameworks that have proven to be effective time and time again.
In this article, we’ll share the best cold email templates, tips on how to use them, and the secret to getting cold emailing right.
The Best B2B Cold Email Frameworks to Try
Many different copywriting formulas can be applied to structure your cold email outreach templates. These include AIDA, the PAS framework, QUEST, and the 4-Ps.
It is important to understand cold email templates as formulas that guide the overall sales process rather than just templates that can be copied or tweaked slightly.
➡️ The AIDA formula
This is a simple copywriting method that can be used to produce effective cold email outreach.
The acronym AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action.
It explains how you should write the body of your email:
- Grab their attention.
- Explain why your offering would interest them.
- Ignite desire.
- Spark action.
Let’s unpack how you could use the AIDA cold email formula:
Attention
Grab their attention with your subject line. It needs to be short, punchy, and completely different from the other types of emails your prospects typically receive.
Remember, decision-makers are getting endless cold emails each week, you’ve got to get creative if you want them to open yours.
Interest
Address any possible questions they might have about your offering. You can do this by asking them whether they require further information on your product or service.
Desire
Show them how you can solve their problems and make their lives easier with your solution. This creates a desire for your product or service.
Action
You should end the cold email template with a strong call to action (CTA). This might be asking for a meeting to discuss your value proposition, or it may simply be asking them to reply to your cold email.
Either way, you need to ensure that your email finishes on an actionable note. We’ll share more insights on CTAs later in this article.
B2B businesses might want to look into this example of a cold email template that relies on the AIDA formula:
➡️ The 4-Ps Framework
The 4-Ps framework breaks down cold emailing into four key stages: preparation, personalized approach, positioning, and post-email.
It’s designed as a step-by-step process that can streamline the task of writing cold emails and help you avoid simple mistakes that could damage your campaign.
Let’s look at this in detail:
Preparation
Ensure you have everything ready at your fingertips before you start cold emailing. This includes information about the cold email recipient.
Personalized approach
Create cold emails with personalization at their core to make them more effective—more on this later.
Positioning
Position yourself as an authority by highlighting your experience and expertise in your industry.
You’ll also want to present the problem your product or service addresses without making it too much of a hard sell.
Post-email
Make sure you follow up on cold emails effectively to ensure maximum results. If you don’t, you’ll end up wasting time or money on cold email campaigns that never reach the end goal.
➡️ The PAS framework
The cold email PAS framework is a commonly used formula. It can help your messages capture and retain the attention of your recipient with headlines and introductory sentences.
PAS stands for problem, agitation, and solution.
Problem
Address these issues: What is their pain point? What problems do they face? How does your offering solve these issues?
Agitation
Add fuel to the flame by highlighting how badly they need your product or service. This part should be short and sweet, so try to use simple language.
Solution
Cold emails always close with a clear solution. Let your prospects know what benefits they will reap should they implement your offering in their business.
Again, it’s important not to start hard selling your brand here.
Here’s an example of the PAS formula in action in this B2B email template:
➡️ The FAB framework
The FAB framework is a straightforward way to present your product or service to prospects via cold emailing.
Product marketers, particularly in the software industry, are typically familiar with this structure.
It has three components:
Features
The features of your product or service are what distinguishes it from others in the market. What exactly does it do, and how can it help people in their daily lives?
The phrases “simple to use” or “streamlined processes” are two examples of features you can mention.
Ensure you communicate these features concisely to get your point across quickly.
Advantage
Advantages describe why your customer should use your solution rather than that of another company or service.
This is also known as an argumentative statement.
It should contain precise details so that the reader feels secure in their purchase decision. “Offers greater value” and ” saves time” are two possible examples.
Benefits
Outlining the benefits of your product or service revolves around how exactly it may improve your prospect’s life. What is it about your product, service, or offering that will make their lives easier and more enjoyable?
➡️ The QUEST framework
QUEST is a marketing framework typically used in copywriting. The goal of this framework is for people to be driven to action by the desire for something.
The most essential thing you need to do is convey what your prospects will receive if they act on your offer.
There are five parts to this framework:
Qualify
Learn what your potential customers want and ensure you’re talking to the appropriate person; that is one who can actually make a purchasing decision within the company.
Don’t be afraid to reveal who your exact audience is. “We assist people who struggle to write content by generating seven-figure copy in no time,” is a great example.
Understand
Demonstrate that you understand your prospect’s problems. This helps build your credibility and reminds them that they need a solution like yours.
Educate
This is where you should show the reader that you have the answer to their issues. This is also your opportunity to educate prospects about the specifics of your product or service.
At this point in your email, you may want to link to additional resources that will further educate your prospects on your product or service. We’ll give you more information about resources you can include later in this article.
Stimulate
Here, you aim to spark desire in your prospect’s mind. Paint a picture of a world where all their problems are solved and how great it feels.
Transition
Now it’s time to transition into what you want them to do next. You’ve given them all the information they need and sparked their desire. Now is the time to drive them to action with a strong CTA.
Although there are many styles of copywriting, most include some basic techniques to improve the effectiveness of the content.
Frameworks are an excellent asset as they offer a set of standards that helps you produce better cold sales email templates.
Both novices and experts can use them to enhance their sales emails. But the best part is that if you start using one right now, you’re likely to see results in just a few weeks.
So don’t waste time with old cold emailing methods and start improving your content right away by using one or more of these tried-and-true structures.
The Secret to Successful Cold Email Outreach
You may think the perfect template is what’s going to help you see better sales results, but this isn’t the only thing that makes a difference.
Showing your prospects that you’ve gone the extra mile in your outreach demonstrates to them that you genuinely care. So, how can you go this extra mile? Use personalization.
We take the time and make an effort to create images for our cold email templates by using the Hyperise editor. Sometimes we even use pictures we’ve taken ourselves if we don’t have access to stock images that fit our cold email.
Creating an image to display your CTA helps tell our story. Then, we ramp it up by adding personalization, which triggers pattern interrupts. These lead to increased content engagement and more prospects acting on your offer.
In this example, G2 extends its product offering by showing the prospect what success would look like and telling them a story:
You can also use Hyperise to humanize your outreach, especially if your call to action is to book a call or meeting.
Take a look at how we did this in a cold email:
Images like these can be created easily with Hyperise.
Upload your image, add your personalization layers, and include the image template in your outreach campaigns using your existing email platform.
Just like that, you’ve unlocked the secret to successful cold B2B emails.
Using Artificial Intelligence to Write Cold Emails
Using AI to help write your cold emails could be the difference between a message that books meetings and emails that end up in the trash.
These cold email templates are created by AI bots. They find details on the prospect’s company by using their business email or LinkedIn Profile.
These AI tools are able to create personalized introductions by gathering personal and company data available online.
Using AI cold email templates to generate targeted messages could save you time and money and improve your accuracy.
Here are some of our favorite AI tools that can be used to write cold email templates:
✒️ Lyne
Lyne can assist you in writing thousands of introductions every hour by scanning each of your prospect’s online profiles. It uses that information to create a personalized note for the individual in question.
Price: $0.25 per personalized line produced
✒️ Smartwriter
Smartwriter automates your entire research and copywriting process in seconds so you can send emails that convert.
They find and use your prospect’s online data to create punchy personalized cold emails for sales at scale.
Price: $0.15 per personalized line produced
✒️ Outbound Flow
Close more transactions with this AI-powered customized cold email outreach. Outbound Flow compiles email templates 100 times faster than a human can.
Price: $0.39 per personalized line produced
Regardless of which AI tool you use, leveraging them to create business development emails at scale is a key asset to your marketing processes.
Choosing the right framework for your cold email outreach campaign and combining that with an AI tool that creates your pitch in a dynamic way is the perfect combo for successful outreach marketing automation.
Our Top Tips for Your Cold Outreach Email Templates
Now that we’ve outlined some important frameworks and discussed how AI tools can help you, we’d like to share some expert advice on how you can turn your B2B cold email templates into sales success.
👀 Pay attention to your subject lines
It could be argued that your email subject line is more important than the content you present in the body of your mail.
Writing compelling subject lines that pique your recipient’s interest is the quickest way to get them to open your email.
Remember, your prospect’s inbox is already flooded with marketing emails, so you need to generate enough interest to get your mail opened.
Subject lines also affect email deliverability, and if they’re not convincing enough or appear spammy, they could land your message in your prospect’s spam folder.
To learn more about the best subject lines, read our guide on 34 Killer Cold Email Subject Line Examples for Guaranteed Response.
💼 Mention the prospect’s company
Another detail you can employ for personalization purposes in your B2B cold email, is the company name that your prospect works for.
This addition shows that you’ve gone the extra mile to find as much information as possible about the person you’re reaching out to.
If possible, include the prospect’s job title in your email to make it even more personalized.
Also, if you know anything specific about their business operations—for example, if they are a financial institution—mention this in your email, too.
💡 Mention your company name
Your cold emailing should always make it clear what company your sales rep is contacting the prospect from.
Sales teams who write cold emails should each have a professional email signature and profile picture that clearly displays the name of your company.
Without a clear idea of who is contacting them, prospects won’t know who they’re dealing with, and your brand won’t stay top of mind.
🛑 Always address pain points
Regardless of which email template your sales team chooses to use, perhaps one of the most important things to focus on is honing in on the recipient’s pain points.
Invest time in getting to know your target audience. What are their challenges? What makes their jobs harder? What would their company’s objectives be?
Ensure your email clearly addresses these pain points to show that you understand the prospect you’re contacting and that you care about the things they struggle with.
This presents your brand as one that truly cares and wants to make a difference in the lives of your prospects.
🧩️ Connect the dots with your competitor’s product
Depending on the industry you’re in, you may have found a prospect because they already work with (or are considering working with) your competitor.
In this scenario, it’s likely that they already know and understand the key benefits of your competitor’s product or service. Now, your job is to convince them that the benefits of your offering are even greater than those of other brands.
You can start by mentioning that you’re aware they’re working with your competitor and then say that, while your offering is similar, it’s better in several ways (and list these clearly).
Companies are always looking for ways to streamline their operations and improve how they do things, even if that means leaving a service provider for a better product. Use this to your advantage.
🧾️ Use social proof
Social proof is content that demonstrates real-life people prefer your brand. By including success stories, case studies, or a customer testimonial in the body of your email, you can help establish your credibility.
By using feedback from your satisfied customers, you can subsequently convince new prospects that you’re the business they want to work with.
Use the positive experiences that you provide your existing customers with to convert prospects into new customers.
⚠️ Make the call to action clear
The ultimate goal of any cold sales email is to get the recipient to take action. You want them to read the email and then do what you ask them.
For this reason, you need to make it very clear in your email what you want them to do next.
Whether it’s booking a quick call with you via a calendar link or visiting your website, you need to convince them to take that next step with a compelling CTA.
With Hyperise, you can quickly generate personalized images that drive your CTA home; these images make a much more appealing impression than a general line of text.
ℹ️ Provide additional resources
Your B2B cold email is a great opportunity to provide prospects with additional content related to your business.
Linking to an e-book, whitepaper, or blog post that shares valuable insights while promoting your company can really help get that conversion over the line.
Of course, you must develop this content first. Here are some tips when creating content to share with prospects in your cold emails:
✔️ Your content should be well-written and free of errors. You may want to get a seasoned copywriter to compile your content for you to ensure it’s professional.
✔️ Always provide value with whatever content you create. Simply hard-selling your business isn’t enough. You should include information that helps the reader in some way.
✔️ Don’t forget to position yourself as an authority in your industry by including well-researched, expert insights in your content.
✔️ Ensure that your content highlights the reader’s pain points early on in the writing; this lets them know that what they’re reading offers the perfect solution.
✔️ Use infographics, videos, images, and GIFs to make your content engaging and dynamic.
👨👩👧👧 Always consider your target audience
You should craft your B2B cold email with your potential customers in mind. This means knowing your target audience really well.
Aside from their pain points, it’s good to know their interests, the type of marketing messaging they prefer, and what kind of outreach would resonate best with them.
For example, are cold outreach emails and follow-ups the way to go? Or would a brief call work better for them?
What are their needs? Their passions? Their goals? These are all things you can use to tailor your cold email to your target audience.
🪝 Refine your unique selling proposition (USP)
Perhaps the most important part of any cold email you send is your unique selling proposition.
This is a statement or description that you will typically use in all your marketing material, but it’s most powerful when used in a lead generation email.
While your USP is something you likely developed when you started your business, here are some points to keep in mind when developing yours:
- Be clear and concise: Unique value propositions are usually short and to the point. It should also be easy to understand and remember.
- Consider the language you use: Using buzzwords like “high-quality” isn’t necessarily going to be compelling enough to convert readers. Instead, try using language that is specific to your product or service.
- Focus on your features: Your USP is where you really get to showcase the benefits and features of your offering. Also, be sure to explain how these features will benefit your prospective customers.
- Emotional appeal: Your USP should appeal to the reader’s emotions. Think about how your offering should make people feel—it’ll go a long way if they feel it will make their jobs easier or help them reach their revenue goals.
- Authenticity: Above all else, your proposition should be authentic and true to your business’s core values. This builds trust and credibility with your prospects.
💾 Work with quality data only
Data is the foundation of any B2B cold email campaign. Working with low-quality data can quickly lead to failure.
If you’re only working with superficial data you found on website contact pages, review sites, or listing portals, there’s a chance you won’t make a single conversion.
There are several sales automation tools that you can use to source quality data about your prospects, which can then be used to enhance your campaign and ensure you’re only targeting the appropriate persons.
Some of these tools include:
- Salesflare
- ActiveCampaign
- Pipedrive
- Hubsell
- Salesforce Sales Cloud
🧪️ Experiment with A/B testing
No single cold email template will work for every one of your prospects. You should have several different templates that you A/B test to see which ones tend to work best.
By using a cold email automation tool, you can test out different templates in different segments of your audience.
You can then analyze engagement, click-through, and response rates to see which templates perform better.
Even if you’ve found one template that seems to be solid gold when it comes to driving conversions, you should be continuously testing new templates against different audiences.
It’s the only way to stand out from the crowd, considering thatn your prospects are already getting loads of cold emails each day.
Personalized Emails for Ultimate B2B Success
The only way to run a truly successful cold email campaign is to prioritize personalization. As we’ve explained, personalization goes a long way toward landing conversions.
If you go the extra mile when you write personalized emails, you’ll turn more leads into paying customers.
Aside from a compelling subject line that is personalized, there’s so much more you can do to customize your email template. From text and videos to GIFs and images, Hyperise lets you personalize your emails to grab the reader’s attention and get them excited about your brand.
Engage your prospects, boost your response rate, and get the conversions you deserve with the Hyperise editor. Visit our website to get started today.