Steal These Cold Email Templates

Cold email isn’t dead. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to engage with your highest-potential leads — if you do it right. Email is still by far the most preferred method of business communication for professionals across all age groups. Despite their perpetually full inboxes, people will open emails that grab their attention and deliver value.

Even better, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make it part of your lead generation strategy. There are tons of fantastic cold email templates available online for you to use and customize for your business.

We’ve sorted through them and selected 6 of the best, and that’s what we’re going to cover in this article. For each cold email template, we’ll outline:

• Who created it (so you can explore the source further)
• Why we chose it (what’s special about it)
• When to use it (real-world use cases for that particular template)

Let’s dive in!

Cold Email Outreach: A Quick Refresher

We cover this topic in-depth in our Essential Guide to Cold Email Outreach, but let’s quickly go over some of the most important things to know before diving into templates.

Cold email is an email you send to someone without any prior contact. In this article, we talk about it as it relates to B2B lead generation. While it’s true that most people are inundated with email at work, that doesn’t mean cold emails that actually provide value are unwelcome.

This means the cold emails you send should be highly targeted, personalized, and packed with valuable content that demonstrates why that person should take time to engage with you and your company.

Cold email can be used for a variety of reasons even within the lead generation category. You may send a cold email to a high-potential prospect on your ABM target list. Perhaps you’re just looking to make a connection with someone important in your industry who could help you expand your business. Cold email is also useful for link building or otherwise gaining exposure for your content marketing assets.

Whatever your purpose, there are principles of cold email you should always be followed. These include:

• Following CAN-SPAM Act guidelines to avoid being flagged as spam
• Being authentic and representing your brand honestly
• Nailing the subject line and including great content in the body of your email
• Including a strong CTA telling your recipient what to do next
• Sending only to recipients to whom your message is truly relevant

When you execute on these principles, your cold email outreach strategy can give your pipeline a boost, expand your company’s network, and help you build connections that lead to more business.

6 Cold Email Templates You Should Steal

#1: Initial Outreach to a Potential Lead

Who created it: Replyify

Why we chose it: There’s no fluff — the purpose and value behind this email are immediately clear. That’s what cold email recipients want (and it’s what gets your emails opened).

When to use it: When you’re reaching out to high-potential leads through your ABM strategy or other lead generation efforts.

#2: Follow-Up After a Trigger Event

Who created it: Close

Why we chose it: This template strikes a good balance between conversational and direct. It’s personalized well, reads as authentic, and remains professional and focused.

When to use it: After a target company experiences a specific event that triggers a need for your services.

#3: Funny Follow-up

Who created it: Interseller (but we found it from Nutshell)

Why we chose it: It’s funny! And because it’s funny, it grabs your attention. This email is definitely not for everyone (it may not fit with your brand voice or style). But if it does, it can be a fun and charming way to break the ice and say yes — this is a cold email — but it’s worth engaging with!

When to use it: When you’ve already done your initial cold email outreach (and even followed up a time or two after) but still haven’t gotten a reply.

#5: Finding the Decision Maker at a Target Company

Who created it: Mailshake

Why we chose it: This scenario requires asking for a favor, so you have to strike the right tone. This email does it well. Polite, direct, and clear about the ask.

When to use it: When you’re trying to capture a specific lead but you don’t know who to talk to at the company.

#6: Build a New Connection

Who created it: HubSpot

Why we chose it: It reads as really authentic, and it aims to build trust before making an ask.

When to use it: When you’re entering a new market, in a new sales role, or otherwise need to build your network in order to generate more leads.

Nailing Your Cold Emails: The Key to Success

These are only 6 of the many templates available to you, but they should give you an idea of how important cold email is — and how meaningful it can still be despite its reputation.

Even when you’re sending an unsolicited message, you can deliver value if your approach is authentic. When you do your research ahead of time, know your audience, focus on value, and execute well, your cold email strategy can be an impactful lead generator for your business and the start of a new success story for your future customer.

Our outbound email software and lead generation services are custom-built for startups, consultancies, marketing agencies, and other B2B organizations. Schedule a quick call with us and find out how we can help you win more clients.