How Do I Write a Good Outreach Email?
To help you craft the perfect outreach email, we’ve gathered insights from ten industry experts, including digital marketers, CEOs, and marketing managers. From prioritizing personalization to including a clear, concise CTA, these professionals share their top tips on what every outreach email should include.
- Separate Yourself From Spammers
- Carefully Plan and Pay Attention to Detail
- Craft a Strong Introduction
- Optimize Your Subject Line
- Establish a Personal Connection
- Make the Recipient Feel Special
- Focus On Win-Win Arrangements
- Use Respectful Follow-Up Emails
- Keep it Personal and Emphasize Appreciation
- Include a Clear, Concise CTA
Separate Yourself From Spammers
Personalization is a must in every outreach email we send. It is a very important step that separates spammers from pros. When you send an outreach email, you must add personalization if you want to receive a reply.
Always use their name and reference something you saw on their site or elsewhere. This will show that you know who you’re emailing and that you have read their background or content.
Aleksandra Krstevska
Digital Marketer and SEO Manager, Investors Club
Carefully Plan and Pay Attention to Detail
Writing an effective outreach email requires careful planning and attention to detail. Start with a personalized greeting and introduce yourself or your company. Clearly state the purpose of your email and why you are reaching out.
Customize the content to show genuine interest and relevance to the recipient. Keep the email concise, focused, and easy to read. Use a polite and professional tone throughout. Proofread for grammar and spelling errors before sending.
One crucial element that every outreach email should include is a clear call-to-action (CTA). Whether it’s requesting a meeting, asking for collaboration, or seeking feedback, a CTA prompts the recipient to take action. Make the CTA specific, actionable, and time-bound to increase the likelihood of a response.
Samuel Fletcher
Co-founder, SupplyGem
Craft a Strong Introduction
With writing an outreach email, you’ll want to start with a strong introduction that grabs the reader’s attention, includes a hook that motivates them to keep reading, and ends with a call to action. Every outreach email should include personalization.
This includes addressing the recipient by name and mentioning a recent article they wrote or a project they worked on in order to make your email stand out and increase the chances of a response.
Colleen Sproull
Content Marketing Manager, Evinex
Optimize Your Subject Line
As a CEO, I’ve written and received countless outreach emails over the years. I’ll share my perspective on how to craft one effectively.
First, the subject line is the gatekeeper. You want to be straightforward and pique their curiosity without resorting to clickbait. For instance, you might say “Potential Collaboration: [Your Company] and [Their Company]” or “Exploring Synergies Between [Your Company] and [Their Company]”.
Next, the body of the email should be concise, respectful of their time, and still detailed enough to give the reader a sense of your purpose. Start by introducing yourself and your company briefly.
Then dive into why you’re reaching out to them specifically. It’s crucial to show that you’ve done your homework in their company and can articulate the potential value of your proposed collaboration.
Khamis Maiouf
CEO, Book of Barbering
Establish a Personal Connection
I’ve discovered that striking up a personal connection is essential to attracting someone’s attention and developing a lasting relationship. Spend some time getting to know your receiver before sending them a generic email to see if you can identify some common ground.
Personalization shows that you have done your research and sincerely care about communicating with them, whether it is by bringing up a recent article they wrote or a common interest.
In my experience, personal examples in outreach emails have had a great deal of success. Anecdotes or stories from real life provide authenticity and foster trust. For instance, when contacting a writer, I once explained how their earlier article on creative startups had motivated me to find my business. Besides drawing their attention, this personal touch also started a sincere conversation that resulted in a long-lasting professional connection.
Percy Grunwald
Co-founder, Compare Banks
Make the Recipient Feel Special
Personalization is an element that can make even the most monotonous content in an email seem appealing. After all, when you sprinkle the content with personal highlights for the recipient, you are bound to grab their attention.
The name, solutions that answer their needs or problems, and other similar elements make the email seem authentic. They make the recipient feel special and tell them that your brand has indeed gone the extra mile to create an exceptional email for them.
Ariav Cohen
VP of Marketing and Sales, Proprep
Focus On Win-Win Arrangements
An outreach email should straightforwardly show the why or the purpose of your initiative. And, ideally, it has to provide value or benefit to both parties.
Engaging in a win-win arrangement also builds relationships, so I recommend you begin with your “why”. Most collaborations that begin with an outreach email often grow into partnerships when nurtured through time.
So reflect on it and be confident to present your reason, i.e., cross-selling of your brands, exploring opportunities in the same market, or humbly asking for support from the other party with an existing following.
Tristan Harris
Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Agency
Use Respectful Follow-Up Emails
Follow-up emails can be a powerful tool in your outreach strategy. Not everyone responds to the first email, and a gentle reminder can prompt them to take action. However, it’s essential to be respectful and not overly aggressive in your follow-up. In my experience, waiting about a week before sending a follow-up has been optimal. This approach shows persistence without being pushy and can significantly increase response rates.
Aysu Erkan
Social Media Manager, Character Calculator
Keep it Personal and Emphasize Appreciation
The key to outreach is to keep it personal. We have found the most success by identifying extra key factors in a blog piece and using it in our outreach email. For example, ask a blog owner to fact-check our blog piece as we can see they have X qualification which aligns perfectly with our topic. Blog owners are much more inclined to respond if you show them you are a genuine human and appreciate their expertise in a certain area.
I have also found that the feedback we get from this type of outreach email results is highly useful. It improves the strength of our content by ensuring that our content does not have any errors—before it goes public. If you want more successful outreach, talk to blog owners like they are human.
Taleisha Barker
Marketing and Communications Manager, Flowers Across Melbourne
Include a Clear, Concise CTA
One thing that every outreach email should include is a clear and concise call to action (CTA). A CTA tells the recipient what you want them to do next. For example, you might ask them to visit your website, schedule a call, or sign up for a free trial.
A well-crafted CTA will increase the chances that the recipient will take action. Here are a few tips for writing a strong CTA:
Make it clear and concise. The recipient should be able to understand what you want them to do in just a few seconds. Use strong action verbs. Words like “visit,” “schedule,” and “sign up” will help to get the recipient moving.
Personalize the CTA. Address the recipient by name and make it clear how your product or service can benefit them. Make it easy to take action. Include a link or button that the recipient can click on to take the next step.
Brenton Thomas
CEO, Twibi
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