Free Cold Outreach Email Templates

Three ingredients: a specific reason you're emailing them (not a mail-merge blast), a credible one-sentence explanation of what you do, and a tiny ask. Personalization is the biggest lever — referencing something true and recent about their company can triple response rates.

For broad campaigns, 1-5% is typical. Well-researched, personalized emails to a tight list can reach 10-20%. If you're below 1%, the problem is usually targeting or relevance, not your subject line.

Under 120 words. The recipient decides in about three seconds whether to keep reading, so front-load the reason you're writing. Details, decks, and case studies belong in the second conversation, not the first email.

In the US, B2B cold email is legal under CAN-SPAM as long as you identify yourself honestly, include a physical address, and honor opt-outs. The EU and Canada are stricter — GDPR and CASL require more care around consent. When in doubt, keep outreach targeted, relevant, and easy to opt out of.

Yes, once — 4-6 business days later. A single polite follow-up roughly doubles total response rates, because plenty of interested people simply forget to reply. Past that second email, silence is your answer.