I started Sweet Fish Media 9 months ago and in less than a year, it’s a 6 figure business. I say that not to brag, but to tell you that what I’m about to talk about actually works. Cold email can be effective… if you know what you’re doing. So today I’m going to show you 3 common cold emailing mistakes you should avoid, and what to do instead.

1) Stop talking about yourself

When you’re sending cold emails, you have to keep the focus on the person you’re contacting. It’s a sad reality, but let’s face it…people don’t care about you. They care about themselves. So stop talking about how awesome you are, and start talking about their pain. [shani-tweet url=”http://www.wisestamp.com/blog/youre-doing-cold-email-wrong/”]You have to be hyper-focused on solving their pain, and to do that, you have to intimately KNOW their pain.[/shani-tweet] Here’s an example of a cold email that has converted like crazy for us:

I see you’re using HubSpot and I know creating blog content can be really tough. I’ve got some blog topics that I think would do really well for you. Can we chat for 5 mins?

—- This email doesn’t talk about what Sweet Fish does or how many clients we have. It also doesn’t talk about any of my grand ambitions or ideas. It simply identifies a potential pain and tells them that I can fix that pain for them..

2) Keep it short & easy

Let’s take another look at the sample cold email above. It’s simple and clear. People don’t have time to read your 7 paragraph email about why they should use your product or service. Get right to the good stuff…tell them how you can solve their pain, and then MAKE IT EASY for them to respond. Ask a clear, direct question that they can answer in less than 10 seconds. One of the reasons the example above converts so well is because all the respondent has to say is “yes” — if you can get people to respond, you’ve won the battle. Stop trying to get them to understand your company’s mission statement in the first email…focus on getting a simple response, and move the relationship forward from there.

3) Automate it

Cold email can be exhausting if you’re doing it yourself. Prospecting, sending emails, following up with the people that don’t respond…the thought of that makes my brain hurt. So automate it. When you’re automating a cold email sequence, make sure to personalize the copy as much as you can. Since I target Hubspot users in my prospecting, I make sure to mention that I see they’re using Hubspot. As soon as the reader sees the Hubspot reference, it immediately shows them that I’m a real human. It proves that I’m not sending out a canned email to a list that I bought from GoDaddy. I know what you’re thinking: “But James, how do I go about automating my cold emails?!” I’m glad you asked. I use a service called LeadFuze and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made for my business. They take care of all of the prospecting, email outreach, and they even follow up twice with the contacts that don’t respond. It’s a totally done-for-you solution. As easy as 1,2,3 Cold emails don’t have to be ineffective. Attention, simplification, and automation – that’s it. Watch and be amazed as people start to read and respond to your emails. If you’re looking for more help with your cold emails, check out these articles: