Three Cold Email Personalization Tactics You Need to Know

Ever find yourself staring at dreadful reply rates and wondering where it all went wrong? You’re not alone.

In today’s email-saturated world, your cold email is just one in a sea of many, desperately competing for a sliver of attention. The key to breaking through? Forming a real connection with your prospects.

Let’s dive into how you can create that connection with a touch of personalization, ensuring your cold emails always get noticed.

Beyond “Hey, [Insert Name Here]”

First off, let’s get real. Dropping a first name into your email is Cold Emailing 101. Gone are the days when slapping a first name in the subject line or introduction passed for personalization.

To truly stand out, you need to dial up that personal touch and make your email scream (politely, of course) the prospect’s name. Let’s explore the three personalization tactics that will help you achieve that effect.

1. General Reference Personalization

This strategy taps into the power of using elements like the prospect’s city, current time, or other bits of easily accessible info to add some personalized flair to your emails.

The aim is to craft cold emails that feel personal and engaging without being uniquely tailored to each prospect, making it easier to write scripts that can apply to large groups of prospects.

Examples of general reference personalization include adding the city of the prospect’s company, offering greetings that align with their time zone, or mentioning the current day in the email’s introduction.

2. Segmented Personalization

This strategy is where you get a bit more personal, finding a common ground between you and your prospects and leveraging it for a closer connection. You start by dividing your prospects into segments based on shared interests, industries, or backgrounds, and finish off with writing scripts that resonate with each segment.

Examples of segmented personalization include mentioning a connection to a location, mutual industry experiences, or expressing admiration for their work in a specific field.

3. Complete Personalization

As the most tailored approach, complete personalization involves crafting a unique email for each of your prospects based on specific insights about them.

It demands more effort but promises unmatched engagement. Here, you dive deep into your prospect’s world; their achievements, company news, or even their social media posts can be gold mines for information you’ll need.

Examples of complete personalization include commenting on a recent company milestone, an award just won, or any other aspect that shows you have taken the time to learn about the prospect’s business or personal achievements.

So, Should You Personalize Your Cold Emails?

Yes! Filling your cold emails with genuine, relevant personalization doesn’t just increase your open rates; it builds the foundation for meaningful business relationships. By integrating the personalized approaches above, you’re not just sending emails; you’re starting conversations.

However, while crafting a customized email for every prospect is the dream, it’s not always practical. Our trick? Balance.

Use general reference and segmented personalization to keep that personal touch without burning out, and save complete personalization for those dream clients where the potential payoff is worth the extra work and costs.

Monitor the performance of your different domain and email combinations to identify what works best for your target audience. Adjust your strategy based on these insights to continuously improve your campaign’s effectiveness.

Wrapping Up

Mix and match the personalization strategies to find what works best for you. Whether you’re just dipping your toes with General Reference Personalization or are ready to dive deep with Complete Personalization, don’t forget—the point of personalization is authenticity. So keep it real.

Hungry for more tips on conquering the B2B world? Keep your eyes glued to our CEO’s YouTube channel!

P.S. If you’re interested in growing your business with outreach, you can join multiple agency owners, coaches, and freelancers in our outreach community to get expert tips, templates, and much more!

Author:

Michael Gardiner

Michael is a cold email expert with 9 years of experience, having worked with over 250 B2B companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500s. Outside of work, you will find him traveling around the world with a goal to set foot in every country.