The Art of Cold Emailing According to Publicists
A guide for stepping up your cold email game.
At a time when every industry feels saturated, it can be overwhelming to discern how to stand out in somebody's inbox, let alone get a response back. It’s a skill that takes immense trial and error, so we spoke with members of the Passerbuys community who work in communications to see what to consider before hitting someone’s inbox to secure that well-earned reply. Here’s what they have to say.
be short and sweet (literally)
One of the more daunting elements of writing a cold email is just that — the writing of it. However, being respectful of your recipient's time is truly key, so it was often encouraged to cut right to the chase. As Tori Lazar, the Founder and Owner of Content Services put it, “email with purpose, always make your ask hyper-specific, ensure there is mutual benefit, and get to the point asap.” For her, the format of a cold email is simple: “There should be a personal antidote, the ask, and then a clear next step if interested. That's it.”
Natalie Guevara, the Head of Strategic Communications at Genius, echoes this, as she specifically emphasizes striking a balance between being concise and also complementary. “My top advice is to be intentional and brief, three sentences max! My format is roughly: who I am and what I admire about that person's work.” She also adds that it doesn’t hurt to show you’re a true fan, “if there's something older or more obscure I can highlight, even better.”
Ariyana Hernandez, the Co-Founder of NORA, also takes the to-the-point approach and agrees that when the recipient sees the email “it should be crystal clear why you're reaching out.” She even goes further to say, “if you're unable to explain why your ask should be of importance to [them], then you're unlikely to get a response — let alone a phone call or in-person meeting.” She also sticks to keeping the length to a minimum with a simple “2-3 short paragraphs.”
A good rule of thumb on length, as noted by Tori, is that “If you have to scroll to read, it's too long.”
do the work before hitting send
Making things personal takes understanding, which means doing your research. As Alex Daly, the Founder of Daly, and her Partner and Director Ally Bruschi, put it, “the key to getting your pitch email opened—and better yet, read in full—is to do your research, and to show you’ve done so at the top of your pitch.” They advise to “Draft each email from scratch, leading with a personalized, one-line reason why you thought this particular product, brand, or thought leadership idea would interest them.” To do so, it’s really important to base this off of something tangible that the recipient has shared with the world—it can be “based on their past coverage, a recent Tweet, or some other piece of information.”
Not only does taking someone’s interests into consideration matter, but Ariyana suggests taking the time to do a deep dive on the brand or client's audience-reach too. And remember to take note; “if the sender has an equal or smaller reach/audience size than the recipient, they'll need to make a stronger case.”
Since you’re the one reaching out first, it’s crucial to come to the table with at least a few ideas; “the worst cold email to receive is one for which the sender is expecting you to come up with a partnership or collaboration idea for them! If I had ideas or proactively wanted to collaborate with them, then I probably would have sent a cold email myself,” says Ariyana.
it’s all in the personal details
While everyone touches on the importance of being clear and concise, Ariyana has a few particular tricks she stands by. “You don't want to provide too much detail that the email is overly lengthy, nor do you want to make it appear that your ask is so specific it leaves no room or flexibility for the brand to ensure their voice and needs are heard.” According to her, finding that perfect balance is essential to getting a reply.
For Samara Cooper at Dispatch, striking this balance means never losing sight of the people behind their inboxes. “Regardless of how robotic it can feel while sending out emails in the masses, everyone on the other end is human,” so for her, it’s worthwhile to “think about an email you’d like to receive throughout the course of a busy day” when crafting your own cold email. Doing so will help you send with sincerity, and also goes a long way if what you’re pitching is not a product, but yourself.
This starts with actually personalizing every email you craft. “Don’t copy and paste!” warn Alex and Ally. Samara, too, “refrains from sending any type of automated emails or large blasts,” always opting for a one on one approach. For her, this holds true always, even if she’s “emailing over 1,000 contacts.”
To keep things light and personal, Cristina Krumsick, the Founder of Isetta, thinks it is “always a good idea,” to kick things off by asking “How are you?” At the end of the day, people are more likely to respond when who you are shines through (but, don’t over-share). “Be nice and be helpful. Have empathy for both sides of that equation with a kind disposition and a clear, substantiated message,” Cristina says.
the right tech
For those who are looking for a little boost on the research side, Cristina uses Meltwater to “create customized coverage searches of all relevant topics and brands related to [her] clients.” This really comes in handy when it comes to developing “a more holistic understanding of what writers are interested in” and figuring out how her clients might figure in.
After the cold email has been written, the final step before hitting send should always be a thorough spelling and grammar check. A great assistant for this is Grammarly, which helps Tori ensure she’s using language that is “as strong as it can be to get to the point.”
Once the email is well on its way, there are still two other considerations: getting that open and thinking about the possible follow-up email. Thankfully, there’s an abundance of simple tech to help you stay on top of tracking everything, too. Ariyana relies on the Gmail plugin called STREAK which “lets you keep track of who you reached out to, if they read your email, and how long it's been since you've followed up.” Nat uses a similar plugin called Boomerang, and she raves that “you will never let something slip through the inbox cracks again. It's pure sorcery.” This option also has an AI assistant that helps you write better emails (and subject lines!) that will ensure a response so you won’t have to worry about tricky follow-ups in the future.
For Samara, as well as Alex and Ally, Google Sheets does the job. Its functionality and simplicity are what is so appealing—Samara says, “we’ll note if someone was responsive/interested, if they didn’t respond, how many times we’ve reached out to them with a follow-up, etc.“ Alex and Ally like it for tracking too as “it keeps everything organized without too many added tech distractions,” and it has the added benefit of being easily, transparently shareable with their clients.
end with a question
How you end your cold email is just as important as your introduction and subject line, especially if you’re looking to get a prompt response. Ariyana’s go-to email ending? “I always recommend ending the email with a question or call to action”. As Samara puts it, “everyone is busy and busy people like to be told what you need from them.” Natalie takes a similar approach, and cuts right to the heart of it and ends her emails with, "may I have 20 minutes of your time?"
Words by Courtney Conway