@thebeautyofsaas
FIRST LINES
FOR YOUR
EMAILS
INTRODUCTION
@thebeautyofsaas
Why did you create this?
Well in case you are running an agency or you are in any sort of business where
you are dependent on outreach, you will need those catchy first lines that make
people stop and take a deeper look into your message.
In today's market, everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel.
It's not an easy job to successfully book a meeting with the CEO/COO/CFOs or
whomever you are targeting, doesn't matter. What matter is how you get them
to reply to your text.
So how should you get those individuals to replay?
I would split it into a few different key areas on which we are going to focus:
be different
interrupt the pattern
personalize (this is the key)
show proof if possible
pay attention to details
Combing these three is pretty much guaranteed successful cold mail.
What we are going to do here is to break it down just to the first lines and what
has worked for me and the others, some of them you might fight "bad" and
some of them you might find useful. It's on you to learn how to "extract" the
data and model it based on your offer.
The example you are going to find here is various from ad agencies to
influencers.
Before we move forward.
Thank you for downloading this product from my Gumroad page, means a lot to
me. I would kindly ask you to leave 5 stars rating on the page.
Also, make sure you check out my other stuff and don't forget to follow me on
the Bird app at @thebeautyofsaas
I will not make this any longer, let's jump into the technical part of your cold
mail and then into the first lines.
BEFORE WE START
@thebeautyofsaas
What do we need before we start?
You don't need anything special, except drive and motivation...
You should already have everything set up before starting with the first lines, but
in case you don't make sure you use the tools mentioned here.
Leads:
LinkedIn - You can use your own profile, in case you have one (you should).
Apollo - Most popular option right now on the internet, even your cousin use
it. I will not explain it further, you should know that it's software that will get
you leads.
Email verification / Leads Cleaning:
Voilanorbert - Once you pull the leads with your software, this is the tool you
will be using to clean them up. When it comes to email verification - 0.003$
per email is more than fair.
Millionverifier - Same as Voilanorbert, but with a few different options. The
payment model is also quite different. Use the one you find better, but they
will do the same.
Email warmup:
Instantly - Great option when it comes to having multiple inboxes, which you
should have. 37$ for an unlimited number of inboxes. This tool can also be
served as an email sequence setter, which is quite useful.
Warmup inbox - You are on a budget and you are just running one inbox? Go
with Warmup inbox which is 50% cheaper than Instantly.
CRM:
Google Sheets - They just work, keep it simple and effective.
This would be more than enough for you to get started when it comes to
software.
Please note that all links here are affiliated to help me keep posting free content.
Additionally, make sure you check out the rest of the tech stack here.
EMAIL
DELIVERABILITY
@thebeautyofsaas
Before you start
In case you are still learning and need some more technical knowledge
there are a few terms such as:
SPF
DKIM
DMARC
My suggestion to everyone is to study in-depth and learn what each
of them does to your email deliverability.
It's important for you to have them all set up correctly, video here will
show you how to do this. Please note that all of your emails should
have at least two weeks of the warm-up period. I will not make it any
longer here, but you should look into it.
Next steps
Once you have managed to set up those three, you will need to test
them out. This part is important so make sure you don't skip it.
I suggest you use this website to check if they are properly set up.
Final step
You are pretty much done if everything went smoothly and you have
passed the test. Please note that sometimes it takes a few hours for
those filters to start "working".
Meaning in case you have set them up recently you will not be able to
pass the tests.
In the end, the last thing you should do is test your own email spam on
this site. Send the email to the given address and check how it goes.
Is everything setup up correctly?
Great now you are ready to start your cold email outreach.
EMAIL
DELIVERABILITY
@thebeautyofsaas
Before you start
In case you are still learning and need some more technical knowledge
there are a few terms such as:
SPF
DKIM
DMARC
My suggestion to everyone is to study in-depth and learn what each
of them does to your email deliverability.
It's important for you to have them all set up correctly, video here will
show you how to do this. Please note that all of your emails should
have at least two weeks of the warm-up period. I will not make it any
longer here, but you should look into it.
Next steps
Once you have managed to set up those three, you will need to test
them out. This part is important so make sure you don't skip it.
I suggest you use this website to check if they are properly set up.
Final step
You are pretty much done if everything went smoothly and you have
passed the test. Please note that sometimes it takes a few hours for
those filters to start "working".
Meaning in case you have set them up recently you will not be able to
pass the tests.
In the end, the last thing you should do is test your own email spam on
this site. Send the email to the given address and check how it goes.
Is everything setup up correctly?
Great now you are ready to start your cold email outreach.
EMAIL SETUP
@thebeautyofsaas
LEADS CLEANING
@thebeautyofsaas
The logic behind cleaning leads
You might be asking yourself why should you even bother cleaning
leads or what is all about.
Well, we have already gone over how to increase email deliverability,
but do you think that all the leads that apps pull are correct?
They are not.
People change jobs, and companies, and it can happen that the emails
you have scraped are no anymore valid. In case that happens you
send emails to those that are not still "valid," you will be risking your
mail reputation.
Mail reputation = Success of landing your mail in your primary inbox
You will hear mixed opinions when it comes to topics such as this, but
in case you are serious about this, I strongly recommend testing your
leads.
Your choices here are: Voilanorbert & Milionverifier
Dont waste your time here, just pick one and test the email list you
scraped earlier.
Add all of these that we have mentioned in one big combo and you
will have the perfect outreach system to generate those leads.
Steps such as this may seem unnecessary (they could be), but here
we are playing the long game and we want to make it perfect.
Email derivability is a real issue, but individuals and even companies
are not technical enough to notice it.
CRM
@thebeautyofsaas
Custom Relationship Management Software in short CRM - is a tool
that keeps all of the “relationships” with clients, leads, etc.
Depending on the stage of your lead generation you will be already
familiar with CRM such as HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho plus there
are millions of different ones out there.
When it comes to CRMs most often half of the options are not being
used when it comes Lead generation, let's be honest here with each
other.
My suggestion for everyone in case you dont have any experience
with CRMs is to instead start out with Google Sheets and create your
own CRM.
Not really CRM, but more like a base where you will keep all the
information you need when it comes to Lead Generation.
This also works extremely well when it comes to keeping all the firstliners / personalized lines in one place.
Here is what your Google Sheet “CRM” should look like.
Once I set this up I also make sure to create a few different sheets and
separate them depending on the niche/location/role I am targeting.
Feel free to edit this based on your personal preferences or bettersaid needs.
Here is a basic example I use for specific cold emails when I dont
need huge databases.
THINGS YOU SHOULD
KEEP IN MIND
@thebeautyofsaas
Things you should keep in mind when it comes to the first lines:
When you start you will suck, it's important to not give up
Once you are done with your line - read it aloud a few times this
should give you a much better perspective on how it really sounds
Dont spend 15 minutes on the first line if it doesn't go move on and
come back later
Provide proof/case study if possible - this increases your value in
the eyes of your potential customer
Dont overdo exclamation - this is a big one I see some of you what
you are doing
Cut out all overused, low-value words such as: very, those, maybe,
definitely
When it comes to giving out compliments:
Make it about the case study, a recent win they had, a
podcast/show they have been on
Dont make it about general things such as a college they want
to or how many followers they have on LinkedIn
The first line should be maxing 2 sentences, in case you can do 1
even better.
Dont make it sound natural, it has to be natural, and your lines
have to flow (this is where reading aloud helps)
Make sure your grammar is on point
CTA
@thebeautyofsaas
You need to finish strong to make it work in the cold email game, let's
be honest you need to have a strong finish in the Sales game - not
just cold email.
Make sure you always push for it in your money-oriented career.
On the other hand, people are just lazy sometimes / they are too busy.
Well, what's left in the end?
It's on you to make it as easy as possible for your prospects to book a
meeting in your calendar - at the same time make it as effortless as
possible.
Remember that each of your cold emails must end with CTA.
Examples of proper CTA:
Here is the strategy document I wrote for your (niche/business
idea)?
Let me send you more info if you are interested?
Let me know if you are interested?
Interested to hear more?
How about I / We make a persona loom video about your problem?
How about I send you a PDF that explains our process of how we
(insert)?
Would you be against having a quick call this (choose the
remaining day in the week that is not the weekend)?
(firstName) open to learning more about (solution)
(firstName) I am going to send you more info in case you are
interested
I suggest everyone push for this and land a call in your calendar.
You would be better on the bolder side than on the "weaker" side.
SUBJECT LINES
@thebeautyofsaas
When it comes to subject lines and what you are putting into
matters.
The first thing when someone sees your mail - the subject line is the
focus. This pretty much determines if they are going to open that
message or not.
This is your chance to get someone's attention or mess it up.
Subject lines need to be short and to the point, but at the same time
different. Finding a balance between "being different" and making it
work is not an easy task.
Here are some examples of subject lines you could use + edit to
your idea:
How does this sound (companyName) / (firstName)
How about (companyName)
Questions about (companyName)
(firstName) / (companyName) stupid question
Question for (firstName)
Quick questions (firstName) / (companyName)
Thoughts (firstName)
Thoughts on this (firstName)
The idea for (companyName)
Offer (firstName)
Business development (companyName)
(firstName) - quick question regarding (companyName)
When it comes to subject lines, make sure you don't fall in love with
the "one".
It's important for you to keep track of what works and what doesn't
work.
Everyone in cold mail is using similar ones / the same ones.
Make sure the logic behind is that you got a reader, or a potential
client interested in opening your mail. This should be your when you
are thinking about creating the subject lines.
LOGIC BEHIND
@thebeautyofsaas
It's essential to realize the logic of why we use it and what the purpose
of personalized lines is (first lines in most cases).
The purpose of them is to separate you from generic spam as 80% of
cold emails look like.
Once you get deeper into the logic of sales you will realize why is
important to be different and stand out from the crowd - the same
could be applied to cold emails.
So when it comes to creating the personalized lines you could
either do it fully manually or help yourself with the AI.
There is no doubt that manually created first lines are superior when
compared with the ones AI creates for you, but they do come with one
trade-off and that is your most valuable asset time.
Manually done personalize first lines do take a lot of time - taking into
consideration how you approach the background research, angle, etc.
In case you have some cash to spare I suggest you get VA to help you
with this stuff, mostly it's done better than AI and it's not that
expensive when you take into consideration how much time you could
be saving yourself.
On to the next point, you will most often (what you are going to see
further) that personalization is done on completing in people/
business.
Now there is also a trend going on around Twitter that you should be
interrupting the pattern and criticizing the prospect, but I would live
that to once you become more experience with it.
LOGIC BEHIND
@thebeautyofsaas
My advice is for you to research either prospect's achievements,
LinkedIn (this is my personal favorite), blog, or podcasts they have
done.
This should give you enough fuel for your compliment. Here is also
where your VA could come in handy and take care of all of this stuff
for you.
So why you should pay attention to making a good first line?
The first lines (opening lines) are immediately visible once your
prospect opens their email app, making it important to catch their
attention & for them to engage with you in an interaction that you will
end in the end try to turn into the close - your new client.
Guys at Instantly did “research” and saw 2x improvement in reply
rates across all niches when personalization / first lines when used
correctly.
Dont be lazy and instead spend some time learning how to create
proper eye catching first personal line that will help you long term.
NUMBERS
GAME
@thebeautyofsaas
When it comes to numbers I would rather keep it more pessimistic
than optimistic here.
Since you are most likely someone who has just started their own
journey you must realize that it's important to be hungry but at the
same time realistic.
This is something you will learn to develop over time what works best
for you.
When it comes to numbers with my very “safe” approach you
would be looking at:
500 emails per day (including warmup ones)
3.5k cold emails per week -> Around 14.5k on a monthly basis since
I dont send B2B emails on weekends.
1k (7% positive responses from 14.5k)
50 (5% booking rate)
10 (20% close rate)
2k/mo
You have successfully made yourself at least 2k before all of the
expenses - this heavily depends on your offer, but here we have taken
a PPM approach that is easily around 200$ per prospect.
The overview here is extremely pessimistic, but it is just here to
prove to you that even tho you are not the best yet can still make
money.
Progressing month to month you should see the increase in the
following, also in case you dont care so much about “burning” down
the domain you could increase numbers easily - by increasing the
number of emails you send per day.
MASS
PERSONALIZATION
@thebeautyofsaas
The point of mass personalization is to save yourself time - as you
already know manual first lines do take a lot of time.
So to get to the logic behind it that the list you are targeting must
be based on certain criteria, meaning that the “first personalized”
line applies to every single lead in that list.
You will have to come up with the leads of leads that have certain
similarities based on the ideas you will find.
When it comes to targeting, there are numerous ways how to mass
personalized it.
Few ideas you can base your mass personalization on:
Location
Recent Activity (based on niche/location)
Niche
Specific things in your niche
Here you should be thinking about how could I get their attention
without sounding like I am immediately offering service.
Example 1. (Design Agency)
Was doing some Instagram scrolling and came across (comapyName)
ads on it
Example 2. (eCommerce brands)
Was looking for a gift for my girlfriend and came across
(companyName) shop.
Example 3. (eCommerce brands)
My friend just received an order from (companyName), your product
for (niche) is of amazing quality.
Think about what could you come up with for a niche/brand to make
you look more like a consumer than a sells person - while at the same
time keeping it “neutral” so that it fits all of the leads on your list.
Dont sleep on this one.
FIRST LINES
@thebeautyofsaas
Line 1.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Digital Marketing Agency
FIRST LINE: Saw in the recent article in (LocalNewspapers) you have
managed to boost the 25% conversion rate for an online class, which
means a lot of new candidates - COVID changed everything, even
classes.
COMMENT: Detailed research based on the info you have provided
here, mention how the big change in the structure of the classes has
happened since the pandemic.
Line 2.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Software Dev Agency
FIRST LINE: Saw on (name of the website) you have won the award for
best UI design in Canada. Got yourself an award against some heavy
hitters.
COMMENT: Pretty specific, while giving out a "solid" compliment.
Line 3.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Software Dev Agency
FIRST LINE: Was searching for iOS development teams from Eastern
Europe and your (name) came up on the Google first page.
COMMENT: Similar to the above one you are specific but not too
much. This could be already treated as a semi-generic one.
FIRST LINES
@thebeautyofsaas
Line 4.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Digital Marketing Agency
FIRST LINE: Hey (Name), just spoke to our CTO about (companyName)
and we looking into the possibility to work together. We are in the
process of finding agencies similar to yours for strategic partnership.
COMMENT: This one is a little bit longer than usual, but it's quite solid
when it comes to reaching out to agencies and "offering" them
potential partnerships.
Line 5.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Influencers
FIRST LINE: Saw your last tweet, congrats on your blog reaching out
100k visitors per month. This is a big milestone, especially in a specific
niche (inset sub-niche if possible) such as yours.
COMMENT: You are up to date with their "life", you are giving out quite
specific compliments based on the niche you have some knowledge
about.
Line 6.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Software Dev Agency
FIRST LINE: Hey (Name), heard a lot of good things about
(companyName) from (LinkedIn connection you both have) and
figured you would find value in this.
COMMENT: You will need LinkedIn for this as you are going to mention
the LinkedIn connection you both have, this is a good one because
you have proof. Direct and very short fit line.
FIRST LINES
@thebeautyofsaas
Line 7.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Ad Agency
FIRST LINE: Everyone in California saw your ads for kids that are
fighting with stuttering - you made a big impact on them.
COMMENT: Specific in case it mentions what the Ad agency did as
well as where the agency is based from. Nothing much to add here as
this is a genuine compliment that works great as a first line.
Line 8.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Human Resources / External Workers Agency
FIRST LINE: Your blog post about connecting migration workers better
with their families is a hit in the local Facebook group - you know how
hard it is for them to leave their families.
COMMENT: Emotions are always good when we are talking about
making an impact. On the other hand, you are mentioning something
they have posted on their LinkedIn / Blog / Website which means you
have done the necessary research.
Line 9.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - An apparel brand
FIRST LINE: Hey (Name), saw that (Instagram influencer) was wearing
your new beanies. It's cold here in Canada so we thought they would
sell well here.
COMMENT: This is possibly a stupid example, but at the same time
you are referring to a specific thing about their brand that you saw on
someone else. The second sentence is quite genuine and should
provoke those "nice emotions" that you really appreciate their brand.
FIRST LINES
@thebeautyofsaas
Line 10.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Weeding management / Agency
FIRST LINE: Your blog post about (Insert the name of the blog post)
when it comes to weddings was a real deal, nothing worse than the
drunk bridesmaid.
COMMENT: What I like about this one is that it's specific to the niche
they are offering, you are confirming that you have done the research
and you are creating a connection with them by mentioning "drunk"
bridesmaid.
Line 11.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Software Dev Agency
FIRST LINE: Hey (firstName) saw your speech live at the (Name of the
conference last week), I didn't know that (companyName) gave out
free education classes to students in need.
COMMENT: I would call this one a mediocre one, but could serve you
as an idea. You are mentioning the event you have both been two
(creating a connection).
Line 12.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: Hey (firstName), saw that (companyName) works with
(Their Testimonial 1 Name), (Their Testimonial 2 Name), and
(Testimonial 3 Name). We have helped similar competitors of theirs
such as (Your Testimonial 1 Name), (Testimonial 2 Name)
COMMENT: Yeah, this is a generic line, but at the same time you are
giving them proof that you are capable of working with "respectable"
competitors of theirs and that should be enough to get the same
results with them.
FIRST LINES
@thebeautyofsaas
Line 13.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: Went through your page and I have a few ideas to share
with you. I am a big fan of (one of the features) you are providing. We
have done some additional work (that features) (Your testimonial).
COMMENT: Same as the line above, generic one but at the same time
you are providing them with a few different "strategies" that are
proven to work.
Line 14.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: Heard a lot of good things about (companyName) and
realized that you will find this valuable. I own YT/TikTok/IG profile
(Profile Name) where we are speaking with business owners on how to
start/grow businesses.
COMMENT: This is a more specific first line as you can't use this one
on everything, but in case it matches your offer you should give it a
go.
Line 15.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: Your article on (Websitename) was a prime example of
how to do proper business with B2B companies when it comes to
conferences, we did something similar with (Your testimonial).
COMMENT: Please understand that this is strictly the first line, you
need more "body" when it comes to this. What do I like about it? Well,
it's quite psychological because you are pretty much telling your lead
that you are listening to their advice and that it's legit. People love
compliments.
FIRST LINES
@thebeautyofsaas
I dont want to repeat myself over and over when it comes to the
description of each personal line. Let's just skip the comment part
going forward and stick to POTENTIAL CLIENT / FIRST LINE.
This will also make it easier for you to read.
Line 16.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: I’m not here to waste your time (firstName), so I’ll get
straight to it and tell you why I’m interrupting your day.
Line 17.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: Through my search for product design agencies like yours,
I saw your (companyName) profile on Clutch and saw your showcase
of working with (theirclient), congrats on having an impressive profile
of work.
Line 18.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: Was visiting your LinkedIn profile, I noticed your new role
as (role) (companyName).
Line 19.
POTENTIAL CLIENT - Semi-generic line
FIRST LINE: Your recent post on (title/topic) is amazing, I followed it
step and step and (managed to do/achieve).
EXTRAS
@thebeautyofsaas
Loom Videos
This is quite a new thing and I must admit I am a big fan of it. Making
personalized short videos either offering advice or creating a "feature"
that they could implement.
Making a short one-minute video about how you can help someone
and demonstrating it on their screens shows nothing but the value you
can add.
"Performance-based work"
I love this.
Adding a guarantee to your emails is easily a game-changer. One
simple line in the email could change the opinion of your potential
client.
Here is one example:
"If we don’t boost/increase/grow your product sales you don't pay us
anything."
If you have no testimonials or case studies and are just starting out,
this works perfectly.
No response GIFs
Prospect not answering your cold mail?
It's not a big deal, depending on the sequence you are running you are
just going to add a cat/Kermit/dog/kid gif with text such as:
"just making sure my email didn't get buried"
I don't know why, but this seems to work extremely well.
EMAIL
SEQUENCES
@thebeautyofsaas
I am keeping it fairly simple when it comes to email sequences and
how many emails I do send after the initial one.
Most often it's two up to three emails post the initial one depending
on the niche and target.
My wait time is 48 - 72 hours between emails - make sure you dont
spam your prospects, also check out how to add the “Unsubscribe”
button / “Not interested” into your emails.
48 hours later after the initial one
Email 2.
Hey (FirstName)
I know your week has been busy (throw into personalized line based
on location/big event). Just making sure this email gets to the top.
48 - 72 hours later
Email 3.
(FirstName),
We managed to help out the (testimonial name) with additional (insert your offer depending on the niche)
Happy to share our entire process with you on a quick call this week.
48 hours later
Email 4. (BowTiedSalesGuy idea)
(FirstName) ?
10 RULES OF
COLD EMAIL
@thebeautyofsaas
1. Never put HTML in the body of your text - also make sure that the
body doesn't include any images/styling/signature. In case you
must have a corporate signature - A/B test it to make sure it's not
spam.
2. Every mail before you send it out must be run through a spam
checker. There are words that filters mark -> increasing the chance
your email ends up in spam.
3. Make sure you use their competitor's name in your cold email
outreach -> no one likes to be beaten by their own competition.
This is the perfect option if you have already testimonials/case
studies from brands in a similar niche, making it easier.
4. Subject lines are important - prospects see that first. Be different
from anyone else, but not too different
5. Everything comes down to testing things out in different niches different approaches. It's not the same when you are sending cold
emails to Enterprise or a local plumbing business.
6. Once you manage to land in someone's primary inbox, they will
check your LinkedIn in 80% of cases - make sure you have it on
point.
7. You never stop your warm-up period, even when your domain is
ready.
8. All your domains must have DKIM, DMARC & SPF successfully
implemented.
9. You should do lead cleaning / verifying, before sending out cold
emails. People change companies, start new ones or completely
quit. Make sure you pay that small fee and clean them so you dont
ruin your reputation.
10. 50 emails - max per inbox (this also includes your warmup) - here
you will hear a lot of things but this is my recommended maximum.
Longevity of domain > number of emails per day.
AUTOMATE
EVERYTHING
@thebeautyofsaas
Everything you can automate - you should.
Doesn't matter if it's the easy task or the most complex one, can you
automate it?
In case the answer is positive, you should do it.
The long run is what counts, making yourself some free time is key.
The same can be said about automating the outreach, make sure you
do everything you can to make it as easy and efficient as possible.
The best part about cold emailing is that it can be automated.
Instantly will offer you a great set of tools that you can use to
systemize outreach and make it as simple as possible.
It will allow you to:
Create a campaign.
Upload verified leads into your campaign.
Setting up the email sequence.
Adjust settings and launch.
You should not need more than an hour to send 50 emails, so please
keep that in mind if you find yourself losing time and time.
One more thing you should start utilizing is AI.
Not only it can help you to write fully personalized cold emails, but it
can help you with content creation in general which is a big thing.
Speed is key when it comes to proper execution.
Happy lead generation.