Email Marketing Improvement

Last quarter I received a perfect cold email. It followed the same simple prospecting framework I teach. Here's a line-by-line breakdown of why it works so well: SUBJECT LINE: Make it all about them and reference your research Why it works: Shows that it's not spam or automated, and creates curiosity to open the e-mail and here what they have to say PARAGRAPH #1: Warm, personal, with a sincere compliment Why it works: Shows the prospect you took the time to learn about them, and humanizes you. PARAGRAPH #2: Share relevant observations based on research and a potential problem which their research uncovered Why it works: Shows that you are reaching out to identify a potential way to help them which they may not be thinking about PARAGRAPH #3: Shares specific, clear value proposition which includes the problem you solve and the outcomes you deliver Why it works: people need to clearly understand what you do so they can decide for themselves if it makes sense to meet with you. Sharing generic outcomes without being direct or specific confuses and annoys prospects because they still don't know what you do after reading the e-mail. PARAGRAPH #4: Soft Call to Interest (CTI): Ask if they have ever given thought to what you wrote, and if they're open to discussing further. Why it works: Never assume that a prospect needs what you are selling. Instead, confirm whether they've thought about the problem you solve and are open to discussing further. A call to interest (CTI) is much softer than a call to action (CTA), such as asking them to meet before you've confirmed they even have a need or interest. Don't assume anything, just ask and validate first. Kudos to the seller for sending a well-written, thoughtful e-mail.

Generic, boring recruiting emails aren't cutting it anymore. Here's the reality: While 76.6% of outreach gets opened, only 22.6% get replies, and of those, around 50% are “thanks, but no thanks”—which means they’re not interested. So, we analyzed over 4 million outreach sequences sent through Gem to uncover what actually drives engagement. 💡 Here are 8 factors that move the needle: 1. Strategic timing The best send times are… - 8 am (68.0% open rate) - 4 pm (67.3% open rate) - 10 am (67.0% open rate) 2. Weekend advantage Few recruiters send weekend outreach, but these messages perform exceptionally well (≥66% open rates). 3. Message length Keep initial messages between 101 to 150 words. You can deliver the essentials in fewer than 10 sentences. 4. Deep personalization Highly personalized messages see a 73% engagement rate. Using tokens like first name or company name can increase open rates by up to 5%. 5. Subject line optimization The sweet spot is between 3 to 9 words… …though some subject lines as lengthy as 11 words still see good open rates if they’re catchy. Pro tip: Include company names and job titles for higher open rates. 6. The 5-stage sequence When you follow up strategically with 5 messages, you'll see 2x more replies and achieve nearly 68% higher "interested" rates than one-off emails. After stage 5, engagement flattens completely. 7. Leadership involvement Having your hiring manager or executive send one of the follow-ups improves reply rates by over 50% (yet only 22% of recruiters are using this tactic!). 8. Role-specific timing For technical roles, 3 out of the top 4 send times fall on weekends. For non-tech roles, stick to typical business hours. Want to see more best practices from top TA teams like Robinhood, Yext, Anthropic, Zapier, and Roblox? Download our full guide here: https://lnkd.in/gRDfiamg

When I joined Clay, I got a million emails. You know the ones. "Hey Jess! Congrats on the new role! We loved working with you at Mutiny. We'd love to work with you again!" Cool, cool… *marks as spam*. What kills me: these vendors know exactly how I used their product. They have the data sitting in Snowflake. And they sent me... that. What if instead the email said: "What you did at Mutiny with Intercom was genuinely impressive. Deflecting half your support queue with AI is no joke. We'd love to help you do the same at Clay." I would have responded immediately. At this point I think nearly every B2B company is tracking job changes. But I barely see anyone taking it a step further. Here's how to go the extra mile with personalization using Clay: 1. Take their LinkedIn profile URL to find previous company email in CRM 2. Lookup their email in product usage data 3. Generate AI summary of how they used product 4. Conduct personalized outreach with specific context And if they weren't a great customer? Don't email them!! The nice part about this is that the data already exists, and it’s not a high lift to connect the dots. To everyone who had my data and still sent me that email — I hope this post finds you well. 😇

An ecommerce company recently approached my team to do an email audit as they were facing challenges with low open and click-through rates. After analyzing their email account, here are our main recommendations to revive their email marketing channel: 1. Strategic Email Segmentation: Currently, your emails lack personal relevance due to a one-size-fits-all approach. This is a crucial area to address. Action Plan: Implement segmentation based on purchase history, engagement levels, browsing behavior, and demographic information. 2. Personalized Content Creation: Generic content won't cut it. Your audience needs to feel that each email is crafted for them. Action Plan: Develop emails specifically tailored to the different segments. This includes curated product recommendations, personalized offers, and content that aligns with their interests. 3. Subject Line A/B Testing: Your current subject lines aren't doing their job. You need to be implementing ongoing A/B subject line tests, as this is low-hanging fruit to improve your open rates. Action Plan: Regularly test different subject line styles and formats to identify what resonates best with each segment. Keep track of the metrics to inform future campaigns. 4. Mobile Optimization: A significant portion of your audience reads emails on mobile devices. Neglecting this is causing a decrease in your email engagement rates. Action Plan: Ensure all emails are responsive and visually appealing on various screen sizes. Test your emails on multiple devices before sending them out. Additional Campaign Strategies We Recommend: - Launch a Monthly Newsletter: This should include new arrivals, style guides, and user-generated content. It’s an excellent way to keep your brand in the minds of your customers. - Seasonal Campaign Integration: Tailor your campaigns to align with holidays and seasons. This approach can significantly boost engagement and sales during key periods. - Re-Engagement Campaigns: Specifically target subscribers who haven't interacted with your brand recently. Offer them unique incentives to rekindle their interest. Next steps: 1. If you found this helpful, please leave a comment and let me know. 2. If you own/run/work at an Ecommerce company doing at least $1 million in annual revenue, message me so my team can audit your email channel to see if there's a good fit for working together.

Last week, a $2M ARR SaaS founder showed me their "high-converting" cold email template. It was the same template I’d seen on LinkedIn.. and even in my own inbox.. more times than I can count. Word for word: → "I noticed you work in [industry]..." → "Quick question about [pain point]..." → "Would love to show you how we help companies like [competitor]..." Here’s what no template guru talks about: Your buyers are getting that exact same message from other founders too. They can spot templates from a mile away. The founder was baffled… “But this template has a 15% reply rate!” Maybe. For whoever used it first. Once it’s been copy-pasted across LinkedIn and every “growth hack” newsletter, it’s dead. The real problem with template culture: It makes you sound just like everyone else trying to sell to your buyer. And when you sound like everyone else, you get ignored like everyone else. What actually works in 2025? Stop optimizing for "reply rates." Start optimizing for qualified conversation rates. I’d rather get 2 replies from buyers who actually need what we do than 20 replies from people just asking to be removed from our list. The PipeBagger approach? 👍 We don’t use templates. We use frameworks. 👍 We research the buyer’s real business situation—their tech landscape, their company’s growth challenges. 👍 Then we write ONE message that speaks directly to their reality. Is it scalable? Maybe not instantly. Is it effective? Absolutely. Think AI emails are better than templates? Worse. Buyers' inbox flags them, and even readers can smell the AI lingo. Your message template isn’t your competitive advantage. Your ability to understand what your buyer actually needs to hear is. Stop copying. Start connecting. Have you ever caught yourself using the same template as your competitors? What changed when you ditched it? #B2B #Founder #BuyerCertainty #ColdEmailing #SocialSelling

Sales folks, take note! Spamming a target company's employees with your services and requests for meetings will result in your company making its way onto a buyer's blocklist. As a buyer in the localization industry, I receive dozens of emails and LinkedIn requests every single day from vendors looking to showcase translation, AI, QA services, and more. It's not humanly possible to give personal replies to every outreach. When vendors can't get through to me, they often reach out to everyone on my team... and sometimes to many others across my company. I'd love for this practice to stop. It wastes valuable company time and makes a vendor appear desperate and non-strategic. Here's what to do instead: 1. Appeal to ego! Invite a target company’s decision-maker to a panel, or start a vlog series and ask buyers to appear and discuss industry topics. It’s also a great opportunity to reposition your company as a thought leader. 2. Offer genuine insight, not just services. Share a case study, white paper, or benchmarking data that’s actually useful to the buyer’s role, and do it without a sales pitch. 3. Build a reputation before you build a pipeline. Comment thoughtfully on posts. Contribute to community conversations. If you consistently show up with value, you’re far more likely to get noticed. 4. Target smarter, not broader. Don’t shotgun your message to an entire company. Learn the org. Understand the buyer’s scope. Then send one well-researched, personalized note that shows you actually did your homework. 5. Focus on mutual value. Can you help solve a known pain point or offer perspective on something changing in the market? Frame your outreach around collaboration, not consumption. 6. Use timing to your advantage. Keep tabs on when companies are hiring for roles associated with your offerings, launching in new markets, or attending conferences. That’s when buyers are more receptive to new solutions. 7. Lead with generosity. Offer a no-strings-attached resource, intro, or suggestion that doesn’t benefit you directly. Reciprocity is a powerful trust builder. And please! Don't ever ever call me on the phone! ;)

I’m going to say what most sellers won’t: AI has made prospecting and earning executive meetings too easy. After 25 years in sales, I’m operating at the highest level of my career — not because I work more. Because I'm resourceful and use every tool at my disposal. Here’s my exact workflow that’s driving nearly a 100% success rate landing executive meetings in complex organizations: Sales Navigator pulls every executive I should engage. I create my own lists for newsletters and webinar outreach. Recently, a customer made a huge purchase that nobody on my team even spoke to; turned out, they were on all my webinars. Here are the prompts powering 80% of my prospecting: Prompt #1 – Executive Intelligence Compression Analyze this executive’s website, annual report, earnings call transcript, and LinkedIn activity. Summarize their top 3 strategic priorities, current challenges, tone of voice, and recurring language patterns. Identify 2 potential blind spots or emerging risks they may not be explicitly addressing. Prompt #2 – The 2-Sentence Hook Based on this executive’s priorities and tone, draft a 2-sentence hook that signals relevance, insight, and urgency — without sounding salesy. Use their language style. Prompt #3 – The Surgical Email Write a concise 2-paragraph outreach email (under 120 words) aligned to their mission and strategic priorities. Make it feel written specifically for them. Include a subject line optimized for open rate and curiosity. Prompt #4 – The Board-Level Angle If I were presenting to this executive’s board, what metrics and outcomes would matter most? Reframe my value proposition in board-level language. Prompt #5 – Objection Pre-Handling List the 5 most likely reasons this executive would ignore my outreach. Then rewrite my message to neutralize those concerns preemptively. Prompt #6 – Account Expansion Map Identify 5 adjacent executives inside this organization who would logically care about this initiative and explain why. What used to take me 2–3 hours per account now takes 15 minutes. AI didn’t replace the craft. It amplified it. It sharpened my pattern recognition. It accelerated my preparation. It increased my precision. Most sellers are still blasting generic emails. Meanwhile, AI lets you speak directly to what keeps an executive awake at night — in their own language — at scale. If you understand their perceived risk of change, and you understand their why, you can influence anything. The organizations people call “uncrackable”? They’re just under-researched. If you’re in sales and you’re not building AI into your daily workflow, you’re not competing against other reps. You’re competing against augmented operators. What’s one AI workflow that materially changed your performance? If you want my entire playbook, check out my new book "Moneyball Sales."

Most people jump to "better copy" when what they need is a better system (so their good emails actually get seen, delivered, and replied to). You've optimized the subject lines.  Tweaked the CTA.  Even A/B tested till your eyes hurt. But replies? Still dead quiet.  It's not the COPY. It's the SYSTEM. Here's a simple 6-step framework I use to turn outbound from guesswork into predictable meetings. 1️⃣ Map your target before you write a word Before sending a single email, get crystal clear on: → Who you're reaching: ICP, triggers, and actual buying intent  → Why now: the urgency or pain that makes your message relevant today  → What reply you actually want: meeting, intro, or insight Most people skip this and start writing emails without knowing what success even looks like. 2️⃣ Fix deliverability, or nothing else matters Your emails can't convert if they never land. → Verify domains and set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC properly  → Warm up gradually, not all at once  → Always run a 25-contact "canary" test to check deliverability and reply flow before scaling If your open rates are below 50%, stop everything and fix this first. 3️⃣ Build reusable copy blocks, not one-off emails Instead of rewriting the same email ten times, create a modular system: → Build blocks like trigger, value, proof, and CTA  → Mix and match depending on segment and persona  → Follow the 3x3 rule: three sentences max, three seconds to get the point It's faster to scale, easier to test, and keeps your tone consistent across campaigns. 4️⃣ Design reply paths, not just outreach steps Every reply deserves a clear next action: → Positive? Book the meeting  → Neutral? Nurture with value  → OOO? Resurface later with context Design your outreach as a flow, not a list. Seven to nine touchpoints over 18 to 24 days with varied angles beat one "clever" email every time. 5️⃣ Track smart metrics and iterate weekly Measure what actually moves the needle: → Reply quality: qualified, not now, wrong person, OOO  → Inbox rate, step level replies, and time to meeting Don't change your copy too soon. Test your targeting or sequence logic first. 6️⃣ Ship it in Saleshandy Once your system is ready, operationalize it with confidence: → Use Sequence Score to check performance before launch  → Monitor Inbox Radar for real-time deliverability health  → Scale safely with sender rotation, Unified Inbox, and Lead Finder with 700M+ verified contacts That's how you keep your engine humming without burning domains or sanity. No hacks. No magic first lines.  Just clarity, structure, and repetition powered by clean systems. Outbound doesn't need to be fancy. It just needs to be functional. Want to see how this framework performs in action? 👉 Try Saleshandy free for 7 days: https://lnkd.in/dtGtKYUR

Most sellers obsess over subject lines & preview text to get their emails opened. But, there's a little known 3rd thing that has WAY more of an impact on open rates: 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲. If your prospect recognizes the name of the sender they are going to open the email, no matter the subject line. You can almost 100% guarantee that your prospect will see your message if your can get someone they actually know to send your email on your behalf. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝘂𝗻: 1. Find prospect 2. Find LinkedIn connection who has worked with them before (easy filter in Sales Nav, helps reduce the chances of you asking for an intro to someone who is connected but hasn't actually spoken to them.) 3. Say something like this: 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬, 𝘈𝘮𝘺! 𝘞𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩? 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 30 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵'𝘴 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 [𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦] 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 [𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺]. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 [or whatever reason you think your product is a fit] 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? --- The key here is to ask permission to send them a draft message that they can forward. Once you get consent here, write a damn good email since you can almost guarantee your prospect will see it. But it also would make for a very funny episode of "Nathan for You" for a seller to actually change their name just to send a cold email 🤣

"Stop sending follow-up emails" That's what I told a struggling VP of Sales last month His team was sending 8,000+ emails weekly Converting almost none of them He thought I was insane Until we implemented a "no follow-up" policy and their pipeline exploded → Here's what most sales leaders miss: Your prospects aren't ignoring you because you haven't followed up enough They're ignoring you because you haven't said anything worth responding to After auditing 50+ B2B sales processes, I've found the same pattern: - 8+ follow-up emails to the same prospect - Each one more desperate than the last - Generic templates with fake personalization - Zero actual value added All while sales managers chant "persistence pays off!" The brutal truth? It doesn't One client was sending 14-touch sequences to every lead Their final response rate? A pathetic 0.7% We completely redesigned their approach: - Cut all automated follow-ups - Created industry-specific research for each target account - Developed 3 unique insights for every prospect - Built a "no pitch" first conversation model The results : - Response rate jumped to 20% - Meetings-to-opportunity conversion: Up 200% - Sales cycle: Reduced from 107 days to 70 - Team morale: Transformed overnight The most expensive myth in modern sales is that quantity of touches matters more than quality of insight Your prospects don't need another "just checking in" email They need someone who fundamentally understands their business challenges What if you deleted all your follow-up templates today and replaced them with actual business insights? That's not just a sales strategy That's a competitive advantage P.S. If you need help with your sales, send me a message