How Long Should a Cold Email Be? (+ Best Practices)

Are you wondering if your cold emails are the right length? If so, you’re in the right place! 

Cold emails are a powerful marketing tool that can help you connect with new customers and partners. They’re a great way to build rapport with people in your industry and can open doors to new opportunities.

But like most things, they need to be used correctly if you want to get the best results. 

Today, we will cover the key factors for finding the ideal length for your cold email. You will also learn actionable best practices for winning people over with your next campaign.

Let’s dive in! 

Are Cold Emails Still Effective? 

If you’re like most people, your first question is probably, “Are cold emails actually effective?” It’s an understandable thing to ask, considering the impact of social media on everything that we do, including our shopping habits.

I’m happy to report that the answer to that question is yes, they are still effective. 

When done correctly, this strategy can help you connect with people, keep them engaged, and ultimately drive results.

For context, research shows that the average cold email open rate is 24%; not bad! Now, combine this with the fact that 8.5% of people actually respond to these emails. In other words, for every 10 people who look at your email, you can expect about one response. These can add up fast! 

Studies also show that almost half (44.7%) of people consider some cold emails to be trustworthy. 

Image Source: Email Tool Tester

The message here is crystal clear. Cold emails are still a powerful way to boost leads, sales, and engagement.

Factors to Consider When Deciding on the Length of Your Cold Email

If you want to find the perfect length for your cold email, there are a few things you'll want to consider. The reality is that every business is a little bit different.

Here's where to start:

Purpose and Goal

What do you hope to get from your cold email? Are you trying to:

• Book a meeting (Keep it shorter)
• Introduce a product or service (It might need a bit more space, but still be concise)
• Ask for a referral (Shorter is better)
• Start a longer conversation (The initial email should be brief to pique interest)

The clearer your goal, the easier it is to determine the necessary length. If your primary goal is a quick, specific action (like booking a call), keep your email as short and direct as possible. 

If you need to provide a little more context or information, you can expand slightly but always prioritize brevity.

Audience Preferences

Who are you emailing? Your target audience will play a big role in how short (or long) your emails are.

Here are a few audience guidelines you can use to get the gist of the ideal length of your messages:

• Busy executives - They likely prefer super short and to-the-point emails.
• Marketing professionals - They might appreciate a bit more context or a slightly more creative approach but still value an email that's to the point.
• Technical audience - If you're explaining a complex solution, you might need a bit more space to articulate the value, but clarity is still crucial to getting them to stick around to the end.

As a general rule, it's much easier to get people to respond if you understand their goals, communication style, and lifestyle. You can do this by building an audience persona that covers all of this information. 

Here’s what it looks like:

Image Source: OptinMonster

You can almost guarantee a low response rate from executives if you send a 600-word case study with a call-to-action at the bottom. Similarly, by sending a 50-word email to a technical audience looking for a detailed overview of your product, they will disregard your email because they can't make an informed decision based on so little content.

Content Complexity

The next factor you'll want to consider is the complexity of the message you plan on sending.

If you're sending a simple introduction or request, you can keep it short and sweet since it's usually pretty easy to get this information across.

On the other hand, if you want to explain a new product or feature, you could benefit from making it a little bit longer so people are intrigued enough to respond or click through to your website.

For folks sending case studies and research, we suggest including a link to the final piece and using your text space to highlight compelling stats or observations that make them want to learn more.

When you know exactly what you want to send and why, it's much easier to find the best length for your email.

Industry Standards

It's also a great idea to review the industry standards and find out what other successful brands are doing.

There are a few ways to go about this. You could review industry-specific case studies that contain data on what worked best for them. Lots of businesses share this kind of research because it usually ties back to their product or service.

You could also simply check your inbox for cold emails that caught your attention. If something caught your eye, there's a good chance other people noticed it, too. You can use this to your advantage by taking what they did and contextualizing it for your industry.

Call to Action

Finally, ask yourself, "What do you want the recipient to do after reading your email?" This will determine your call to action.

Here are a few common CTAs:

• Book a call
• Schedule a demo
• Visit our website
• Reply to the email
• Sign up for an event

Here are a few more examples:

Image Source: Tourism Tribe

Each one of these CTAs will have an impact on the length of your email. For example, if you want someone to sign up for a product demo, they need to understand what it is, when it will be, and why it should matter to them,

On the other hand, telling someone why they should book a call can be done in one or two sentences.

All of these factors we discussed above play a role in deciding the length of your cold email. You'll want to work through each one so you can figure out what will work best for your unique situation.

Best Practices for Sending Cold Emails

Now that you know how to determine the ideal length, let's cover some best practices that will make your cold emails even more effective, no matter the word count!

Keep these in mind when working on your email copy, and you'll have a better chance of connecting with your audience and improving your response rate.

• Personalize Your Message - Generic emails are a one-way ticket to the spam folder. Take the time to personalize each email to the recipient. Mention something specific about their company, their recent work, or something relevant to their industry that shows you've done your research and aren't just sending a mass, automated blast. Personalization makes your email immediately relevant. Plus, research shows that 80% of people prefer emails that are personalized to their interests.
• Use an Attention-Grabbing Subject Line - Your subject line is the first, and sometimes only, impression you make. You'll want to create compelling subject lines that are concise, intriguing, and give readers a reason to click through. Our advice is to avoid generic or clickbait subject lines. Instead, focus on creating genuine curiosity or highlighting a direct, tangible benefit.
• Start with a Strong Opening - You've got seconds to hook your readers once they open your email. Your first line needs to grab their attention and convince them to see it through. This could be a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic relevant to their industry, or a direct and relevant statement that speaks directly to their pain points or goals.
• Highlight Your Value Proposition - Why should the recipient care about your email in the first place? Clearly and concisely articulate the specific value you offer to them, not just the features of your product or service. Focus intently on their needs and how you can directly help them solve a problem they are facing, achieve a key business goal, or significantly improve their current situation. Make your value proposition the absolute central focus of your email and ensure it is easy to understand within seconds.
• Be Polite and Professional - Even in a cold email, politeness and professionalism are essential and go a very long way in building rapport. Maintain a consistently respectful and courteous tone throughout your entire message. Use proper grammar and spelling, absolutely avoid overly casual or aggressive language, and always thank them for their time and consideration, even if they ultimately don't respond. Professionalism helps you build trust and makes recipients more receptive to your message and your future outreach.
• Keep it Concise and Scannable - Remember, busy people often scan emails first before deciding to read in detail. Make your email visually easy to digest. Employ short, focused paragraphs, utilize bullet points to highlight key takeaways, and use whitespace effectively to break up large blocks of text. By making your email scannable, you dramatically increase the chances of your core message being quickly understood, even if they are just glancing at it initially.
• Have a Clear and Singular Call to Action - Don't overwhelm or confuse recipients with multiple or vague calls to action in a cold email. Focus on one thing you want them to do after reading. Make that action crystal clear, prominent, and as easy as possible for them to execute. A confused or overwhelmed recipient is far less likely to take any action at all.
• Test and Improve - Cold emailing is far from a static marketing strategy. The most effective way to improve and optimize your results over time is to make testing and iteration a core part of your process. Your best bet is to run A/B tests with different elements of your cold emails – such as subject lines, opening hooks, value propositions, specific calls to action, and yes, even the overall email lengths themselves! If you need a reason why, here's one: research shows that A/B testing is one of the best way to improve conversions. 

Final Thoughts

Your cold email is often the very first interaction you have with potential customers or partners. You want to make a positive and impactful first impression. By focusing on delivering value quickly, respecting their time, and following the best practices we've discussed, you can improve your chances of cutting through the noise and getting a response.

The bottom line is there is no magic number for the length of your cold email. Generally speaking, shorter is better. However, "short" can vary based on your industry and what you want readers to do.

The next step is to put these strategies into action. Take a look at your existing cold email templates, or start crafting new ones with these guidelines in mind. Before long, you'll have a cold email campaign that will help you take your marketing strategy to the next level. 

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