EMAIL OUTREACH PLAYBOOK

HOW TO BOOST REPLIES 43
What do you think went wrong?
Three things stand out to me.
1
Lack of personalization
This is an obvious slip-up (although Shane admits personalization was lacking
on account of the high send rate).
2
Phrasing
For me, the biggest failure in this email is the way the “ask” is phrased.
“I’m doing a study on cold emails and want to ask if you could share
some thoughts on what differentiates an effective cold email from a
bad one?”
“Share some thoughts” is very non-specific. It offers very little guidance for the
recipient. More importantly it makes responding sound like a lot of effort.
3
Lack of incentive
The email doesn’t mention what’s in it for the recipient if they do reply. This might
not be a sales email, but the same rule applies: be crystal clear about what’s in it
for them if they get back to you.
Let’s have a look at how approaching this email differently – and outreach emails
in general – could have boosted replies.
EMAIL OUTREACH PLAYBOOK