Cold Email Template: 12 Frameworks That Actually Get Replies

I've sent millions of cold emails across multiple companies and helped over 14,000 entrepreneurs do the same. After booking more than half a million meetings, I can tell you this: most cold email templates suck because they're written by people who've never actually sent cold emails at scale.

The templates that work aren't clever. They're not fancy. They follow simple psychological principles and get straight to the point. Here are the twelve frameworks I return to again and again, with real examples and the logic behind why they work.

The Problem-Agitate-Solution Template

This is my workhorse template. It works because you're calling out a specific problem your prospect actually has, making it hurt a little more, then offering a clear way out.

Structure:

• Line 1: State their problem
• Line 2-3: Make the problem feel urgent or costly
• Line 4: Present your solution
• Line 5: Simple CTA

Example:

Subject: Your demo no-show rate

{{FirstName}}, I noticed {{Company}} is hiring 3 AEs this quarter.

Most teams I talk to are losing 30-40% of booked demos to no-shows. At 10 demos per rep per week, that's 12+ meetings per month disappearing.

We've built a reminder sequence that cuts no-shows to under 15%. Would you want to see how it works?

- Alex

The key is specificity. "Your demo no-show rate" is better than "Improving your sales process." The 30-40% stat makes it real. The math (12+ meetings) makes it painful. The solution is concrete.

I've tested variations of this template across thousands of sends. The version that includes specific numbers in the agitation section consistently outperforms vague language by 20-30%. When you say "you're losing meetings," it's forgettable. When you say "12+ meetings per month," they start doing the math on what that costs them in revenue.

The Before-After-Bridge Template

This template paints a picture of their current state, shows them what's possible, then bridges the gap with your offer. It works because people buy transformations, not features.

Structure:

• Before: Where they are now
• After: Where they could be
• Bridge: How you get them there

Example:

Subject: Growing past 10 clients

{{FirstName}}, most agencies get stuck around 8-12 clients because the founder is still doing sales.

The agencies that scale past 50 clients have one thing in common: they systematized outbound so it runs without them.

I've helped 200+ agencies build that system. Want me to walk you through how we'd do it for {{Company}}?

- Alex

Notice I'm not selling a product here. I'm selling the transformation from stuck-at-10 to scaling-past-50. The bridge is the system, not a tool.

The contrast between before and after has to be dramatic enough to matter. "From 5% to 7% conversion" doesn't move anyone. "From doing all the sales yourself to having a system that books 20 meetings a month without you" is a transformation worth paying for. Make the gap big enough that crossing it feels urgent.

The Case Study Template

When you have proof, lead with it. This template works because it's not about you or even about them-it's about someone like them who got results.

Structure:

• Line 1: Describe a similar client
• Line 2: What result they got
• Line 3: Imply the prospect could get the same
• Line 4: Ask to share details

Example:

Subject: 40 meetings in 6 weeks

{{FirstName}}, we just wrapped a campaign for a cybersecurity company in {{City}}.

They went from 3 meetings per month to 40 qualified meetings in 6 weeks using our outbound system.

I think we could do something similar for {{Company}}. Want me to send over the breakdown?

- Alex

The subject line is a number-immediately credible. I'm showing proof without bragging. The CTA is low-pressure: just asking to share details, not demanding a call.

The key to case study emails is relevance. If you're reaching out to a 10-person startup, don't tell them about the Fortune 500 company you helped. They'll assume your solution is too expensive or complex. Match the case study to the prospect's stage, industry, and problem. The closer the match, the higher the reply rate.

If you need help building your prospect list before you start sending, ScraperCity's unlimited B2B database filters by industry, title, company size, and location. You can also grab my top 5 cold email scripts that include more frameworks like these.

The Direct Value Template

Sometimes the best approach is radically simple: just tell them exactly what you'll do for them. No story, no fluff. This works with senior prospects who don't have time for anything else.

Structure:

• Line 1: What you do
• Line 2: Specific outcome
• Line 3: One credibility marker
• Line 4: Direct ask

Example:

Subject: Outbound for {{Company}}

{{FirstName}}, I run outbound campaigns for B2B companies in the {{Industry}} space.

We typically book 15-25 qualified meetings per month within 60 days.

Helped 14,000+ companies set up their outbound systems. Happy to show you what we'd do for {{Company}}.

Available this week?

- Alex

No clever hook. No long story. Just clarity. With a VP or C-level, this often performs better than cute copy. They want to know what you do, what they get, and why they should trust you. Done.

I tested this template against a longer, story-based version when reaching out to executives. The direct version had a 40% higher reply rate. Senior people are pattern-matching constantly. If they can't figure out what you do in the first sentence, they're gone.

The Question Template

Ask a question they actually want to answer. The trick is making the question about their business, not about whether they want to buy from you.

Structure:

• Line 1: Personalized observation
• Line 2: Question about their strategy or situation
• Line 3: Brief context for why you're asking
• Line 4: Soft CTA

Example:

Subject: Quick question about your SDR team

{{FirstName}}, saw you just promoted {{SDRName}} to AE-congrats to your team.

Are you backfilling that SDR seat, or are you rethinking headcount vs. outsourced outbound?

I ask because half the teams I work with are shifting budget from hiring to systems right now.

Would be curious to hear your take.

- Alex

This works because you're starting a conversation, not pitching. The personalization (SDR name) shows you did homework. The question is genuine-there's no right answer that leads to "great, let me sell you." You're just talking shop.

The question template performs exceptionally well when you're trying to break into competitive accounts. Instead of competing with every other vendor pitching them, you're positioning as a peer who's curious about their approach. Even if they don't reply, you're planting a seed that you're thoughtful and informed about their business.

The Resource-First Template

Give before you ask. This template leads with something valuable-a resource, insight, or tool-before ever pitching your service. It works because reciprocity is real.

Structure:

• Line 1: Why you're reaching out
• Line 2: Offer something free
• Line 3: Explain what it is
• Line 4: Optional soft pitch

Example:

Subject: Template for {{Company}}

{{FirstName}}, I put together a cold email template specifically for companies selling into the {{Industry}} vertical.

It's based on 200+ campaigns we've run in that space. No opt-in, just grab it here: [link]

If you end up using it and want help running the actual campaign, happy to chat.

- Alex

The pitch is almost an afterthought. You led with value. Even if they don't reply, they have your resource and remember you gave them something useful. I do this constantly with my cold email templates pack and subject line library.

When I first started testing resource-first emails, I was skeptical. Wouldn't giving away free stuff just attract freebie-seekers? Turns out, no. The reply rate is lower than direct pitches, but the quality of replies is dramatically higher. People who respond after you've given them value are pre-qualified as serious prospects who appreciate expertise.

The Contrast Template

Show them what's not working in their current approach, then contrast it with a better way. This works when you're disrupting a category or offering a clearly different methodology.

Structure:

• Line 1: Call out the old way
• Line 2: Why it's broken
• Line 3: Introduce the new way
• Line 4: Offer to explain

Example:

Subject: Why your email tool isn't working

{{FirstName}}, most companies are paying $500/mo for email tools that send from shared IPs.

Problem is, once one user on that IP gets flagged, your deliverability tanks too.

We run every campaign from dedicated domains so you control your sender reputation completely.

Want me to show you the difference in your inbox?

- Alex

This template positions you as the expert who sees the industry clearly. You're educating, not just selling. The offer at the end is to "show you the difference"-which is helpful, not pushy.

The contrast template is dangerous if you use it wrong. You can't just trash-talk competitors or make claims you can't back up. But when you're genuinely offering a better approach and can explain why the old way is limited, this positions you as a category leader instead of another vendor.

The Trigger Event Template

This template capitalizes on something that just happened at the prospect's company-a funding round, new hire, product launch, or expansion. Timing is everything here.

Structure:

• Line 1: Reference the trigger event
• Line 2: Connect it to a likely problem or opportunity
• Line 3: Offer relevant help
• Line 4: Easy next step

Example:

Subject: Congrats on the Series B

{{FirstName}}, saw {{Company}} just closed $15M. Congrats to you and the team.

Most companies I work with hit a wall around month 3-4 post-funding when they're trying to scale outbound faster than they can hire.

If that resonates, I'd be happy to show you how we've helped similar companies ramp up meeting volume without adding headcount.

Worth a quick call?

- Alex

Trigger events give you a legitimate reason to reach out right now. The prospect is already thinking about the implications of whatever just happened. You're offering help at the exact moment they might need it. This is why timing beats everything in cold email.

I track trigger events using a combination of LinkedIn Sales Navigator alerts and Clay for automated research. When you can reference something that happened in the last 48 hours, your open rates go through the roof. It signals you're paying attention and reaching out for a specific reason, not just blasting everyone.

The Quick Question Template

Sometimes the best way to start a conversation is to ask a simple qualifying question. This template works when you're not sure if they're the right person or if they have the problem you solve.

Structure:

• Line 1: Brief introduction or connection
• Line 2: Direct question
• Line 3: Why you're asking (optional)
• Line 4: Thank them

Example:

Subject: Quick question

{{FirstName}}, quick question:

Is {{Company}} handling outbound sales in-house, or do you work with an agency for lead generation?

Either way is fine-just want to make sure I'm reaching out to the right person.

Thanks,

- Alex

This is disarmingly simple. You're not pitching anything. You're just asking a question. If they reply, you have an opening. If they tell you to talk to someone else, you have a warm referral. Either way, you win.

The quick question template has the highest reply rate of any template I use, often hitting 30-40% response rates. But here's the catch: the quality of replies varies. Some people will answer your question and that's it. You'll need a strong follow-up strategy to convert these responses into actual meetings.

The AIDA Template

AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. It's a classic marketing framework that works perfectly for cold email when you adapt it correctly.

Structure:

• Attention: Hook them with something unexpected or relevant
• Interest: Build curiosity with a specific detail
• Desire: Show them what's possible
• Action: Clear, simple next step

Example:

Subject: Your competitors are booking 40+ demos/month

{{FirstName}}, I've run outbound campaigns for 3 of your direct competitors in the last 6 months.

They're consistently booking 40+ qualified demos per month using a system that takes about 2 weeks to set up.

I'd be happy to show you exactly what they're doing (without naming names, of course).

Interested in a quick breakdown?

- Alex

The attention line hits hard-competitors are winning. The interest comes from the specific number and timeframe. The desire is built by offering insider knowledge. The action is simple: yes or no to a breakdown.

AIDA works because it mirrors how people actually make decisions. They need to notice you, get curious, want what you're offering, then have an easy way to take the next step. Most cold emails skip straight to the action without building the first three steps.

The Pain-Agitate-Solve-Close Template

This is a variation on Problem-Agitate-Solution, but it adds a stronger close. Use this when you need to be more direct about getting a meeting.

Structure:

• Line 1: Identify pain point
• Line 2-3: Make it worse (agitate)
• Line 4: Present solution
• Line 5: Strong, specific CTA

Example:

Subject: Your SDR team's meeting-to-close rate

{{FirstName}}, most SDR teams book plenty of meetings but struggle with low show rates and even lower close rates.

When I dig into it, it's almost always because they're booking the wrong people-prospects who sound good on paper but don't have budget or authority.

We've built a qualification script that SDRs can use before booking the demo. It cuts junk meetings by 60% and doubles close rates.

I have 20 minutes open Thursday at 2pm or Friday at 10am. Want me to walk you through it?

- Alex

The difference here is the close. Instead of "interested?" or "want to chat?", I'm offering specific times. It removes friction and makes it easier for them to say yes. You can grab more frameworks like this in my email scripts pack.

The Third-Party Connection Template

When you have a mutual connection or can reference someone they know, lead with it. Social proof from someone in their network is powerful.

Structure:

• Line 1: Reference the mutual connection
• Line 2: Brief context on how you know them
• Line 3: Why you're reaching out to the prospect
• Line 4: Clear ask

Example:

Subject: {{MutualConnection}} suggested I reach out

{{FirstName}}, I was talking to {{MutualConnection}} at {{TheirCompany}} last week about their outbound system.

When I mentioned I was working with companies in {{Industry}}, they suggested I connect with you.

We've helped similar companies book 20-30 qualified meetings per month. Would you be open to a quick call to see if it makes sense for {{Company}}?

- Alex

This template converts at a much higher rate than cold outreach with no connection. The mutual contact gives you instant credibility. Just make sure you actually have permission to use their name-burning a relationship for a cold email is never worth it.

If you don't have a mutual connection, you can create one. Engage with their content on LinkedIn first. Comment on their posts thoughtfully. Then when you email them, you can say "I've been following your posts about [topic]" and it's genuine.

The Straight-to-Business Template

No fluff, no personalization beyond their name and company. This works when you have a strong value proposition and you're reaching out to people who value efficiency over relationship-building.

Structure:

• Line 1: What you do
• Line 2: Who you work with
• Line 3: Results you deliver
• Line 4: Yes/no question

Example:

Subject: Outbound meetings for {{Company}}

{{FirstName}},

We book qualified sales meetings for B2B companies in {{Industry}}.

Typical results: 15-25 meetings per month, 60-90 day timeline to full ramp.

Is this something {{Company}} could use right now?

- Alex

This is the shortest template I use regularly. It's brutally efficient. Some people hate it because it's not "personalized." But when I'm reaching out to operations-focused buyers or technical decision-makers, this often outperforms the warmer templates.

The straight-to-business template is my go-to for high-volume campaigns where deep personalization isn't feasible. You can send 500 of these per day with minimal customization and still get solid response rates if your value prop is strong and your targeting is tight.

How to Actually Use These Templates

Here's what most people get wrong: they find a template, fill in the blanks, and send it to 500 people. That's not how this works.

Every template needs customization. At minimum, personalize the first line. Reference something specific to their company-a recent hire, a blog post, a product launch, their tech stack. If you're scraping LinkedIn or company websites for personalization data, Clay is excellent for automating that research at scale.

Test everything. I'll run the same campaign with 3-4 different templates to see what hits. Sometimes the direct approach crushes it. Sometimes the story-based template wins. It depends on your audience, your offer, and honestly, factors we still don't fully understand. But you'll never know without testing.

Your subject line matters more than your body copy. I've seen great emails die because the subject line was generic. Keep it under 50 characters. Make it specific or curious, never salesy. "Quick question" is overused but still works. "Your demo no-show rate" is specific and intriguing. "How we can help your business grow" is garbage.

Follow up. One email is not a campaign. I send 4-6 emails per sequence. Most replies come on email 3 or 4, not email 1. Your follow-ups should be short, add new information, or approach from a different angle. Grab my follow-up templates if you want to see how I structure sequences.

Match the template to your buyer. C-level executives respond best to direct value and case studies. Mid-level managers respond well to problem-agitate-solution and contrast templates. Practitioners and individual contributors often prefer resource-first and question templates. Know who you're selling to.

The Anatomy of a High-Converting Cold Email

Regardless of which template you choose, every effective cold email shares certain structural elements. Understanding these components helps you adapt templates instead of just copying them.

Subject Line: 3-7 Words Maximum

Short subject lines have dramatically higher open rates than long ones. I've tested this obsessively. "Quick question about your SDR team" beats "I have a question about how your SDR team handles outbound prospecting" by 40-50% on opens. Get to the point immediately. Make it specific enough to be relevant but vague enough to create curiosity.

I have an entire library of subject lines that work across industries in my subject line swipe file. The patterns that consistently perform: specific numbers, gentle curiosity, references to their company or role, and problem-focused hooks.

Opening Line: Personalization or Relevance

Your first sentence determines whether they read the second sentence. You have three options: personalize based on research about them, reference a trigger event, or lead with a problem you know they have. The worst opening line is introducing yourself. Nobody cares who you are until they know why you're emailing them.

When you're building lists for personalized outreach, you need data sources that give you something to work with. People search tools can pull background information that makes personalization easier at scale.

Body: 2-4 Sentences Maximum

If your email doesn't fit on a mobile screen without scrolling, it's too long. I've tested emails of every length. The sweet spot is 50-100 words total. Anything longer and your reply rate drops. People scan emails in 3-5 seconds. If they can't figure out what you want in that time, they move on.

Each sentence needs a job. Sentence one: grab attention or establish relevance. Sentence two: build credibility or present value. Sentence three: create desire or urgency. Sentence four: clear call to action. If a sentence doesn't serve one of these purposes, delete it.

Call to Action: One Ask Only

Don't give them options. "Are you interested in seeing a demo, or would you prefer I send over a case study first? I'm also happy to just jump on a quick call if that's easier." This is paralyzing. They have to make multiple decisions. Instead: "Want me to send the breakdown?" or "Available Thursday at 2pm?" One question. One decision.

The best CTAs are easy yes/no questions that require minimal thought. "Does this sound relevant?" is better than "Would you like to schedule a 30-minute discovery call to discuss how we might be able to help your organization?" Reduce friction everywhere.

Advanced Testing: What Actually Moves the Needle

Most people test the wrong things. They'll change the color of a button or rewrite the subject line ten times. That's not where the big wins are. Here's what actually impacts reply rates based on running thousands of A/B tests.

Email Length: Shorter Always Wins

I've tested the same template at 50 words, 100 words, 150 words, and 200 words. Every single time, shorter performs better. The difference between 50 and 100 words is usually minimal. But once you cross 125 words, reply rates drop 20-30%. People assume longer emails require more mental energy, so they skip them.

Personalization Depth: First Line is 80% of the Value

You'd think deeply personalized emails would crush generic ones. They do-but only the first line matters. I tested emails with one personalized line versus emails with personalization woven throughout. The difference in reply rate was less than 5%. But the difference between zero personalization and one personalized line was 150-200%. Put your effort into the opening.

Sending Time: Late Morning Wins

I've tested sending times across every hour of the day and every day of the week. The consistently best times are Tuesday-Thursday between 10am-11am in the recipient's timezone. Monday mornings are terrible-they're drowning in email. Friday afternoons are terrible-they're checked out. Early morning sounds good in theory but people are in triage mode, deleting fast.

Follow-Up Timing: 3 Days is the Sweet Spot

Wait too long between emails and they forget you. Follow up too fast and you seem desperate. Three business days between touches is optimal based on my testing. So if you send email one on Monday, send email two on Thursday, email three the following Tuesday, email four on Friday, and so on.

CTA Type: Questions Beat Statements

"Let me know if you're interested" gets fewer replies than "Does this sound relevant?" The question format prompts a response. Even if the answer is no, you're more likely to get engagement. Questions activate a different part of the brain-we're conditioned to answer questions, not respond to statements.

The Tools You'll Actually Need

A template is useless without the infrastructure to send it. Here's what I use and recommend, based on actually using these tools to send millions of emails.

For Sending: Deliverability is Everything

Smartlead and Instantly are both solid for cold email at scale. They handle domain rotation, warmup, and deliverability. I've used both extensively. Smartlead has better AI features for personalization. Instantly has a cleaner interface and simpler workflow. Both will get your emails into inboxes if you set them up correctly.

The key is understanding that you can't just plug in your main company domain and blast cold emails. You need dedicated sending domains that are separate from your main domain. I typically rotate 5-10 sending domains per campaign to protect deliverability. If one domain gets flagged, the others keep running.

For Finding Emails: Accuracy Determines Everything

You need valid contact data or none of this matters. I built an email finder that locates prospect emails from names and companies. If you're building lists from scratch, the unlimited database filters by all the dimensions that actually matter for targeting.

Findymail is another excellent option for email finding and has strong verification built in. RocketReach works well if you need deeper contact data including phone numbers and social profiles.

For specialized prospecting, you'll want specific scrapers. If you're targeting local businesses, a Maps scraping tool pulls business contact info directly from Google Maps. For B2B prospecting, you might need to export data from existing databases-there are tools for that too.

For Validation: Never Skip This Step

Always verify your list before sending. Bounces kill your domain reputation faster than anything else. One campaign with a 10%+ bounce rate can tank your deliverability for months. Findymail has a strong validator built in, or you can use a dedicated validation tool to clean lists before upload.

I validate every list twice-once when I build it and once again right before I upload it to my sending tool. Email addresses go stale fast. Someone who had a valid work email 90 days ago might have changed jobs. Validating right before sending catches those.

For Personalization at Scale: Automation is Required

Clay is the best tool I've found for automating research and personalization. You feed it a list of prospects, and it scrapes their LinkedIn profiles, company websites, recent news, tech stack, and dozens of other data points. Then you can use that data to personalize your first line without doing manual research.

For LinkedIn-specific outreach, Expandi is excellent for automated LinkedIn outreach that feels personal. It's slower than email but has higher engagement rates when you're targeting the right people.

For CRM: Built for Outbound, Not Inbound

Close is my favorite CRM for outbound sales teams. Most CRMs are built for inbound-they're tracking website visits and form fills and marketing touchpoints. Close is designed for cold outreach. The workflow makes sense when you're sending hundreds of emails and making dozens of calls every day.

If you're doing a mix of email and phone prospecting, you'll need a separate tool for calls. CloudTalk integrates with most CRMs and gives you solid call analytics and recording features.

What Makes a Template Actually Work

After sending millions of emails, here's what I've learned separates templates that get replies from templates that get deleted:

Specificity beats cleverness. "I help companies grow" gets ignored. "I book 20 demos per month for cybersecurity companies" gets replies. Specificity signals expertise and relevance. When you're vague, prospects assume you're a generalist blasting everyone. When you're specific, they assume you understand their world.

Short beats long. If your email doesn't fit on a phone screen without scrolling, it's too long. Aim for 50-100 words max. I've tested this relentlessly-shorter wins almost every time. The only exception is when you're selling something extremely complex to a highly analytical buyer. Then you might need 150 words. But that's rare.

Clarity beats personality. I know, everyone tells you to "be yourself" and "show your personality." But in cold email, clarity is king. Say what you do, what they get, and what happens next. Personality is a nice-to-have, not a must-have. I've seen bland, clear emails outperform clever, personality-driven emails by 100%+.

One CTA only. Don't ask if they're interested AND offer to send a case study AND suggest three times to meet. Pick one action. Make it easy. "Want me to send the breakdown?" or "Available Thursday?" Not both. Every additional option you give them reduces response rates. Decision fatigue is real.

The first line is everything. If your first line doesn't make them want to read the second line, nothing else matters. Personalization here isn't optional-it's the difference between getting read and getting deleted. Even a mediocre email with a strong, personalized opening will outperform a great email with a generic opening.

Your offer needs to be valuable right now. "Let's hop on a call to discuss your needs" is not valuable. "Let me send you the exact campaign structure we used to book 40 meetings for a company like yours" is valuable. The easier you make it to say yes, the more yeses you'll get.

Common Mistakes That Kill Your Response Rate

I review hundreds of cold emails every month inside Galadon Gold. Here are the mistakes I see constantly:

Asking for too much too soon. "Can we schedule a 30-minute call?" is a huge ask from a stranger. "Can I send you a 2-minute video?" is easier. "Want me to send the one-pager?" is even easier. Start small. Get them to take a micro-commitment first. Then escalate to a meeting once you've built some rapport.

Talking about yourself instead of them. Count how many times you say "I," "we," or "our company" versus "you" and "your company." If it's not at least 2:1 in favor of "you," rewrite it. Most cold emails are thinly veiled pitches about how great the sender's company is. Flip it. Make it about the prospect.

No personalization. If I can tell you sent the same email to 10,000 people, I'm not replying. Even one personalized sentence changes everything. It signals you actually looked at their company, you're not just blasting everyone in a database. That one sentence can double or triple your reply rate.

Vague value propositions. "We help companies be more efficient" means nothing. "We cut your SDR ramp time from 90 days to 30 days" means everything. Specificity is credibility. When you're vague, I assume you don't know what you're doing. When you're specific, I assume you've done this before and know how to get results.

Bad subject lines. Your subject line should either make them curious or promise value. "Introduction" does neither. "Your SDR ramp time" does both. I've seen campaigns with great body copy get 5% open rates because the subject line was terrible. And I've seen mediocre body copy get 30% open rates because the subject line nailed it.

Not following up. Seriously, most people send one email and give up. That's not cold email, that's just sending an email. Build a sequence. Follow up 4-5 times over 2-3 weeks. That's where the money is. I've had prospects reply on the sixth email saying "sorry, I missed your earlier messages." They weren't ignoring me-they were busy, and it took six touches to catch them at the right moment.

Sending from a Gmail address. If you're sending cold emails from your personal Gmail account, you look like an amateur. At minimum, get a company domain. Better yet, set up dedicated sending domains for cold outreach. Your deliverability and credibility both go up immediately.

No clear next step. What do you actually want them to do? "Let me know your thoughts" isn't a next step. "Reply with yes if you want me to send the case study" is a next step. Make it brain-dead simple for them to respond. The less thinking required, the higher your reply rate.

How to Build a Follow-Up Sequence That Actually Works

Most people treat follow-ups as an afterthought. They send one email, maybe one follow-up, then give up. That's leaving 70-80% of your potential replies on the table. Here's how to build a sequence that converts.

Email 1: Lead with your strongest hook. This is your best shot at getting attention. Use one of the templates above. Personalize the first line. Make your value prop crystal clear. Keep it short. End with a low-friction CTA.

Email 2 (3 days later): Add new information. Don't just say "following up" or "bumping this to the top of your inbox." That's annoying. Instead, add something new. A case study, a different angle on the problem, a piece of content they might find valuable. Give them a reason to respond that's not just "because I asked again."

Email 3 (3 days later): Change the angle completely. If the first email was problem-focused, make this one case-study-focused. If the first email was formal, make this one conversational. You're testing to see what resonates. Different messages will work for different people.

Email 4 (3 days later): The breakup email. This is where you indicate you're about to stop reaching out. "{{FirstName}}, I've reached out a few times but haven't heard back. I'm assuming {{Company}} isn't focused on this right now, which is totally fine. If that changes, here's a link to grab time on my calendar: [link]. Otherwise, I'll stop bothering you." Breakup emails often get the highest response rates of any email in the sequence.

Email 5 (1 week later): The valuable resource. One more touch, but this time you're giving, not asking. Share a piece of content, a template, a tool-something genuinely useful with no pitch attached. This leaves the door open for them to reach back out later when their situation changes.

You can grab my full follow-up sequences with exact copy in my follow-up template library. The structure matters as much as the individual emails.

Industry-Specific Template Modifications

The templates I've shared work across most B2B scenarios, but different industries respond to different approaches. Here's how to adapt them.

For SaaS Companies: Lead with metrics and speed to value. SaaS buyers are analytical. They want to know ROI, implementation time, and specific outcomes. Use case study templates and direct value templates. Skip the fluffy storytelling-get to the numbers fast.

For Agencies: Lead with proof and process. Agency buyers have been burned before. They need to see that you've done this successfully and that you have a repeatable system. Case study templates and before-after-bridge templates work well. Show them the transformation, not just the tactics.

For E-commerce: Lead with revenue impact. E-commerce operators care about one thing: does this make them more money than it costs? Use contrast templates and problem-agitate-solution templates that tie directly to revenue, conversion rate, or average order value. Be specific about the financial impact.

For Professional Services: Lead with expertise and credibility markers. Lawyers, accountants, consultants-they're buying expertise. Use resource-first templates and third-party connection templates. Position yourself as a peer, not a vendor. Share insights generously before you ask for anything.

For Real Estate: Lead with market knowledge and specific opportunities. Real estate pros are drowning in generic outreach. If you're prospecting to real estate agents, use trigger events and local market data. If you're prospecting to real estate investors, lead with specific deals or market inefficiencies you've identified.

If you're prospecting to specific industries, your data sources matter. For real estate, scraping agent contact data from listing sites gives you fresh prospects. For local service businesses, pulling business information from review platforms works well.

Personalization at Scale: The Real Strategy

Everyone says "personalize your emails," but nobody tells you how to actually do it when you're sending 500 emails per day. Here's the real strategy.

Bucket Your Prospects: Don't try to personalize every email uniquely. Instead, group prospects into buckets based on shared characteristics. All companies that just raised funding get the trigger event template. All companies in healthcare get the healthcare-specific case study. All companies with 50-200 employees get the scaling template. You're personalizing at the segment level, not the individual level.

Use Dynamic Fields: Your email tool should support merge fields for first name, company name, industry, location, and any other data points you have. Build templates that read naturally with these fields inserted. Test them thoroughly-nothing kills credibility faster than a broken merge field that says "Hi {FirstName}."

Automate the Research: Tools like Clay can pull data about each prospect automatically-recent LinkedIn posts, company news, tech stack, employee count changes, job postings. Feed this data into your templates so the first line is genuinely personalized without manual research.

Personalize the First Line Only: You don't need to personalize the entire email. Just the first line. That's where 80% of the value comes from. The rest of the email can be template-driven as long as it's relevant to their segment. "{{FirstName}}, saw {{Company}} just posted 3 new sales roles" is enough personalization to get them to read the rest.

Use Video for High-Value Prospects: For your top 50-100 prospects, record a custom 30-second video. Walk through their website while talking about a specific problem you noticed. Tools like StreamYard or Screen Studio make this easy. Embed the video thumbnail in your email. The open rate on these emails is 60%+ because the thumbnail shows you clearly made it for them.

Deliverability: The Hidden Variable That Kills Campaigns

You can have the perfect template, but if your emails don't reach the inbox, none of it matters. Deliverability is the hidden variable that separates successful campaigns from failed ones.

Warm Up Your Domains: Never send cold emails from a brand new domain. It has no reputation. Gmail and Outlook will flag you immediately. Spend 2-3 weeks warming up each sending domain by sending small volumes of legitimate emails to engaged recipients. Your cold email tool should handle this automatically.

Use Multiple Domains: Don't send all your volume from one domain. If that domain gets flagged, your entire campaign dies. I rotate 5-10 domains per campaign. Each domain sends 30-50 emails per day. This spreads the risk and keeps each domain's reputation clean.

Monitor Your Bounce Rate: If your bounce rate goes above 5%, stop immediately and clean your list. High bounces signal to email providers that you're sending to bad lists, which tanks your reputation. Validate every list before sending and remove any email that bounces from your database permanently.

Watch Your Spam Rate: If more than 1 in 1000 recipients marks you as spam, you're in dangerous territory. This happens when your targeting is off or your messaging is too salesy. Pull back, tighten your targeting, and soften your approach. Once you're flagged as spam, it's extremely hard to recover.

Authenticate Everything: Make sure your domains have proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records configured. This tells email providers that you're legitimately authorized to send from these domains. Your sending tool should guide you through this setup. If you skip it, your deliverability will be terrible.

Keep Your Content Clean: Certain words and phrases trigger spam filters. Avoid: "free," "guarantee," "limited time," "act now," excessive punctuation (!!!), all caps, and too many links. Keep your email text-focused with one link maximum. The cleaner your content, the better your deliverability.

When to Stop Using Templates and Write Custom Emails

Templates are powerful for scaling outreach, but there are situations where you need to write fully custom emails. Here's when to make that investment.

Dream 100 Accounts: If you have a list of 100 companies that would be game-changing clients, don't use templates. Do deep research on each one. Write a custom email that references specific details about their business, recent initiatives, or challenges. These emails take 15-20 minutes each, but the reply rate can be 50%+ when done well.

High-Value Prospects: If a single client would generate six figures in revenue, spend an hour researching them and crafting a custom approach. Look at their LinkedIn, read their blog, understand their business model, find their pain points. Then write an email that proves you understand their world. No template can replicate that level of insight.

Complex Sales: If you're selling something that requires deep customization or has a long sales cycle, templates only get you so far. You need to demonstrate understanding of their specific situation. That requires custom research and custom messaging. Use templates for the initial outreach, but switch to custom emails after the first reply.

Referral Follow-Ups: If someone you know refers you to a prospect, don't use a template. Write a thoughtful email that references the mutual connection, explains the context, and makes a specific offer. Referral introductions are gold-treat them with the care they deserve.

Start With One Template and Test

Don't try to use all twelve templates at once. Pick the one that fits your offer and audience best. If you're selling to executives, try the Direct Value template. If you have strong case studies, lead with that. If you're disrupting a category, use the Contrast template.

Send it to 100 people. Track your open rate, reply rate, and meeting-booked rate. Then tweak one variable-the subject line, the first sentence, the CTA-and send it to another 100 people. That's how you find what works for YOUR audience with YOUR offer.

Cold email isn't about finding the perfect template. It's about testing, iterating, and improving based on real data from your real prospects. These twelve frameworks give you a starting point, but your winning template will be the one you build through trial and error in your specific market.

The companies that succeed at cold email don't have better templates than everyone else. They have better data, better targeting, better deliverability infrastructure, and most importantly, better testing discipline. They send enough volume to get statistically significant results. They track the right metrics. They iterate based on what the data tells them, not what they think should work.

If you want to see how I'd apply these frameworks to your specific business, I work through dozens of live examples with detailed feedback inside Galadon Gold. But start here-pick one template, personalize it for your market, send 100, track the results, and improve. You'll learn more from that than reading another article.