How to start an email outreach campaign

Why email outreach? 

Email is a particularly effective way to gain and establish business relationships as it’s a channel that is frequently checked and simply too difficult to ignore. Many people check their email within the first 15 minutes of waking up, making it inescapable and a great way to get in touch.    

Cold emails still work because they directly connect you with decision-makers, making communication personal and hard to ignore, thus improving outreach success. There are many tools available that enable you to automate and track your emails while engaging your audience and sending personalised messages to your recipients. Moreover, it can be a cost-effective approach that doesn’t require a big budget. 

Common reasons for email outreach campaigns include: 

• Lead generation – reaching potential customers. 
• Partnerships – connecting with influencers or businesses for collaboration. 
• PR & brand awareness – getting your product, service, or story featured, which can lead to increased brand engagement. 
• Link-building – asking publishers to link back to your content. 

What is the difference between inbound and outbound email marketing? 

Email marketing (or inbound emails) refers to messages you send to people who have already opted in to hear from you, like newsletter subscribers or existing customers. These emails usually share updates, promotions, or new product announcements and are designed to nurture an existing relationship. 

Outbound email marketing, often called email outreach, involves using outreach emails to connect with prospects who haven’t yet interacted with your brand. Instead of writing to people who already know your brand, you’re reaching out to new prospects who haven’t subscribed or interacted with your brand and product offers. The goal here is to spark interest, build relationships, and create opportunities, whether through a sales pitch, a partnership, or a backlink. 

Let’s say that, for example, you’re offering a 7-day trial of a product or service on your website. A potential customer decides to sign up and try out the 7-day trial. You can send a cold email about a discounted price on the product the potential customer is trying. You can send the email right before the trial concludes or after the trial has come to a finish. Either way, this kind of email outreach will hopefully give the extra push the potential customer needs to become a customer. 

Here’s another example. You might have found a person on LinkedIn or someone that’s well known within their field, and you want to contact them. You want to establish a form of contact with this decision maker as they can propel your business. By sending out a great email with a sales pitch deck to said person, you might establish the contact you’ve wanted, and that person can help your business and brand. 

Steps to follow before hitting ‘Send’ on your email campaign 

Now that you know what an email outreach campaign entails, let’s get started on the steps you need to take to create the best pitch email and establish relationships through cold emails.  

Find the right person 

Who is it that you want to reach out to? Is it someone who has decision-making power over a company or someone who can help elevate your brand through backlinks or shares? Identify the person and the reason.  

Sending a great pitch to the wrong person is a wasted effort. Focus on researching prospects carefully to accurately identify key decision-makers. Who actually has the power to say “yes”? Whether it’s a journalist, a blogger, or a marketing director, targeting matters more than volume. 

Think it through before writing 

Writing an excellent email pitch includes ensuring that you don’t write a generic email from a template you found online. One of the most important questions to ask yourself as you’re preparing to write is, “How can this benefit us both?”.  

Personalisation gets replies. You might want to look into what your recipient has written, shared, or achieved recently and use that as a natural entry point. For example, if you’re pitching for backlinks, highlight how your product or resource complements an article they’ve written and makes their content more relevant and valuable. 

Craft a strong email 

A good outreach email has a few key elements: 

• A strong subject line: make it short, clear, and intriguing, and avoid making your email sound like clickbait. 

• Opening line: personalise it so they know this isn’t spam. 

• Value proposition: make it clear that replying benefits them, not just you. 

• Call to action (CTA): keep it simple (“Would you be open to a quick call?” / “Could we collaborate on X?”). 

• Finish strong with your signature: a good signature should include contact details and your company name.  

You can get more tips (18 of them, in fact!) about email writing in our email copywriting guide. 

Best practices for email outreach 

There are several best practices you should keep in mind when preparing your email outreach campaign. Let’s go through them:  

Personalisation is key 

A key rule of email outreach and cold email campaigns is personalisation. Generic, copy-and-paste templates rarely get a response because they don’t show any genuine interest in the person you’re contacting.  

Show that you’ve done your homework on your recipient by referencing something specific, such as an article they’ve written, a project they’ve worked on, or a challenge they might be facing. This ensures your message doesn’t feel like just part of a mass email blast. 

Keep it short and sweet 

Be concise and get your point across. Make your intentions clear with your email and ensure that what you have to offer is something incredible. You want to offer something that they can’t turn down. Once you have that great solution to an annoying problem, reach out to the relevant people and get their attention. Personalise your email and make clear how your solution will also solve their problem. 

Follow up – tactfully  

There is little more annoying than receiving email after email from someone you’ve already decided not to reply to. During an email outreach campaign, sending one or two polite reminders is perfectly acceptable, especially if you suspect the recipient may have missed your first email. However, bombarding someone with repeated messages is more likely to irritate them than earn a response. 

If you want to check if the person has opened your email or perhaps missed it by chance, you don’t need to send a follow-up email asking if they have seen it. Chances are that they’ve seen it. 

If you have not received a response, it’s probably because they have seen and read the email, and they are not interested. If you don’t get a reply after a couple of attempts, it’s best to move on rather than risk burning the bridge. Overwhelming the recipient risks having them consider your emails as spam.  

Ensure legal compliance 

One critical mistake to avoid in email marketing outreach is ignoring compliance regulations. Laws like GDPR in Europe are designed to protect recipients, and failing to follow them can damage your reputation or even result in fines. Always provide a clear way for email recipients to opt out of future marketing emails, and make sure your messages include accurate sender information.

Measure your success 

Measuring the success of your email outreach and email marketing is essential for improving campaign results over time. Track key performance metrics like open rates, click rates, conversions, and response rates to understand what resonates with your audience. By analysing these metrics, you can refine your approach for future campaigns.  

Mastering email outreach gives real results 

Email outreach is one of the most effective ways to generate leads, earn backlinks, and build partnerships. The key is to approach it strategically: identify the right people, craft personalised messages that offer genuine value, and follow up thoughtfully without being pushy. Keep your emails concise, measure your results, and continuously refine your approach based on what works. 

Remember, successful outreach is less about sending as many emails as possible and more about creating meaningful connections. Focus on finding the right people, offering genuine value, and keeping your emails short and personal. With patience, persistence, and a thoughtful strategy, your email outreach campaigns can become a reliable path to growth and opportunity. 

On this page

• Why email outreach? 
• What is the difference between inbound and outbound email marketing? 
• Steps to follow before hitting ‘Send’ on your email campaign 
• Best practices for email outreach 
• Mastering email outreach gives real results