The ultimate guide to cold emailing
Cold emailing is hard.
- You have no prior relationship with the person you are contacting
- Odds are, you are going to get ducked
Although cold emailing is difficult, it can be extremely effective. People get jobs with cold emails all the time. Lots of stuff can happen with a simple email. You just need to write them effectively. An effective cold email contains 3 things.
1 — Introduction
First, you need to introduce yourself. This is simple. It’s kind of like your elevator pitch, but shorter. Here is an example
Hi ___ — My name is ___ and I am a *grade* at *school* majoring in *major*.
2 — Connection
When contacting someone for the first time, it is extremely important to connect over something in common. You need to do your research. People get hundreds of emails every day. That being said, you need to tailor your communication specifically to the person you are contacting. You can do this in two ways:
2A — Recognize a common interest
People connect over commonalities. Did you go to the same college? Do you play the same sport? Are you in the same fraternity? If you can establish common ground, you’re set. Here’re some ideas of common interests you can mention in your cold emails.
- School — Did you guys go to the same school? This is a great way to start a conversation with someone. It’ll immediately give you common ground and increase the likelihood that you will get a response.
- Fraternity or Club — Are you in the same fraternity? Are you in the same club? This is a great conversation starter.
- Hobby — Do they post a lot about the things they do in their free time? Do you do these things? Recognizing a similar hobby is another way to create a connection.
2B — Acknowledge something unique about them
If you don’t share common interests, this is what you need to do. Acknowledge something unique about the person you are contacting. People love hearing about themselves. If you contact someone and mention how you are super interested in their work, they’ll love you. But, you need to acknowledge something genuinely unique about them. Don’t say something like “I’m really interested in learning more about what you do”. This is very generic. Make it unique!
- What projects are they working on?
- What unique things have they accomplished?
- Did they write a book?
- Did they write an article you are interested in?
- Did they recently give a talk that you saw on YouTube?
Step 3: Ask
After you have introduced yourself and made some sort of connection, you need to make your ask. This is where you identify the reason you are contacting them in the first place! This varies based on your intentions and the person you are contacting, but it is common in all cold emails. Make sure your ask is…
- Realistic — This goes back to doing your research. If you know the person you are contacting is super busy, then you aren’t going to ask them for an hour of their time! 10–15 minutes is much more appropriate.
- Concise — This goes for your entire email as well. Keep it short.
- Polite — Be nice and appreciative. You’re much more likely to get a response if your message is polite.
Conclusion
That’s it! Above all, your cold emails need to establish a unique connection right off the bat. People want to interact with people with similar interests or who come from a similar background. Do your research and recognize a commonality or interest that will convince them to answer you back.
For more information about cold emails check this out.
