Cold email during COVID-19 Times

Cold email during COVID-19 Times

Should you completely stop sending email?

Cold emails during COVID-19 pandemic is difficult. Companies are being exposed for not caring about the customers or caring too much about the credit card information, completely ignoring the current global situation.  

Are Companies still working?

Even with the economic slowdown, some companies are working day and night to provide essential goods and services to the world. They are open for business. And are willing to be in business with people who approach them with good offers. Just like old times. But now with a new variable introduced in the environment, sales and marketing departments need to be more aware of the elephant in the room. With the current situation in mind, you might need to add a few adjustments and rework on your cold email strategies.
Add more empathy, be a little less sales-y.
 

Cold Emails Worked because

Even in non-pandemic circumstances no cold email as able to close a deal within a single email. That's not what cold emails were sent. Cold emails will help you sort out noise and identify qualified leads. In other words, cold emails help your target audience learn about you and your company. In the coming months, you will need to slightly change your strategy to be successful. Your core ideas are still the same, but you need to be very careful about not being too sales-y. Empathize, relate and show you are there to help.

Which Industries are open

If you are wondering, these are a few industries and sectors which have been the least affected by the COVID
  1. Online education
  2. Gaming and Entertainment
  3. Health, Wellness & Fitness Apps
  4. Pharmaceutical
  5. Sanitary Products
  6. Gold
  7. Insurance
  8. Telecom
  9. Healthcare
And a few more.  

Writing the Cold Email

There are three important parts of an email.
  1. The Subject Line
  2. The First Line
  3. The Last line.

Subject lines

Keep them neutral, and Genric Be simple and keep your subject lines like  Hi, I'm Steve from Apple or Quick Question.  The subject line is one of the only things your recipients will see in their inbox. The best way to catch an eye is to be human and show interest in the human. People value their time and the things they build. A subject line which works best for Experiment 27 is Question about [company name] It doesn't take much time to read. and will instantly catch the attention of the people who own or work at any company. Avoid Pitching Yourself It's a big turn off when people see a product pitch right in the subject line. Pitching in Subject line is very similar to creating a solution without doing market research or finding out if people have the said problem, to begin with. You need to understand the human behaviour of the recipient and talk about them in the subject line. No matter how useful or powerful your service/product is, people won't buy into it unless they see themselves using it.  

The First Line

Keep your email body small and crisp The message in the first line of the email will determine if the recipient will read the rest of the email. Just as in the subject, your email's first line belongs to the recipient. Pro-tip, use a compliment. Come up with something specific to the person you are sending the email. Do not talk about the industry they are in, or about their competitors. Talk about them. For example, if you are targeting a local restaurant, open the email with something like this.

Hey, Just browse through your Instagram profile, love the table designs post you post weekly. Your stories about your kebabs are both educational and delicious!

When you start an email with such a message, you project that you care about them, and are not here to just sell something.   Talk the Truth The best way to write emails which people read completely is to tell them something they already know is true. It's just more engaging to read an email from someone who understands what I understand. By sharing the common interest in a singular truth, you establish a connection with them. At this point you stop being a Faceless corporation and becomes this individual, a person would like to talk to.  

The Last Line

End with a Question At this point, if you have done the two points correctly you have got the interest of this person. How fast you get a response from them depends on the way you end your email.

Let me know if you found this interesting, would love to hop on a quick 2 minutes call with you. Would you mind if I send over a few times?

Usually the call-to-action you write before the question doesn't matter. What is crucial is that the email body ends with a question mark -->?  

Conclusion

Selling during COVID-19 (and a few months after this is passed) is a challenge to all of us. But it's not impossible. Practice reducing hard sales tactics. In these tough testing time, it will make you look un-sympathy.  Change your strategy to include showing empathy and willingness to offer help. Stay home, Wash your hands frequently, Stay Safe