5 Major Cold Email Marketing Myths That Need to Be Debunked Right Now

With emerging martech and growth hacks around every corner, it’s no surprise that marketers today are always obsessed with “the next big thing.”

The irony, though?

Sometimes the most effective marketing tactics are totally old-school.

Take cold emailing as a prime example. Spinning words into gold is more than possible, but many doubters and naysayers insist that marketers should invest their time and money elsewhere.

And so there are tons of rumors swirling around about the state of cold email which simply don’t hold up.

Skeptical about cold email yourself? On the fence? We’ve taken the time to break down five common complaints and criticisms of cold emailing that we feel are unfounded. By understanding this list, you can see for yourself whether or not such campaigns make sense for you.

“Nobody sends cold emails anymore.”

For starters, consider how email marketing in general is a proven goldmine.

“The latest data shows that every dollar spent on email marketing nets $44 back,” notes Ajay Goel of GMass. This sort of ROI dwarfs just about any other modern marketing channel for the majority of businesses out there.

The idea that nobody cold emails anymore borders on ridiculous. While blindly prospecting doesn’t work, cold emails combined with careful tactics can pay returns. Ajay further notes that making cold email work means implementing “game-changing elements” that disrupt the norm of outreach. This includes mass sender tools and running ads alongside your outreach.

The takeaway? Cold email hasn’t gone anywhere: it has simply evolved.

“Prospects are annoyed by emails from total strangers.”

Here’s some food for thought: any given person receives approximately 100 emails per day, give or take. The notion that one message is going to somehow totally disrupt their day doesn’t hold much water.

Besides, it’s only natural for us to glaze over the brand names and promos that we see blasted to us day after day, right?

Meanwhile, a careful, personalized subject line is exactly what’s going to grab our attention in the midst of the noise. Whether or not we know who it’s coming from is irrelevant: what matters is getting prospects to click through.

“You need a massive list to make cold emailing work.”

While cold emailing can be considered somewhat of a numbers game, just because you’re targeting a few dozen people versus a few hundred doesn’t mean you can’t make it work.

Instead, you’ll just want to spend more time personalizing your emails and researching contacts rather than blindly blasting message after message.

“Cold email campaigns take way too long.”

On a related note, people worry cold email campaigns eating up their entire schedule.

This one’s understandable, but really just takes a bit of scheduling to remedy. For example, you can just send five cold emails per day rather than try to pump out 20 just to hit some sort of quota. Spacing out your campaigns keeps you sharp and helps you avoid burnout, if nothing else.

“Only skilled copywriters succeed with cold emails.”

You don’t need to be a genius to run a cold campaign: simply sticking to email copywriting principles will keep you ahead of the curve. Short subject lines, punch copy and a legitimate value proposition can work wonders versus rants and rambling. Once you start experimenting with actual emails among prospects, you quickly learn what works and what does not.

If you think that there’s no place for cold emailing in your marketing strategy, think again. Hopefully we were able to dispel some common misconceptions and likewise help you consider how you could benefit from cold email campaigns in the future.