Why Cold Emailing is NOT Worth Your Time!
Posted 12th May 2011 at 05:15 AM by Graphix Guru
This was written in response to a question in an "offline gold" WSO thread. I thought I'd post it here because some may find it of value.
I can't speak to PowerLeadsPro (I've used EasyLeadFinder, sold by a fellow Warrior) but I can speak to your results, having been down that road myself and having spent a ton of time and effort on trying to do offlining with cold emailing.
1) Getting results is a numbers game. With unsolicited email open rates being what they are today, it's not unusual to have far below a 1% response rate. Further, the email -- if seen -- more often than not has to be passed up the line from the receptionist (or whoever) to the boss, who is probably very busy and can't be bothered.
2) An awful lot depends on your Subject Line, as well as (believe it or not) your actual email address -- as well as the "from." The actual message matters too (once they actually open the email), and in my experience you'd better have a compelling and absolutely irresistible offer or you're dead. Get all that right and you might get a 1% response rate. Get that wrong, and you're lucky to get a .01% response rate.
3) A very high percentage of unsolicited email gets lost on spam filters and in spats between email providers these days. For instance, send a Yahoo person an email from Gmail, and nine times outta ten your message goes straight into Bulk/Spam. They never see it! Further, if you use your own domain, odds are recipients won't recognize it (even if it does get through). They then ignore you.
Now in point of fact I've actually managed to pull leads from cold emailing, but not a one has turned into a client. Now of course, your results will vary. I may just be particularly bad at all this. But I doubt it, and I wouldn't recommend doing cold emailing.
I found it to be very aggravating and quite depressing. There's little upside, and many downs. Not to mention running the risk of getting branded a spammer!
Frankly, I believe that trying to build a business with cold emailing these days is an almost utter and complete waste of time. This sadly is like so many of the "can't lose" offline methods being hawked in various WSOs these days. Fools gold.
If you're going to do anything cold, do cold calls. At least there you reach a real person!
And though I've not bought the WSO being offered in this thread (yet -- ahem!), I do think it's a great approach to not only offlining... but offlining in a way that puts you on a very different level from all the SEO shysters/salesmen out there.
Potential clients see you as THE EXPERT -- a professional rather than just another pitchman. The psychology is brilliant. It's not a bad place to start from!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Organizationer 
I have tried extracting hundreds of leads using PowerLeadsPro software (through WSO), then contacting them using email but only 1 response, out of 400++ emails I sent.
1) Getting results is a numbers game. With unsolicited email open rates being what they are today, it's not unusual to have far below a 1% response rate. Further, the email -- if seen -- more often than not has to be passed up the line from the receptionist (or whoever) to the boss, who is probably very busy and can't be bothered.
2) An awful lot depends on your Subject Line, as well as (believe it or not) your actual email address -- as well as the "from." The actual message matters too (once they actually open the email), and in my experience you'd better have a compelling and absolutely irresistible offer or you're dead. Get all that right and you might get a 1% response rate. Get that wrong, and you're lucky to get a .01% response rate.
3) A very high percentage of unsolicited email gets lost on spam filters and in spats between email providers these days. For instance, send a Yahoo person an email from Gmail, and nine times outta ten your message goes straight into Bulk/Spam. They never see it! Further, if you use your own domain, odds are recipients won't recognize it (even if it does get through). They then ignore you.
Now in point of fact I've actually managed to pull leads from cold emailing, but not a one has turned into a client. Now of course, your results will vary. I may just be particularly bad at all this. But I doubt it, and I wouldn't recommend doing cold emailing.
I found it to be very aggravating and quite depressing. There's little upside, and many downs. Not to mention running the risk of getting branded a spammer!
Frankly, I believe that trying to build a business with cold emailing these days is an almost utter and complete waste of time. This sadly is like so many of the "can't lose" offline methods being hawked in various WSOs these days. Fools gold.
If you're going to do anything cold, do cold calls. At least there you reach a real person!
And though I've not bought the WSO being offered in this thread (yet -- ahem!), I do think it's a great approach to not only offlining... but offlining in a way that puts you on a very different level from all the SEO shysters/salesmen out there.
Potential clients see you as THE EXPERT -- a professional rather than just another pitchman. The psychology is brilliant. It's not a bad place to start from!
Total Comments 1
Comments
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I totally agree and will see that and raise you this:
Email spamming is for scum.
I hate email spam with a passion and even if you convinced me I could make $1000 or a month by doing it, I would not do it. (Or even $5k - though I seriously doubt more than a few people are making that kind of money and if they are they are super scum, spamming millions of people per day.)
Sending targeted emails isn't as bad even though technically any unsolicited mail from people you don't know is spam. But if you were, say, targeting local bars with a specific bar-related business idea, okay, I'll remove the "scum" label for that. (Though when I get "We'll SEO your site for you... bla bla bla... emails I throw them right in the trash and if I get a 2nd one I mark it spam.)
Just my 2 cents.Posted 17th June 2012 at 02:17 AM by seosoldier
