Dominate Cold Email Outreach: The Ultimate Resource List

At LinkBuilder.io, all of our work has a focus on cold email outreach. Sending emails to people you don't know truly is an art, and one which we'll investigate in more detail here.

We all know that personalized emails are great for outreach, and that we shouldn't be sending "one size fits all" emails to a lot of people simultaneously. However, not all businesses can afford to personalize every single email they send, especially when they send hundreds of emails every day.

This is why the conversation about cold emails is still open. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about “hey-please-link-to-me-because-I-love-your-blog” emails. Cold emails that get responses require much more than that.

In this constantly updated post, we’re collecting all resources we find amazing when it comes to cold emails. And we hope you will find inspiration and useful tips here too.

How to avoid spam when sending emails

Before starting a new cold email campaign, you should try and ensure that your email won’t get to spam. Here are the most useful resources for improving deliverability and avoiding spam filters:

• Ultimate Email Deliverability Guide by MailTrap - a great resource that covers technical ways to improve deliverability such as DKIM, SPF authentication, etc.
• Email Deliverability: The Ultimate Guide to Avoid the Spam Folder - this is another super detailed guide that has lots of actionable tips for improving email deliverability and avoiding spam.
• The Ultimate List of Email SPAM Trigger Words - in this handy guide by HubSpot, all trigger words are divided by category - e.g. Finance trigger words, CTAs and many more.
• 550+ Spam Trigger Words To Avoid in 2024 - a massive list of spam triggers created by Snov.io. The guide has been last updated on January 21st, 2024. Spam words are alphabetically arranged here, and you will be surprised to find out there is no spam word that starts with the letter K.
• How to Warm Up Your Email Account - this is a useful guide by Lemlist about the right way to warm up your email before starting any massive cold email campaigns.
• What Are Email Sending Limits of Various Email Service Providers? - I highly recommend reading this too to know the sending limits of a particular email provider.

Crafting a perfect email subject line

According to Business2Community, 69% of people are ready to report email as spam by having a look at the subject line only. So here are the best resources to help you master the art of subject lines creation:

• How Long Should an Email Subject Line Be? - Aweber analyzed 1,000 email subject lines to find out the right answer.
• How to Determine the Best Length for Your Email Subject Lines - an in-depth guide by Campaign Monitor investigating the subject.
• 43 Cold Email Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened Instantly (and When to Use Them) - this guide stands out among others as it provides nice subject line ideas as well as an explanation of what are the cases when you should use them.
• 60 Cold Email Subject Lines That Will Stand Out in Your Prospects Inbox - also a good list of examples of cold email subject lines.
• 12 Subject Line Tester Tool to Boost Your Email Open Rate - this list features free and paid options for subject line testers.
• How to Craft Perfect Cold Email Subject Line (55 Examples) - a great post about cold email subject lines with expert tips included.

Your email is opened, now what?

If you are lucky and your email is opened (although it better not be mere luck), behold your next challenge - your email should be read and replied to. And here are resources to help you on this quest:

• 26 Cold Email Examples Broken Down To Help You Write Your Own - this is one of the most comprehensive guides to writing great cold emails that you can find on the web. Dmitry Dragilev shows real-life cold email examples and analyzes how to use them for different purposes (be it the start of the conversation, backlinks request, or guest post publication).
• Email Outreach Tips: +22 Link Building Email Templates - this massive guide includes tips for various link building strategies. It also has actionable tips on what templates to use for guest posts, link reclamations, broken link building, and other types of campaigns.
• 5 Ways to Send Super-Personalized Cold Emails - a solid guide with examples of personalization and their usage in your email templates.
• How to Write a Follow-up Email (That People Actually Respond to) - this guide has everything you need when it comes to follow-ups - the best time to send follow-ups, templates, and real follow-up email samples.
• Why You Should Never Start a Follow-Up Email With “I haven’t heard from you” - a very thorough article about the feeling of guilt and why it is not the best idea to use it as manipulation in follow-up emails. You will definitely have some food for thought after reading this.

You might have noticed that there aren’t lots of articles with ready to use email templates in this section. There is a reason for that. Of course, we all need inspiration, and you can find new templates in the articles from the list. But it is even more important to do your research, find your reason for writing and test different strategies. What doesn’t work for me in my industry might be a big win in yours, always remember that.

More tips to improve your cold emails practices

• How to Tell if Someone Read my Email - Never worry again about knowing when to send a follow-up email at the right time. Knowing when someone does or doesn't open your email or click on your link in the email allows you to follow up at the perfect time.
• A Little Big Thing - What Do I Put in My Email Signature? - never underestimate the importance of your email signature and follow these useful tips from Woodpecker.
• 70 Email Sign Offs To Make People Remember You - a great resource with ideas on how to close your emails.
• What’s the Best Time to Send Email? Here’s What the Data Says (2024) - a must-read guide for everyone who plans a cold email campaign.
• We Analyzed 12 Million Outreach Emails. Here’s What We Learned - there is a high chance you have already read this article. But if not - make sure to add it to your reading list.
• 9 Simple Tips For Using Personalized Videos In Your Cold Emails - this might not be for everyone, but worth reading to find inspiration for unconventional cold emails strategies.
• Email Cliches That Make You Look Like a Beginner - an interesting article that discusses the most used email cliches. I bet everyone has done something from this list.
• How One Picture Increased Email Response Rate by 400% - an amazing case study that shows that sometimes you should go against all the rules to get the best results.

This is the list of our favorite resources that are helpful for everyone who is doing cold email outreach. Feel free to reach out to us if you have a great resource suggestion. We are always looking for quality content to share 🙂.