You’ve got killer content on your hands. But how to best promote it so that it can actually wow the world?
The answer may lie in cold emailing.
Because through cold emailing, you can gain access to existing audiences.
Why should you painstakingly build an audience of your own, step by agonizingly slow step, when you could harness someone else’s?
There are thousands of established influencers in your field in constant need of outstanding content. By cold emailing them, you can reach out and propose a mutually beneficial deal – your content for their audience.
Here is how to go about it for maximum ROI – in seven simple steps.
1 – Lead Prospecting
Before you reach out to people, you have to know who to reach out to.
That means you have to go dig up some leads.
Google, BuzzSumo, and NinjaOutlet are great places to start. They’ll give you a concise but comprehensive overview of who is creating popular (meaning much-shared) content in your niche. Now, you may also find that when you’re going through this “digging” process, that some leads are harder to find than others; When this happens, you’ll want to utilize reinforcement tools to dig even deeper to find email addresses you need.
Depending on how impressive your portfolio of content and publications is, you might want to aim for the influencers with a small to medium reach before going for the big fish.
Once you have a list of names, ferreting out their contact details is relatively straightforward. You can find email addresses or social media profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, and their websites.
2 – Lay the Groundwork
Successful cold emails are never completely cold.
Before you reach out to anyone, invest time in finding out as much about them as possible. Anything and everything. Look at their interests, their work, their passion projects. Note everything down: It will come in handy later.
Also, go ahead and follow them on social media. Engage with their content. Share. Comment. Like. Chances are that they’ll see your name pop up in their notifications. Keep this up for a week or two, and they might recognise it when your email lands in their inbox.
Another great strategy is to reference, quote, and link their content in your own work, even if you just publish it on a small scale. Once that content goes live, you have something to refer to when you do email your prospects.
3 – Use the right platform
Depending on the scale on which you plan to operate, you’ll need to use an appropriate email marketing platform.
For one, this will simplify tasks like list building and personalization. You’ll also be able to preview how your email displays in client inboxes, automate follow-ups, A/B test your subject lines, and dive deep into analytics.
Deliverability also often hinges on your platform. Your choice may make the difference whether your email makes it to someone’s inbox – or just their spam folder.
4 – Personalize. Personalize. Personalize
Personalizing your cold emails boosts their chances of success massively.
People are rightly annoyed at getting cookie-cutter messages blasted out to hundreds of others.
Your recipients will appreciate that you have done your homework, showing that you’re genuinely interested in them and their work.
You can do this manually, of course. But today it’s also easy to do it at scale.
Segment your list as much as possible (separating CEOs, freelancers, marketing execs etc.) and craft an appropriate template for each target persona. Using merger fields, you can then personalize the final email to a T.
5 – KISS
Keep it short and simple.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This email is their first real impression of you.
You’re writing to a busy person who doesn’t have time for waffle.
Skip the introduction (leave that to your signature line) and get straight to the point: What can you do for them?
Pitch your best content, present it engagingly and concisely. Point out why it’s relevant for your prospect and interesting to their audience.
Make it easy for them to say yes.
You’ll need to convince with both content and form. So check your grammar, check your vocabulary – and keep on checking. Especially if you’re promoting written content, errors in your pitch are damning.
6 – Craft a killer subject line
47% of emails are discarded based on the subject line alone. That means it is worth the time and effort to make it outstanding.
Typically, email clients will show previews between 55 and 140 characters. That means the sweet spot for subject line length is between seven and ten words.
Your subject line should adequately capture the content of your mail. Avoid tricking or clickbaiting your recipients into opening your email at all costs.
On the other hand, you can play on human psychology. Arouse their curiosity by asking questions or dangling valuable information.
Final Thoughts
Cold emailing is not easy. It’s a delicate process, from prospecting leads to picking subject lines.
But it’s worth it.
It may take some time, hundreds of emails, and some follow-ups, but through cold emailing, reaching out to influencers, and harnessing existing audiences, you can promote your content more effectively than ever. And let it wow the world.