Cold email is one of the most important outreach strategies in email marketing to help generate new leads.
Though as effective as it sounds, one cold email is not enough to generate sales at times. That's where email sequences come into play. Sometimes you don't have to send multiple emails to elicit a response, one works just fine. Let’s look at the top 4 highest-performing email sequences that you can use in your business today!
An email sequence is a series of pre-written emails sent to a particular group of people at certain intervals which are fixed ahead of time. These sequences can be time-based or trigger-based or both.
When emails are trigger-based, they are sent based on the recipient’s behavior. Common triggers include browsing behavior, shopping cart abandonment, purchases, viewing content, or downloading and subscribing to your list. Time-based email sequences are sent at specific time intervals. For example, 30 days after purchase, right after opt-in, on the anniversary of subscribing, or any number of days after the initial email.
An email sequence is one of the most underrated yet powerful tactics to generate leads. Usually, recipients need 7-8 nudges before they take an action. Manually performing these email follow-ups can be a pain. That’s why automated follow-ups are sent to recipients using software like OutreachBin.
Stats show that even just one follow-up email will get you a reply rate of 27% which is 11% more than the initial email. It's quite obvious that customers who receive follow-ups have a higher chance at making a purchase than those who don't get any.
There are no particular rules as to how many follow-ups are important in an email sequence. Some say 5 is the optimum number of follow-ups required. Again, according to Steli Efti, 2 follow-ups are perfect when you're emailing the recipient for the first time. Regardless, even one follow-up can increase your sales efficiency up to 40%. Moreover, Heather Morgan states that they sent 8 emails or 7 follow-ups to their prospects which resulted in success.
Similarly, in terms of how often to send follow-ups, it really depends. Steli Efti proposed a sequence that went like this.
The first email should be sent on day 1, the second on day 3, then day 7, 14, 28, and 58. After that, one follow-up a month. You can also just send three emails in total. In the third email, put an option for the receiver to clearly state if he’s interested or not. This caused an increase in the reply rate up to 30%.
Now that you know about the benefits of an email sequence, it's time for you to create one. If you’re looking for a software tool to automate email deliveries, OutreachBin will be at your disposal to get your sales up and going.
Build long-term relationships with your customers without worrying about managing multiple email accounts and campaigns with OutreachBin. This software provides integrations with CRMs, reply tracking, prospect profiles, and many more. It also warms up your emails for better deliverability and sender reputation. Moreover, based on your email campaigns, open rates, and replies, OutreachBin creates your very own customized prospect lists.
Let us now look at a few email sequence examples to kickstart your email game.
Suppose your company wants to recruit the recipient of the email.
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Subject:
New job opportunity at “company name”- referred to you by “contact’s name”
Hi “recipient’s name”,
I hope this email finds you well. Just wanted to reach out to you regarding a unique job opportunity after coming across your profile on ___. I work for “company name”. A “job title” position just opened and we think you'd be a great fit for this job.
If you're interested, should we schedule a quick zoom call on “date and time”? Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Best,
“Your name”
“Your email signature”
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This is going to be the first email to your email sequence. Then you can write about two follow-ups. It can go like this.
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Subject:
Our offer for “job title” still stands
Hi “Recipient’s name”,
Just wanted to know if my offer for recruiting you as “job title” made it through your busy inbox.
If you’re down for it, please reach out to us.
Best,
“Your name”
“Your email signature”
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Keep your email concise and try to personalize it as much as you can.
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Subject: Trying to connect from “company name” for the “job title” position.
Hi “recipient’s name”,
We understand you’re very busy. But give it a thought.
Best,
“Your name”
“Your email signature”
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In this example, let's write an email sequence for lead generation.
First, make a list of prospects that you want to sell your product. Create a subject line that conveys urgency and adds value. It can go like this.
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Subject: Want to save 20% on your next purchase?
We thought you would be interested in “company name”’s new launch where you can get 20% off on your first purchase. Let us know if you're down for it and want us to send you the coupon code.
Best,
“Your name”
“Your company name”
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Subject: Your coupon code of “company name” will expire soon.
Hi “recipient’s name”,
I wanted to quickly remind you that your offer to get 20% off on any purchase from “company name” still stands. But it's going to expire soon.
Waiting eagerly for your reply.
Best,
“Your name”
“Your company name”
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Subject: Your Coupon Code will Expire in 3 days.
Hi “recipient’s name”,
As you are a software engineer and tech-savvy, we figured you would love this offer. The new “product name” is now $1359 from $1699 only for the next 3 days. So, use your coupon code ____ now.
Best,
“Your name”
“Your company name”
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Suppose your course name is “how to ace your job interviews”. We’re going to make this email sequence long.
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Subject: I have some amazing news for you.
Hi “recipient’s name”,
Job seeking can be a very exhausting process. Trust me, I know. The burden of pleasing your employers can be fairly difficult. But it doesn't have to be this way. I also went through that phase and have decided to put an end to it. After several months of experience in job searching, I have curated all my tips and tricks to create a career-changing course to help you find the job of your dreams.
I am absolutely thrilled to announce my new course “how to ace your job interviews” which is going live in a week, on 27th October 2021.
Sincerely,
“your name”
Career Coach
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Subject: I have an important announcement to make which you're going to love.
So, I hope you got my email regarding a new course on “how to ace your job interviews”. It is opening in a week!! For you to get an overview of what you can learn from the course, here are some points. You can learn how to prepare for the interview, the perfect posture, and how to strategically use your body during the interview to exert confidence. You can also learn how to pour your 100% in the interview.
If you're interested, keep an eye out for any emails about the course.
Best Wishes,
“your name”
Career Coach
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Subject: “How to ace your job interviews” is now live!!
In my first email, I talked about my course opening in a week. I gladly announce that it is now live! 75 of 200 seats have already been reserved. Here’s a review from one of the participants who signed up for the course, “ I am so excited to ace my job interview. This is exactly the course I was looking for. I believe this is going to help me get a job finally”. So, what are you waiting for? The enrolment period is open until 29th October.
Hoping to hear from you.
Best regards,
“your name”
Career Coach
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Subject: “recipient’s name”, your time to enroll is ticking.
My course on “how to do ace your job interviews” is open and waiting for enrollments. Are you interested? If yes, what are you waiting for? If not, I can guarantee you that if you don’t get a job within one month of finishing the course, you get your money back. How about that?
Waiting for your reply.
Sincerely,
“your name”
Career Coach
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Subject: I want to thank you “recipient’s name” and offer you a gift
I almost never do this, but I’m doing it for you. Thank you for supporting me and being a part of this community. As a token of my thanks, I want to offer you a present.
You can claim a spot in my online course for free for the next 72 hours. Moreover, you can also request a 30 minute one on one session to discuss your aim and career goals.
So, call us at ______ and you can claim your gift. The offer stands till 4th November.
Thanking you,
“your name”
Career Coach
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Subject: I would like to thank you “recipient’s name”.
Words are not enough to thank you, “recipient's name”.
The love and support from you guys are what keeps me going. I am so happy to help all of you and I plan on doing so even more in the future. So, I would like to work together with you and add value to your life in whatever way possible.
Looking forward to continuing working with you and help you make the most out of your career opportunities.
Your coach,
“your name”
Career Coach
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In this example, we’ll observe an email sequence template of a SaaS trial provider.
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Subject: Welcome to Zoom, “recipient’s name”!
Hi “recipient’s name”,
First of all, thank you for choosing Zoom. My name is ___ and you can think of me as your personal assistant. I am here to guide you through your trial.
Perhaps, you had a chance to log in and roam around the software a bit. But, if you didn't, don’t worry. I’ll guide you through! Here is our getting started video. It'll help you set up your Zoom and will cover all the basics of it.
I’ll check how things are going in the next 30 days through emails. If you have any questions, feel free to text me at @_____.
Talk to you soon,
_____.
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Subject: Just wanted to check-in.
Hello, “recipients name”
You’ve been using zoom for a few days. How is it going? Did you face any problems?
I don’t want any of your questions to go unanswered and want to help you get the full experience of Zoom. Reply back to this email if you have any questions. I’ll get back to you ASAP. Also, you can check out our support center and go through the FAQs.
I’m always here to help you so don’t be a stranger!
Sincerely,
______.
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Now that you have communicated with him, this is the email where you go for the question of whether they want to go for the paid subscription.
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Subject: Make your Zoom meetings run without a time limit.
Hi, “recipients name”
I’ve seen you conducted your first meeting after setting up your account on Zoom. It looks like you’ve seen some good results.
I think this is the right time for you to consider taking a look at our various plans so that you can get the full experience of Zoom. As you’ve conducted your first meeting, you know that the free trial ends in 40 minutes. But with the paid subscription, you can conduct your meetings without any interruptions.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Best,
______.
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Now, that we’ve shown 4 templates, we think you’re ready to get started on your email sequence journey. But first, let us go through the procedure of how to create an email sequence.
We’re going to create a simple campaign using OutReachbin. First, you have to click the campaign and then click ‘Create campaign’. Input your campaign name where necessary.
Now, you would get two options- upload a CSV or enter your emails manually. So, the CSV means you can place your first name, last name, company name, and other data. We’re just going to use it manually for now. Add your email address to the bar. You can add multiple emails, one on each line. Click next.
On the left-hand side, you’ll find steps 1,2,3, and so on. If you put 0 on step 1, it means the mail will be sent on the day you schedule it. Then, on steps 2,3, and so on, for each follow-up, you will add the number of days after which each email will be sent. Now, write your email as shown above. You can also send a test email. Click on it, then select an email address and your email address. It will be sent automatically. You cannot use custom variables only by using the manual input. You need to upload a CSV file for that.
Then, click on step 2 and write your follow-up email as usual. Then click on next and you’ll go to schedule.
Click on the timezone bar and select your timezone. You can use Eastern time if you’re in the US. Then add the days you want to send the emails. Don’t send your mail on Mondays as there is a low conversion rate then. After that, add your time between which you want to send the mails, preferably between 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. Now add your max reach per sequence step per day. Choose a date on which your campaign will start. Then the first email on your email sequence will be sent on that date and the follow-ups will be sent after the number of days you selected. Click on next and select your email addresses. Lastly, click create.
Your email campaign is now ready to go. You can go to your dashboards and look at your stats. So, this is how to create an email sequence. Pretty easy.
Now, that we know pretty much everything about email sequences and we’ve also seen some email sequence examples, it's time for you to create one. So, what are you waiting for? Create your first email sequence with OutreachBin.