Not using AI to create cold emails? You mean not yet, maybe. As artificial intelligence applications for writing are getting better at producing accurate and more lifelike results with less human effort, even the most traditional salespeople are getting on board. To make it even more appealing, many of the tools–like ChatGPT–are free (or at least have free versions). So there’s really no reason not to try them out. But don’t forget one key component: successful B2B sales still depend on solid elements like research and personalization.
The challenges of writing cold emails in sales
We’ve all been there – seeing an email from somebody we don’t know and simply deleting it. It’s not surprising that cold B2B emails have around a one in three chance of being opened.
But the prospecting emails that are opened are doing something right. For example, things like:
Pitch
An element in the subject or text catches the prospect’s attention – an intriguing offer, a bit of humor, or a “reverse prospecting” approach that provokes a response. Somebody’s been using a good cold email template.
Personalization
Starting with personalized placeholders and going all the way to prospect-specific messaging (as in an ABM strategy, for example), customized emails are eye-catching and look less like spam.
Spam avoidance
There are many reasons why B2B emails end up in spam folders. A successful cold email has the right combination of language and a technical profile that gets it past the spam gatekeeper.
Simple, right?
How AI contributes to email writing
Now, just think of how challenging it can be to follow such rules for multiple products and user personas. Faced with all of these complicated factors, many salespeople might see smoke signals as an easier-to-understand option. But a more modern solution is available in the form of artificial intelligence.
AI is a game changer for email outreach
When you don’t manage to get everything right in a cold email, the bottom line is that you need to try again. And, just like robots are meant to do, AI makes it simple to do exactly that – turn a repetitive effort into a matter of prompts and clicks.
The conversational approach
Despite being “robots,” current AI technologies can put on a really human face. With simple instructions in the platform’s GUI, AI can help make your emails more conversational. For example, you can take something formal in style, copy/paste into a generative AI tool, and ask it to rewrite the piece with a more conversational tone.
Pros and cons of using AI for sales emails
AI email tools are constantly improving, but they’re already revolutionizing many tasks for salespeople. Here are just some of the advantages:
Pro: A good quality vs. speed tradeoff
If you’ve got lots of emails to write and not a lot of time, AI is your best bet. In a crunch, you’re probably not going to stress over each phrase in any case. Within minutes, and after a bit of practice in honing your prompts, you and AI can build multiple versions of emails that actually sound pretty good.
Pro: A/B testing
AI excels at making the small adjustments that you’ll use as part of an A/B testing effort. It would be nearly impossible to quickly turn out 20 cold email examples by hand. But AI will rapidly tweak various parts of the email according to your prompts.
Pro: Help for non-writers
Not every salesperson is a great writer. And not every salesperson has clients that communicate in the same mother tongue. If you’re not confident in your own writing abilities but know good stuff when you see it, AI can be your personal copywriter.
Of course, like any technology, AI does not fit all needs at all times, and generative AI tools still have some shortcomings:
Cons: The human touch is important
Human writers won’t be replaced anytime soon. Remember that AI is essentially mimicking the content that’s already out there – it just draws from and adapts a massive sample set. That means it can’t be truly original and does not actually understand your product. You’ll need to go over every email that AI produces and ensure that it’s all relevant to what you do. If not, then you’ll have to figure out the prompt that generates the output you want.
Con: The learning curve
Speaking of which, it can take time for you to get the best possible content from AI. Not every piece of AI-generated content nails it on the first prompt. Cold emails should be short, and using those few words to say precisely what you need can be a challenge. The more exact you want to be, the more creativity and experience you’ll need to get the AI to do what you want.
Con: Dependence
By writing your own cold emails, you are constantly reinforcing your knowledge. The minor changes in messaging that occur over time as your company matures, and as you learn more about what’s effective, turn up in your emails. But if you are more accustomed to a few prompts and clicks when using AI, those evolving nuances might not make it through to the emails you create.
Con: Consistency
Because AI doesn’t know exactly what you are looking for, it reviews the internet for similar tasks and simulates them. Depending on what it is sampling, you might get different results for the same prompt. For this reason, you need to take a close look at the output each time, even though you are using the same prompts.
Step-by-step guide for crafting the perfect cold email with AI
How does it actually work? To illustrate, we’ve used ChatGPT to build a hypothetical cold email. The product that we’re trying to introduce is a sales intelligence solution for prospecting that’s ideal for large organizations.
1. Creating a prompt: how to instruct ChatGPT to write a cold email
Starting is easy; simply tell ChatGPT the basics of what you want to do. We’ve used:
Write a cold email to a prospect for a sales intelligence platform
The result is a page-long email that has some irrelevant content about predictive analytics. So we narrowed it down with this addition to the prompt:
Remove references to predictive analytics
2. Identifying customer personas: using ChatGPT to diversify your target audience
Next, we want to tailor the email to various buyer personas. This step requires some background info that is part of creating ideal customer profiles. You probably have a few personas to work with, as do we. For this prompt, we’d like to focus on large companies:
Adapt the email to target large companies
3. Incorporating personalization placeholders: making your emails adaptable for each recipient
An essential aspect of personalization is to use actual names in the email. Of course, if you’ve used a quality prospecting platform, then you should have direct contacts and their emails ready to go. Preparing the email so that you can include them is easy:
Add personalization placeholders
4. Adding calls to action (CTAs): using ChatGPT to prompt recipient engagement
Inserting CTAs in cold emails is an absolute necessity. It enables prospects to engage with your team and proceed along the funnel to hopefully become clients. Let’s take a CTA that asks the prospect to book a meeting. To do so, simply add the prompt:
Add a call to action to book a sales meeting
5. Tone and voice: directing ChatGPT to match your brand’s tone
You might have a preferred writing style, or perhaps your organization has cited one in its style guide. AI can recognize many types, and modifying the existing text just needs another prompt such as:
Make the tone more informal
6. Optimizing for conversion: How to instruct ChatGPT to use persuasive language
Persuasive language tries to encourage the reader to think in terms of action – imagining the performance of tasks with your product, how you will actively address their pain points, and so on. Add something to your prompt to make sure the finished product includes persuasive language, which can be as simple as:
Use persuasive language
7. Length considerations: adjusting the email length based on your needs
ChatGPT starts you off with a good amount of email content. Usually, it’s a bit longer than best practices would suggest. If you want to try out different word counts, just ask ChatGPT to (for instance):
Make the email shorter
8. Creating variations for different customer segments
Even within the same ChatGPT conversation, you can build types of emails according to multiple audiences. Simply input:
Customize email for x customer type
9. Crafting the subject line: the importance of a compelling subject line and how ChatGPT can help
Getting your foot in the door is often the result of an effective subject line. Since they’re so important, it’s a good idea to do some A/B testing with different versions. Generating them is easy:
Create a range of subject lines following best practices
AI-based cold email example
How did it go? We combined all of the above into this prompt for ChatGPT:
“Write a cold email (less than 200 words) to a prospect for a sales intelligence platform. Use persuasive language and an informal tone. Adapt the email to target large companies and add personalization placeholders. Finish with a call to action to book a sales meeting. Also include a range of subject lines following best practices.”
Here’s what it came up with:
Subject Lines:
- [Prospect’s First Name], Unlock Big Wins with Our Sales Platform
- Revolutionize Your Sales Strategy with [Your Company Name]
- Supercharge [Prospect’s Company Name]’s Sales – Let’s Talk!
- Drive Sales Success at [Prospect’s Company Name]
Hey [Prospect’s First Name],
I hope this email finds you well. I’ve been tracking [Prospect’s Company Name]’s remarkable journey, and I believe we can be the wind beneath your sales team’s wings.
At [Your Company Name], we’ve cracked the code to empower large companies like yours to boost sales and maximize ROI. Our sales intelligence platform delivers:
- Real-time Insights: Stay ahead with the latest data on your leads and prospects.
- Account-Based Marketing: Tailor strategies for high-value accounts.
- Performance Metrics: Fine-tune your sales game with actionable data.
We’re not about one-size-fits-all solutions; we’re all about personalized success. Let’s discuss how our platform can specifically benefit [Prospect’s Company Name]. Can we set up a quick chat or a meeting next week? You choose the time:
[Insert Meeting Booking Link]
I’m eager to explore how [Your Company Name] can supercharge [Prospect’s Company Name]’s sales strategy. Looking forward to connecting.
Cheers,
[Your signature]
Non-ChatGPT AI tools for cold email creation
ChatGPT is the most famous generative AI tool. But if you are interested in checking out some alternatives, here are a few:
Copy.AI
Copy.AI has more than 10 million customers and can be used for applications that include translations, blogs, and social media posts, in addition to emails. There is a free but limited option, and to suit growing companies, they have a range of customer tiers.
Grammarly
You may have heard of Grammarly as a tool that helps you to compose everything from professional documents to school essays. But they also supply an AI-based tool for building cold emails. If you want all-around help with workplace writing, Grammarly can be an all-in-one choice. They also provide a try before you buy option.
Anyword
Anyword (formerly Keywee) specializes in a variety of automated writing functions, including emails, ads, website copy, and automated A/B version testing. Among its 1 million customers are some well-known names. Anyword’s free trial version lets you experiment with various functions.
Lyne.AI
Personalization is a priority for Lynn.AI. The platform offers “hyper-personalized” cold email tools that use up to twelve types of customization. Based on email addresses that you provide, Lynn.AI can deliver hundreds of email versions in a short time. The company provides a free subscription that you can even use on a permanent basis.
The brains behind successful cold emails
With all of these technologies available for creating cold emails, there’s one thing that’s still missing – the address. Getting any B2B email into the right hands depends on accurate prospecting data.
With Lusha’s B2B prospecting tool, your cold email campaigns start with direct and up-to-date addresses of decision-makers at high-potential companies. But it doesn’t stop there. You can send your cold emails to those prospects you found directly from our platform using Engage, Lusha’s free email sequencing tool.
If phone calls are more your style, we have direct dial and mobile numbers too. Or, try out Lusha’s data enrichment solutions to freshen up and enhance the data you already have. Either way, you’re set to go for outstanding sales.
Key takeaways
- Creating cold emails using artificial intelligence is a great way to save time and send multiple email versions to prospects.
- ChatGPT is a major cold email writing tool, and while it is easy to get started, honing your message takes practice.
- Building cold emails starts with sourcing accurate and recent email addresses for specific decision-makers.
See how Lusha can speed up your workflow
