How to Boost Click Rates on Your Cold Emails

Getting your prospects to open cold emails is difficult enough, but figuring out the mastery of getting those elusive clicks could change the game entirely. Cold email open rates and click-through rates (CTRs) are essential KPIs that measure the success of your outreach campaigns. These are more than just metrics, though—there’s a strategy involved here. 

When you understand how to captivate and convince your audience to react or respond to your cold outreach, you are mastering a technique that many haven’t. More importantly, you will be getting people “in the door” in all the ways that you want:

• Booking a meeting or consultation
• Checking out your website 
• Clicking through to your social media pages 
• Reading a case study or use cases 
• Downloading an eBook or report 
• Making a purchase 

How can you do it? For starters, you can enlist the help of a team like Smith.ai, who are experts at outreach campaigns and can help you amp up your results. Of course, there are also some things you can do on your own. Read on to learn more. 

What’s the average CTR for cold emails? 

According to various research, the average click-through rate of cold emails is just 3.67%. That might not seem like much. Three and a half clicks for 100 emails certainly sounds like a lot of work for not much in the way of results, but that’s what it takes. 

A “good” email CTR rate for cold outreach can range anywhere from 1% to 5%. Higher is better, of course, but the more important factor is figuring out why your emails aren’t being opened or utilized in the first place. 

Causes of a low email CTR 

The CTR for your cold email campaigns depends on several factors, namely your intended audience and their ability to follow your message instructions. Many companies experience lower-than-average email CTRs because they’re not targeting the right prospects. If you send emails to 1,000 prospects and only half of them are even interested, that’s half your effort out the window. 

Targeting is essential with cold outreach. If you do your research well enough, you might even be closer to “warm” outreach by the time you actually get around to sending the message. This can instantly increase your CTRs because you’re reaching people who have an interest, a need, and who you know you can connect with. 

Other reasons people might not click on your links or CTAs in emails include:

• The link is in the wrong place
• You used the wrong CTA at the wrong time in the sequence 
• You used the wrong type of link (nurturing vs. immediate action, etc.)
• You didn’t provide specific enough “next steps” in your message or CTA
• You don’t have links in the email at all—believe it or not, this happens more than you think! Always double-check that your emails contain the item you want readers to “click.”

How to improve your cold email click-through rates 

There are several ways that you can approach this, depending on why your emails aren’t hitting the mark in the first place. Do your homework and some testing to see what’s working (and what isn’t) and keep the following tips in mind. 

Nail the subject line 

The single most important part of your cold outreach via email is the subject line. If you don’t captivate someone’s attention with that, your email is more likely to end up in the trash, unopened. Don’t push familiarity, but give people a reason to open the message. And if you find one that works, stick with it.

Keep emails brief 

People don’t have time. It’s that simple. Even with plenty of hours in the day, we live in a world where people are constantly inundated with sales emails and outreach. Save the longer emails for later in the process for when you’ve got more of a connection and more to discuss. Your initial cold outreach emails should be around 100 words or less and:

• Explain what your product or service solves
• Describe the solution you offer 
• Establish your expertise and reputation
• Give the reader a reason to want to learn more

It’s a tall order for a short word count, but there are thousands of samples and templates online that you can learn from. 

Include personalized content 

As we mentioned, you don’t want to force the feeling of familiarity with cold prospects. However, if you have done your research, you should have enough information to add a little personalization that can make your prospect feel more valued and connected. Focus on their needs and address their pain points, and explain why you chose them, specifically, for your message. 

Use data to get their attention 

As many as 69% of leads say data and statistics add value to cold emails. This is particularly an effective route when you are trying to reach C-suite execs and technical decision-makers, but it can be good for any prospect. Data provides quick, hard facts that tell a powerful story without the actual “story,” which most people don’t have time for. 

Make the CTA a low-investment action 

At this point in your outreach, you’re not making the big ask. It’s far too early for that. It’d be like asking someone to marry you before you’ve even gotten to the first date—talk about scaring people off. Ask for a 10-minute phone call with a Google Calendar link instead of inviting them to an hour-long presentation, for example. 

Get help when you need it 

If you want to master the art of outreach, it makes sense to work with experts who have been there before. As mentioned, the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can provide you with a dedicated team to handle your outreach campaigns so that you can improve click-throughs and more. Plus, we can act as your 24/7 answering service when new leads start coming in, and even help with lead intake and appointment scheduling. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai.   

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