15 cold email templates to skyrocket your leads

Email is a brilliant revenue driver, as the eye-opening stat above shows, and it should not be overlooked. Despite being an established channel, email marketing is still hotting up today and isn’t showing signs of slowing down. Cold email templates aren’t to be sniffed at, as they’re a key component of any email marketing strategy.

But be honest: how many times have you sent a cold email straight to your spam folder? Maybe the value proposition was buried too deep in the email body, or you simply shrugged off the salesperson sending it. This type of reaction to cold email outreach isn’t uncommon—in fact, it happens day in, day out.

There’s a real art to crafting great prospecting emails that hold people’s attention, and most effective sales emails share some common traits, as recent email analytics shows. So, let’s put some of these campaign cold email templates into practice with this handy guide.

Table of contents

• 15 best cold email templates
  • The ‘one paragraph problem-solver’ template
  • The ‘asking for an introduction’ template
  • The ‘AIDA’ template
  • The ‘straight to business’ template
  • The ‘third-party connection’ template
  • The ‘PAS’ template
  • The ‘paint a picture’ template
  • The ‘something useful’ template
  • The ‘industry insight’ template
  • The ‘competitor comparison’ template
  • The ‘BAB’ template
  • The ‘event invitation’ template
  • The ‘limited-time offer’ template
  • The ‘good experience testimonial’ template
  • The ‘follow-up from your website’ template
• 7 best practices for effectively using cold email templates
• Components of cold email templates
• How to write a cold email template
• Start cold emailing your prospects today

15 best cold email templates

Sales emails are only really effective if the product or service you’re presenting makes sense to the reader, so they need to know how it will directly benefit them. A well-written cold email is an excellent way to showcase such aspects of your brand and drive sales.

Here are 15 ways to make your own mark in cold emailing—and get more leads.

1. The ‘one paragraph problem-solver’ template

The ‘one paragraph problem-solver’ template is a short, sharp shock of an email that doesn’t overwhelm the reader. By getting to the point quickly, potential prospects are given a clear offer, and they can assess there and then if you’ll meet their needs—perfect for busy email inboxes and even busier executives.

2. The ‘asking for an introduction’ template

Use this cold email template when you aren’t sure whether you have the right point of contact. You’ve done your research, found a big-fish company your product or service would be ideal for, but can’t identify the correct person to email.

It’s especially useful when reaching out to a larger company with lots of departments and staff. Use it to ensure all your contact list ducks are in a row before taking the time to craft the perfect pitch.

3. The ‘AIDA’ template

Social proof, data, and intrigue are what make the ‘AIDA’ (attention, interest, desire, action) formula a success. It’s like that friend who talks to you after a rough day at work and says, “Hey, I totally get it—and get you.”

The ‘AIDA’ template is effective for generating leads by providing relevant examples, intriguing the reader, and offering a clear call-to-action. This approach is particularly effective for data-driven brands and requires research into the prospect’s professional interests to ensure a personalised and compelling message.

4. The ‘straight to business’ template

Sometimes the direct approach is the best approach. This is especially true for busy executives and no-nonsense brands. Get right to the point by identifying a scenario or problem common for your prospect. Without any added fluff, present the reader with concrete data that proves your product or service is the logical solution.

‘Straight to business’ is particularly effective when targeting busy professionals or organisations that value efficiency and direct communication, where time is a valuable commodity. Additionally, this approach can be beneficial for brands that prioritise a no-nonsense, data-driven approach to marketing.

5. The ‘third-party connection’ template

The third-party template is a cold email strategy used to gain access to hard-to-reach prospects via lower-level employees. Use this template when you’re struggling to reach or get a response from your prospect directly.

By targeting lower-level employees who may be motivated to present profitable opportunities to their employers and addressing an employee directly, you create a sense of obligation and increase the likelihood of your message reaching the desired recipient. This strategy is particularly useful when direct outreach to high-level prospects is tricky.

6. The ‘PAS’ template

The ‘PAS’ cold email template is a three-part formula:

1. Problem: identify a problem specific to the customer.

2. Agitate: after identifying the problem, poke at it a little.

3. Agitate: after identifying the problem, poke at it a little.

The ‘PAS’ email template works really well because it’s personalised and talks about something that’s bothering your prospect. By figuring out what’s foxing them, you can get them to do something and demonstrate why your solution is the perfect fix.

There’s nothing worse than trying and failing to be relatable. So make sure you do your homework to find out if the problem you’re talking about is actually a big deal for the people you want to reach.

7. The ‘paint a picture’ template

This cold email is all about getting your potential prospect to visualise how sweet life could be with your product or service. Present a realistic scenario to your prospect, showing what they might be lacking. Next, paint a picture of that same scenario, only this time with your product or service.

The ‘paint a picture’ cold sales email template is a shortcut to getting your prospect to convert as quickly as possible, by getting them to envision a smarter, easier, and more productive life with your product or service.

8. The ‘something useful’ template

Everyone loves receiving valuable resources for free. Cold emailing is the perfect platform to start building a relationship with prospects by giving them something valuable without asking for anything in return. You’re just both excited about the same things and are starting what could be a profitable relationship for both of you.

Use this template if you know that your recipient will be a hard sell or is more likely to do business with someone they already have a relationship with. This template helps you get there by establishing rapport.

9. The ‘industry insight’ template

Showing your company’s thought leadership credentials can be a game-changer. An industry insight cold email template generates leads by providing valuable information that establishes credibility and positions you as a trusted advisor.

By sharing relevant news or trends, you demonstrate your expertise and knowledge of the industry, making potential customers more likely to engage with your message and eventually become leads.

10. The ‘competitor comparison’ template

Use the plus points of your business as a useful comparison against your competitors. By targeting prospects who are already using a similar product, you can capitalise on their familiarity with the category and increase the likelihood of them being interested in your offer.

Simply highlighting your product’s unique selling points demonstrates how it can provide the prospect with just what they need.

11. The ‘BAB’ template

The Before-After-Bridge template is similar to the ‘paint a picture’ template, but is more forward-looking, highlighting innovation and problem-solving. The ‘BAB’ approach focuses on creating a compelling vision for the future for cold prospects.

By showcasing the positive impact of your product or service, you can inspire them to imagine how their life could be better.

12. The ‘event invitation’ template

The ‘event invitation’ template is a winner—who doesn’t want an invite to the party? Whether that’s in person or, more often these days, online, an event is a great outreach tool to create customer relationships and build brand allegiance.

Event invitations can dramatically bolster cold email open rates, as it makes the prospect feel special and part of the club.

13. The ‘limited-time offer’ template

Create urgency through a limited-time offer with a clear call-to-action, so your recipient knows they need to open the email and act soon or miss out. Always make sure the tone stays correct to your brand feel—not too pushy or sales-y, which can be off-putting.

14. The ‘good experience testimonial’ template

People love your product—let’s share the good news! It’s all very well having brilliant testimonials and case studies sitting on your website, but they can do even more for your brand by letting them loose via your cold email templates.

Sharing positive experiences other clients have had with your company is particularly effective as these insights are unbiased—not coming from you but from your customers—which is worth its weight in cold email gold. Especially when it comes to B2B cold email templates, businesses like to see proven results.

15. The ‘follow-up from your website’ template

A ‘follow-up from your website’ template can be used to respond to a newsletter or email sign-up request form on your website, or even prospectively if you keep visitor email information.

This is a useful sales follow-up email for when the prospect has already shown some interest in you, making it less of an uphill struggle—more tepid than ice-cold.

7 best practices for effectively using cold email templates

The best cold sales email templates stick to proven principles that can help you make the most of any opportunity. To get it just right, there are a few basic rules of the road you should think about, which we’ve covered in seven handy cold email best practices.

Cold email best practice

Do your research in batches
Deliver what you promised in your body copy
Create buyer persona-based templates
Look for compelling offers
Use AI to scale personalisation by category
Avoid landing in spam with email warm-up tools
Establish clear goals to measure success

Do your research in batches

Instead of trying to master everything at once, focus on smaller chunks of information at a time: think specific industries, target audiences, or competitors. This approach allows you to stay organised and focused while avoiding information overload.

Deliver what you promised in your body copy

If you say you’re going to offer something in your email, make sure you actually do it.
Always ensure that your email’s body copy aligns with the expectations created in the subject line and opening paragraph.

Create buyer persona-based templates

Not everyone is the same. Tailor your email templates to specific buyer personas. Consider factors such as job titles, industries, and pain points when crafting personalised messages. Think about their jobs, what problems they’re trying to solve, and what they’re interested in.

Look for compelling offers

Don’t just send people boring emails. Give them a reason to care. Offer something they’ll find useful, like a free consultation or a discount. This will make them more likely to pay attention to your email.

Use AI to scale personalisation by category

Leverage AI tools to personalise your emails at scale. By categorising your contacts based on various criteria, you can automate the delivery of relevant content. This saves time and effort while ensuring that each recipient receives a tailored experience.

Avoid landing in spam with email warm-up tools

If you send too many emails too quickly, email providers might think you’re spam. To avoid this, use email warm-up tools. These tools gradually increase your sending volume over time, helping your domain establish a positive reputation and avoiding those dreaded spam filters.

Establish clear goals to measure success

Before you start sending emails, decide what you want to accomplish. Are you trying to get more people to visit your website, sell more products, build brand awareness, or all the above? Set out specific goals and metrics to measure your success, such as increasing open rates, click-through rates, or conversions.

Components of cold email templates

Every cold email template follows a basic structure that showcases your company in the best way possible, starting with a strong opening, moving on to a relevant middle section, and concluding with an active sign-off that challenges the reader to respond.

You can try this method out for size and see if it works for you.

1. Attractive subject line: the email subject line is where the magic starts, reeling your prospect in and piquing their interest. Keep it bold, strong, and sparkling to grab people’s attention from the off.
2. Personalised body: this is where the message can be tailored to the person by using data to populate the name, role, company, or specific interests of the recipient, adding value and connecting with your audience.
3. Direct call-to-action: a clear, concise CTA that offers a logical next step is vital. Maybe it’s highlighted through a link, image, or button that demands to be acted upon.
4. AI-driven follow-up formula: sending that initial cold email is just the first step on an email marketing journey, and following up at logical intervals with complementary messaging is key. AI-driven automation and insights can fuel these next steps, using relevant data and behaviour to inform your strategy.

Start cold emailing your prospects today

Cold emailing can be a daunting prospect—both for you and your prospective customers. Through harnessing campaign cold email templates to your advantage, you can gain impressive cut-through—connecting with people on a human level, appealing to their needs, and, potentially, solving problems they might not even realise they have.

Fortunately for you, we’ve covered everything in our flagship Zendesk Sell platform—an all-in-one CRM that enables goal-setting and progress tracking with cloud-based, AI-first reporting, analytics, and project management tools. Get the most from your sales emails with Zendesk, which is made for reaching prospects in effective, innovative, and on-brand ways.