How to Find a Cold Email Marketing Agency (And What to Know Beforehand)

It’s no secret that email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to connect with your customers. This ubiquitous messaging service has withstood decades of change yet still delivers the same amazing results!

And everyone can cash in on email marketing. Yes, even B2B companies. Most of these brands utilize cold emailing, a practice that relies on strategic list-building and outreach. It’s a lucrative way to attract more leads; unfortunately, it’s also a time-consuming affair. As a business owner, you don’t have time to handle email campaigns! You have important executive work.

So, what do you do?

You outsource the world and hire an email marketing agency.

But beware, dear reader!

B2B cold emailing is tricky. It’s not something you’ll find at any email marketing agency; you’ll want an established cold email marketing agency. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. I’m about to show you some of the industry’s best-kept secrets.

Keep scrolling to learn more about how you can find the perfect cold emailing partner.

What Is Cold Emailing?

Cold email campaigns are just one of many ways to attract new customers. You find a list of professionals, craft delightful experiences, and deliver them to inboxes. It’s as tedious as it sounds, but successful cold emails can net massive profits!

How Is Cold Emailing Different From B2C Promotional Emails?

The target audience is this marketing tactic’s greatest asset (and danger).

Cold emails do not (generally) use pre-gathered contact lists. Instead, senders rely on purchased or researched prospects. Alternatively, a business might build a pool of viable clients by utilizing lead generation services. A skilled sales team can easily harvest countless high-quality leads from the digital noise of our modern world, but this skill is not easily acquired.

What Does It Take to Write Cold Emails?

Nonetheless, cold emailing uses most of the same technology as its more glamorous cousin, B2C marketing. Outbound cold emails must still rely on the same valuable insights and feedback as any other digital marketing campaign. Marketing and sales teams must still keep a watchful eye on key performance indicators, A/B tests, and audience segments.

Many cold emails rely on the same basic ingredients as B2C campaigns, including:

• Delightful copywriting
• Email automation (and, by extension, automated follow-ups)
• An eye-catching subject line
• Gorgeous email design
• Great copywriting
• Personalization (and segmentation)

However, unlike B2C marketing, cold emails do not have the benefit of consent. These are earnest requests to connect, and there’s plenty of risk associated with that honesty. Failing to create effective cold emails means more than a few blocked campaigns. Even a moment of mismanagement can land your brand in hot water with spam filters!

As such, there are also some unique skills that a cold marketing agency must have, including:

• Data Analysis Skills: A cold email marketing agency must master its data analysis. On top of spam filters, cold email outreach experts must contend with endless competition and a lack of personal connection.
• Ethical Mindsets: It’s not enough to be writing cold emails. You also need lead generation, and unethical sources often include spam traps! Ultimately, a bad source directly translates to lost revenue.
• A Knack for Closing Deals: Cold outreach campaigns do nothing for you if they never convert! Find a cold email marketing agency with results. Otherwise, you’re throwing money out the window!
• Personalized Campaign Design: A successful cold email often has some personalization. Remember: You’re often going in with no prior contact. You must find a way to connect with your reader.

Who Benefits From Cold Email Campaigns?

“That’s all cool,” you may be saying, “but how does that help me?”

Here’s the truth: Despite its roots in B2B business, cold email campaigns can help any business thrive! You generate more leads, drum up plenty of interest, and boost your overall revenue. Think of it as a modern billboard ad, but it’s personalized to match each viewer. (And wouldn’t that be something!?)

Nonetheless, as with other marketing strategies, some businesses use cold email marketing more than others. Some of the biggest supporters of the cold email strategy are:

• Manufacturers
• Marketing (both traditional and digital)
• Professionals (e.g., consultants, financiers, freelancers, and lawyers)
• Software companies

Does My Business Need a Cold Email Marketing Agency?

Time for another hypothetical response: “Couldn’t you write your own cold emails? Why not cut out the middleman and handle your own marketing emails? Surely, it’s not that difficult!”

This is a common misconception — made even stronger by recent pushes from SaaS brands promising simple, hands-off automated marketing. However, the truth is that cold emailing is an art form. It’s a skill that you cannot program away! Like the cold call of yore, a modern cold email is a unique and intimate way to expand your business. It’s a combination of conversion, customer engagement, and personalized outreach efforts.

And it’s here to stay!

Unfortunately, it’s also a massively time-consuming process. You must generate leads, engage existing customers, and design personalized campaigns multiple times each month. A successful cold email campaign can easily require dozens of follow-up emails, and few businesses have enough bandwidth to babysit an inbox.

Succinctly, yes. You do need an email agency to help you! Otherwise, you’re stuck handling the complex, unpredictable world of unsolicited emails alone.

What Would a Cold Email Marketing Agency Do for Me?

Let me be more specific. A cold email is more than relevant messaging; it’s a calculated dig at any number of pain points. It turns qualified leads into revenue, but very few people can do so consistently. Even fewer can do it alone!

To make a single cold email campaign, you’re looking at a multi-stage process:

1. The first step is data collection. Someone has to carefully find, document, and handle that essential lead generation. However, until B2C marketing emails, cold emails don’t come with pre-packaged potential customers; it’s your job to find them.
2. Then, it’s time to design a personalized email. As an unsolicited message, you have little hope of gaining someone’s trust with a cut-and-paste template. You must avoid spam folders without mimicking annoying sales calls.
3. Don’t forget to make it visually stunning! Sure, you can send basic plain-text campaigns, but they won’t gain much traction. Your email lead generation needs to stun its recipients! Even a simple template can generate more sales.
4. And when you’re sending cold emails, you must monitor the results. What does your email deliverability look like? Is your email address still valid? How many cold emails have you sent, and how many of them are being seen? All these questions are daily considerations for email marketing pros.
5. Finally, you’re stuck monitoring the response rate. You are — after all — drumming up interest from nothing. Failing to follow up on your interested leads is a surefire way to waste money.

Now, think about your daily routine. Does your business have enough time to manage sending cold emails and tackle its everyday needs? Probably not!

That’s why amazing email marketing agencies — like my team at The Email Marketers — are on standby. We’re ready to help your brand navigate the complexities of the online world, and we’ll ensure you’re using cold email to its full potential.

Can My Business Afford a Cold Email Marketing Agency?

Now, this may sound too good to be true. It’s not!

Cold email agencies are surprisingly affordable.

I can’t speak for every email agency in the world, but The Email Marketers strives to make its services available to as many budding entrepreneurs as possible. With my team, I can offer you unrivaled cold email services to help your business thrive. More importantly, we’ll handle everything — from your response rate and messages per day to your cold email platform and lead generation. And you don’t have to spend big to reap the benefits.

What to Consider When Searching for Cold Email Marketing Agencies

Of course, you must make sure you’re getting the best value for your money. Cheap cold email marketing services aren’t guaranteed to be the best; yet, at the same time, even the most expensive email agency can disappoint.

Regardless of your budget, you’ll want to guarantee you’re getting high-quality results.

Aside from seeking evidence of past successes, spend plenty of time vetting each cold email marketing service you consider. The saying may be overused, but it applies here: You must get your ducks in a row before you look. Some of the most important factors to consider as you search for cold email marketing services are:

• Budget: How much are you willing to spend?
• Depth: How involved are you campaigns? Are you providing the leads, or will your firm be expected to tackle lead generation?
• Services: What services do you need from your cold email agency?
• Ownership: Do you expect the cold email agency to create and maintain your email address? If so, make sure you own the domain! Don’t let an unscrupulous firm hold your email hostage. You’ll also want to double check the contract to see who owns your visual assets.
• Volume: How many cold emails are you sending? Sending one or two messages per month costs less than sending 15 emails every day!

Now, some of these points are self-explanatory. Only you can determine your budget and volume. However, the other elements — depth, ownership, and services — are worth a closer look.

How Detailed Is Each Cold Email?

Cold emailing is a delicate art form. You must balance your knowledge of the recipient against their inherent need for privacy. You must make sure you know enough about the recipient to make a meaningful connection. Yet, at the same time, play your cards close to your chest; dropping too much information in your initial cold email makes you sound like a stalker!

Consider, too, that your cold outreach strategy requires data collection and management. Many of these points overlap with our next topic…

What Services Must You Have?

You’ll get a few “features” by default. Campaign metrics and reporting are the most basic form of service. However, many cold emailing specialists find they need additional tools to effectively generate and retain promising leads.

Some of the most common “add-ons” include:

• Audience Research: An effective cold email campaign requires a definite audience. It’s fine to be unsure, but you’ll pay more if you haven’t done your own market research. Nonetheless, many agencies are more than happy to refine your target audience.
• Audience Segmentation: Think of this as an automated LinkedIn sales navigator. A subset of audience research, audience segmentation gives marketers tools to sort and send messages based on pre-determined factors (e.g., a recipient’s demographics, position, or seniority).
• Competitive Analysis: Upstanding email agencies don’t advertise this; it’s just a matter of proper research! On top of lead generation, your marketing team should be receiving and analyzing content from your competitors. This helps your brand avoid the spam folder and dominate inboxes!
• Lead Generation and Maintenance: Cold email lead generation is a no-brainer, but what happens after that first point of contact? You can brainstorm relevant messaging call day, but the bottom line is that someone needs to handle the follow-up. Will you do that yourself, or do you expect your cold email services team to handle it?

Who Owns Your Content?

Finally, you’ll want to double- and triple-check those contracts to know who owns your content. Most reputable email marketing companies allow you to take their work with you as examples, but some may hold your content hostage!

Generally, you’ll want to have an established domain name and email address beforehand. This gives you more wiggle room, as you’ll always have ownership over your email account. However, you’ll also want to consider the details of your email campaigns’ details! More specifically, take time to ask about your…

• Digital Assets: Who owns your visual materials? Unscrupulous cold email services may refuse to relinquish control over your past emails, forcing you to begin with a blank slate should you ever decide to use a different agency.
• Email List: Lead generation is hard work! Never allow a brand to hold your valuable email addresses hostage. A reputable email agency lets you take your leads with you, even if you part ways.
• Metrics: Finally, make sure you have an open line of communication. Your agency should give frequent performance updates regarding email and lead generation metrics without prompting. Even the smallest subject line change can make a big difference, so don’t let those valuable insights go to waste!

Find the Perfect Cold Email Services

Above all, you must find a partner you trust. Emails are more permanent than cold calling; even the smallest mistakes linger in inboxes. Naturally, your cold email strategy must meet these impossibly high expectations.

That’s why I founded The Email Marketers. My team of marketing pros knows what it takes to craft continuous success. We’ll handle your email marketing needs, giving you back precious time to manage your business’ daily upkeep. Just look at the rest of my blog! My team knows all of this information and more.

We’ll work with you to amplify your impact. All you need to do is take the first step. Schedule a free strategy session and prepare to see what a skilled email marketing agency can do for you!