Cold email examples
Cold email examples for B2B sales and favours: the structure behind the ones that get replies, subject lines that get opened, and the tells that get deleted.
TLDR
- The cold emails that get replies are short, specific to the person, and ask for one small thing.
- Structure: why them (one line that proves you looked), why you (one line), the ask (easy to say yes to).
- Subject lines that work look like they came from a colleague, not a campaign.
The structure
Almost every good cold email does three things in under 125 words:
- Why them. One line that couldn’t be sent to anyone else. “Saw your talk on onboarding emails at SaaStr” or “Your pricing page changed last week, and the annual toggle is now default.”
- Why you. One line on who you are and why it’s relevant. Not your company history.
- One ask. Small and easy. “Worth a 15-minute call?” or “Can I send you the teardown?” Not “Let me know your availability for a 45-minute demo”.
Examples (made up, with the patterns that work)
These are written for this post, with fictional companies. The patterns are what to steal.
The teardown offer
Subject: your onboarding emails
Hi Sam, I signed up for Lumen last week to see your onboarding. Email two is great, the checklist is clever. Email three never came, which looks like a broken trigger. I put together a short teardown of the whole sequence with a fix. Want it? No call needed.
Why it works: it gives before it asks, it’s specific, and the ask costs nothing.
The warm intro request
Subject: quick favour re: Tidepool
Hi Alex, you’ve written about dev tool pricing more than anyone I know. I’m launching usage-based pricing next month and I’m stuck on the free tier. Could I send you two options and get your gut reaction? Two lines back is plenty.
Why it works: a real compliment, a small ask, and an exit (“two lines is plenty”).
The specific trigger
Subject: congrats on the EU launch
Hi Jo, saw Oddsocks now ships to Spain. Congrats. We help ecommerce brands handle VAT across EU countries, and the first month is usually where it goes wrong. Worth a 15-minute call before you hit the first filing?
Why it works: it’s timely, it names a real problem at the right moment, and the ask has a reason.
Subject lines
- Short and lowercase:
question about your pricing page - Their thing, not yours:
your talk at SaaStr - A real connection:
Alex suggested I reach out
And avoid anything that sounds like marketing: “Revolutionize”, “10x your pipeline”, “Quick question” (everyone knows it isn’t).
The tells that get you deleted
- “I hope this email finds you well.”
- A paragraph about your company before you get to them.
- Fake personalisation: “I love what
{company}is doing in the{industry}space.” - Anything that sounds like it was generated in bulk. People can smell it now.
Keep the good ones you receive
The best cold email teacher is your own inbox. When one makes you reply, forward it to your swipe file. Savepad gives you an email address for exactly this: forwarded emails keep the sender, subject, and date, and search finds them by any word. The email swipe file post has the setup, and welcome email examples covers what to send after they say yes.
FAQ
How long should a cold email be?
Short enough to read on a phone without scrolling. Most good cold emails are 50 to 125 words: who you are, why them, one ask.
What's a good cold email subject line?
Short, specific, and lowercase-casual, like something a colleague would send. 'question about your onboarding emails' beats '10x your growth with our platform'.
How many follow-ups should I send?
One or two, a few days apart, each adding something new. After that, stop. A third 'just bumping this' is how you get marked as spam.