The main goal of a cold email sequence is to incentivize the prospect to start a conversation and build beneficial relationships down the line. To realize this intent, it is not enough to create cookie-cutter emails that are usually prone to land in spam boxes. It is a holistic approach toward crafting email templates that are personalized and tailored to the specific prospect segment. 

At Serrano 23, we do not adhere to standardized approaches while creating cold email templates and sequences. Each use case (with an ideal customer persona) and each business type (in a certain industry) are considered the major determinant factors of cold email creation. 

In this article, we’re going to demonstrate to you how our email sequences are aligned with each specific use case and client, how we manage to achieve up to 40% open rates, and what types of email campaigns we incorporate to yield such results. And much more! Read on to know how Serrano 23 email sequence works and how it can help you definitely increase your open and reply rates!

In this article you’ll find out:

• The main goal of a cold email sequence
• Serrano 23 takes a holistic approach in creating personalized and tailored cold email templates
• Probability of achieving a response from a prospect
• Data-driven approach in creating an effective and viable email sequence

Why does your business need a cold email sequence?

An email sequence is a set of logically connected emails sent within certain time intervals. The statistics show that 48% of sales reps never make even a single follow-up attempt waiting for interest from their prospects or leads. Actually, a cold email sequence is a way to increase the chances to break the ice between you and your prospects and keep on contact with them. 

From the perspective of the mathematical estimate, email sequence ensures a higher probability to achieve a response from your prospect. Therefore, the more touch points you have with your prospect, the higher the chances are to get any response. Even if it is negative feedback, you can convert it into a potential appointment or deal. Everything depends on the logical structure and value you insert in your emails. 

So let’s illustrate the reasons why you need to develop the connection with the prospect after the initial outreach email and proceed with follow-ups:

1. You deliver the information in portions in each email that don’t overwhelm the recipient.
2. You send emails periodically which psychologically makes your prospect involved in the loop. 
3. Having several touchpoints, your prospect doesn’t miss the email and can refer to the previous one in the thread.

How does Serrano 23 create a viable and effective email sequence? (Step-by-step instructions to follow)

To create an effective email sequence that provokes resonance and interest from your prospect, it is not enough to craft customized and tailored email templates. This is the lifecycle that has to be modified at a certain phase of elaboration. 

Serrano 23 Note: To create a qualitative email sequence that drives results, you need to maintain its sustainability by testing, modifications according to business realities, and applying various approaches and campaign types. 

Below we illustrate our approaches and the sequence of steps before the email campaign launches. 

      1. Client’s data analysis and assessment

Once the client refers to us, we provide him with the form with concrete questions allowing us to obtain as much info as possible to transform it into insights. Based on these insights, we additionally conduct research on the client’s industry and business peculiarities. Afterward, we learn the industry and companies our client is targeting. The evaluation of this data helps us adapt emails according to a specific use case. 

       2. Personalize email sequence according to ICP and industry

To craft tailored email templates, we focus on the ideal customer profile and target audience. Each email sequence has to be unique and with the consideration of possible variables. To achieve personalization in each email, it is essential to elaborate upon the ICP’s backgrounds and pain points which allows the creation of a value proposition that will be relevant to the prospect’s expectations. 

At this stage of email development, we define the suitable approach and the campaign type tailored to the particular target industry and business. Moreover, targeting different titles also requires thorough due diligence to be able to apply industry-specific proofs considering the titles’ behavioral patterns, mindsets, and habits. 

The main point here is to speak the language your prospect speaks, establishing an emotional connection and credibility. To figure out what language they speak ask yourself:

• Does your product resolve your prospect’s issues?
• What is the size of the company you target?
• Where is your prospect located?
• What is their revenue per year?
• How many employees do work there and what are the main roles in the company?
• Has the company you target incorporated digitalization into its business processes?
• What is the corporate culture of the company you target?
  

       3. Results analysis and A/B testing

Let’s model the situation. Two clients aim to reach out to similar ICPs with similar value propositions. How do you suppose: will their email campaigns show the same outcomes? No. There is no predictable forecast. To achieve real results, it is worth conducting A/B testing or asses the results and responses. Each case is a priori unique case. Therefore, your main focus has to be not on the creation of the sequence itself – it’s rather about permanent modifications according to the results obtained. 

       4. Make appropriate corrections

The previous phase stipulates that the launch of the email sequence is not the ultimate destination point. Email sequence doesn’t include pattern templates the aim of which is to send and wait for results. It is a holistic process that needs to be evolved in accordance with business realms and prospects’ needs. 

There is no strict rule that once we selected a certain vector and campaign type (below is the list of campaigns you can use), the email sequence cannot be altered. It must be! Different scenarios can arise in the process of email sequence development and distribution. Thus, we combine different approaches for different touch points (at Serrano 23 we call them waves). And if after the assessment of the results we noticed, for example, low deliverability, we change subject lines or intro lines. 

Serrano 23 Note: There is no universal template that will match different ICPs and business types. Even though you adhere to the best cold email practices and techniques, use critical thinking in specific cases and make maneuvers and adjustments accordingly. 

Serrano 23 Email Sequence Campaigns (with Examples)

At Serrano 23, we have elaborated upon different campaign types tailored to specific business scenarios and the industry we target. Based on the ideal customer profile, we apply an appropriate approach from our point of view and craft logically connected email waves (touch points). There is no strict rule to adhere to one campaign type and proceed with it till the end. As we mentioned before, a great email sequence is one that may be modified in the process and acquire new corrections while sticking to logical structure and narrative. 

To give you an understanding of how various approaches and campaign types depend on the goal and the target audience, we will briefly depict each email campaign type with customized templates. 

Template

       1. Regular campaign type

This is a classic campaign type that works best for niche players who have a solid value proposition and knows exactly the pain points of their target audience, and how their strong sides can resolve them. Regular or aka General campaign aims at setting up an appointment with the prospect by offering a demo of the product or service, an invitation for an intro call, or a meeting. 

Template

       2. Referral

Identifying the right decision-maker in the company you target has to be your primary concern. But sometimes it requires additional time to define which title in the company will have a direct relation to your request. Therefore, the referral campaign type is geared exactly toward this purpose: to find the closest fit person skipping the additional research levels. When you ask in the email for an internal referral in the company whose field of interests and responsibility is relevant to your particular pitch, you get more chances to establish the connection. 

Note: Mind that a decision-maker is a person in the company that makes a purchase decision. They are mostly the CEO, CTO, CFO, or heads of departments. However, they are busy people, and reaching out to them may turn out to be ineffective. There are always positions in the company hierarchy, where C-level executives trust their responsibilities to the closest employees. 

Check out how to incorporate this approach in the following templates:

Template

       3. Face-to-Face 

This campaign type is suitable for businesses targeting local companies. Also, we use this campaign when the previous campaigns had performed poorly. To re-engage with the prospect, it is always a good idea to set up a face-to-face appointment. When reaching out with this campaign type, our goal is to discuss the potential partnership or collaboration. 

Template 

       4. Partnership

This campaign type is quite pertinent for re-engagement purposes as well. The main point here is to gain credibility from the get-go. As opposed to the sales approach of pitching the product directly, this partnership approach is a great ice-breaker allowing you to position yourself as a person seeking long-term relationships. We use a formal tone of voice addressing from a high title (CEO for example) intending to learn more about the prospect’s business goals and visions. 

Template

        5. Educational/Presentation

This campaign type differs greatly from the sales-oriented templates where the main goal is to pitch the product or service via showcasing numbers, outcomes, or any offerings. On the contrary, the educational approach is geared towards the invitation of the prospect to the presentation call with educational purpose or sharing appropriate information to showcase your strengths while learning the prospect’s pain points. 

Template

 

       6. Webinar invitation

Even if your webinar is a one-time event, it doesn’t mean that one email will be sufficient to pique the prospect’s interest. It will serve only as an invitation that can be missed out in the ocean of email inboxes. Therefore, we elaborated on a webinar invitation campaign allowing us not only to invite the prospects to the online or offline events but also to incentivize them to visit it by populating a list of attendees. 

In this sequence, we provide details about the event and the outcomes a prospect can get. Moreover, there are two scenarios of the further succession of events when we apply:

• Post-webinar follow-up with prospects who missed the webinar to establish a connection with them.
• Post-webinar follow-up with those who attended the event to proceed with potential cooperation. 

Template

       7. Re-engagement 

This campaign type is an umbrella term for various campaign types we use with the purpose to restore the connection with prospects who were unresponsive to the previous correspondence. In this case, we apply customized approaches tailored to specific niches and target audiences and adapt the sequence accordingly. 

Template

       8. User interview (Collecting feedback)

This is an out-of-the-box campaign type aka at Serrano 23 cold email networking campaign. As opposed to traditional cold outreach approaches, the networking email approach aims at asking for professional prospects’ opinions in the related niche on the specific topic. For example, if you have a platform, you can ask the prospects to share their expert feedback allowing you to proceed with the discussion about your product and your mutual cooperation. 

Furthermore, with a networking email sequence, you get the opportunity to discover your prospect’s needs and pain points. 

Serrano 23 Note: This approach allows you to naturally and smoothly promote your product or service and at the same time position your prospect in the spotlight. Instead of pushy offerings, collecting feedback demonstrates your interest and significance in your prospects’ opinions, which impacts building trust and comfort environment for further interactions. 

FAQ from our clients

How to determine the duration of the sequence?

Mostly, the duration (number of email waves and follow-ups) of the sequence depends on the ICP and the title we are targeting. Also, the data provided by the clients about their value propositions, business peculiarities, and benefits directly impacts the structure of each email wave and the semantic load. Therefore, there is no pre-determined number of touchpoints. Some use cases require more extensive argumentation and reasoning, while others can be limited to strict and brief outreach.

Additionally, the campaign type that will be selected, defines the number of waves. For example, if you need to re-establish the connection with your prospect after poorly performed previous emails, a re-engagement campaign will work great here. However, there is no need to create a full-fledged email set with 3-5 waves.

How frequently should I send my emails?

Basically, the span of emails within 2-3 days intervals is supposed to be the best frequency. The determinant factor here is the weekday. According to some studies, Tuesday is the best day to send emails, while it is good to choose Thursday for sending the second email. Also, keep in mind, your audiences and their preferences, and the niche they work in when reaching out to your prospects. 

Why is it essential to follow up?

Follow-up is the additional chance to get into the prospect’s mind and a great way to split the array of information. Why are follow-ups effective?

1. They are used as short reminders to the previous emails with detailed information. Usually, we don’t cram follow-ups with details – they are short and straight-to-the-point emails with clear CTA. 
2.  Follow-ups serve to present the information from a different perspective and supplement it. 
3. Follow-ups help structure the information by portions and prompt the prospect to take some kind of action. 

So when do we use follow-ups? When we notice that: 

• The prospect has a nice engagement and the emails are opened.
• There is no resonance with the prospect and he needs a nudge on the right track.

So long story short, always follow up!

How to choose the approach for creating an email sequence?

Once again, the industry the company operates in, ICP, and the title define what approaches we will incorporate into outreach campaigns. Also, it is important to consider the logic and psychological traits of users to select the approach that will best suit business needs. 

For example, when we target non-profit organizations, the value proposition has to differ from the trivial approaches. In regular campaign types, we demonstrate success stories and stats allowing the prospect to assess the benefits of working with us. But for NPOs, such information will be irrelevant since they are organizations that are not interested in commercial sales intents. 

For each target audience, we define a unique lever of influence.

Ready to give your emails a performance boost? 

We hope this guide was helpful. Now you know that email crafting is the whole system consisting of approaches, permanent evaluation, and research, as well as modification and personalization at each step of the lifecycle. The result of each email campaign depends on the client’s vision and how the sequence will be tailored to the target audience. Our experience shows that there is no versatile approach or tool that will meet the needs of every business; therefore, basic approaches are the ones that are supplemented with variables. If you need a tailored email sequence that drives results, let us know – our email writers will craft the templates personalized to your needs.