Manually composing, sending, and tracking the success (or failure) of a cold email campaign is nearly impossible without a good tool, almost like an infinite black hole that drains your valuable time.
But don’t worry! There are hundreds of outreach tools for cold emails available to help you streamline this process and generate more leads.
In this guide, we break down the top 5 best outreach tools for cold emails and the specific features that can help you automate your email campaigns and scale leads in no time.
What Makes a Good Cold Email Outreach Tool
Automation
Automation is the name of the game. The last thing you want to be doing is writing hundreds (maybe even thousands) of outreach emails per month. This is not an efficient use of your time.
An outreach tool for cold emails definitely needs to incorporate automation of both email templates and contact aggregation.
Without these two primary features, you are wasting your precious time. The main goal is to spend less time on the outreach process itself and spend more time on growing your business!
Personalization
The key to scoring more leads is the deliverability of your cold emails. If the email never makes it to your recipient’s inbox, then your outreach efforts have failed.
To avoid the spam folder, an outreach tool for cold emails should incorporate customizable fields to personalize each outreach email sent. Make sure to also use an email verification tool to avoid bounced emails.
If you can make the automated email template sound less robotic, then you are more likely to get a response from the recipient.
With this small feature, you will make big moves with your outreach campaigns.
Analytics
It is important to understand how your cold emails are performing.
An outreach tool for cold emails must have an analytics dashboard to track the number of emails opened and what recipients have replied or unsubscribed. This information is key to determining what is working and when to send follow-up emails.
Further, A/B testing can help you discover what type of copy is outperforming the rest. Once you find a template that works, this is your golden ticket! Stick to this formula and keep on sending. The leads will surely start pouring in.
AI integration
A bonus feature for the best outreach tool for cold emails is the integration of AI technology. AI technology can help narrow in on the best possible copy to win leads.
For example, AI can target behavioral analysis factors like when to send emails based on individual prospect open rates, when to follow up with prospects, and even retarget them based on browsing behavior.
The best part is that this works without using any brain power. As always, the goal should be to work smarter, not harder.
AI technology works for you and is the perfect feature to have in an outreach tool.
Best Outreach Tools for Cold Emails
1. Reply
Reply is a sales engagement platform. It helps you automate and scale your outreach through email and LinkedIn channels.
One impressive feature of Reply is the use of AI technology. Powered by GPT-3 and Reply’s proprietary algorithm, cold email templates can be generated within seconds. The AI technology checks email text and subject line using different parameters and estimates the chances of receiving a response — in English, Reply helps you create a template that gets more positive responses.
Why is this important? Data shows that maintaining a conversational tone in your cold emails will help them to feel more familiar to the reader, making them more likely to respond. While you should still be professional, being friendly and even using humor can work to your advantage:
Another awesome feature that Reply offers is the use of A/B testing. There is no doubt that it takes at least a few tries to find an outreach email template that works. Reply’s A/B testing helps you determine what is and isn’t working and even suggests improvements along the way.
Features:
- Bulk email finder and prospect data extraction
- Verify emails by deliverability and bounce rate
- Prevent emails from going into the Spam folder
- Engage with your prospects via multiple channels
- AI email assistant to create human-like emails in seconds
2. Mailshake
Mailshake helps you fully automate your cold email outreach campaigns within minutes.
From the start, Mailshake gets you off the ground running. With proven templates that can easily be personalized with engaging words or designs, you are bound to see an improved response rate to your cold outreach emails.
A good example of Mailshake in action is this example from Scott’s Cheap Flights, a company that finds the best flight deals. It all starts with their subject line that states: “Yay! Cheap flights are headed your way.” Mailshake, like Reply, suggests potential subject lines and personalization tips on the fly.
The welcome email itself is eye-catching. On brand. Fun. Engaging and definitely creative. It reinforces to the reader that this is a company you want to check out and can trust for your next holidays.
Mailshake template suggestions help you craft emails like this that are both eye-catching and personal.
Once you have a few prospects in the door from the success of your personalized emails, Mailshake Dialer allows you to connect with leads using VOIP calls. You can easily track calls with call recording and maintain notes directly in the call window.
Mailshake also offers a full analytics dashboard to help track the performance of your outreach campaigns. You can easily monitor how many emails have been clicked, opened, or replied to. You will never be in the dark again when it comes to the performance of your cold emails!
Features:
- Validate emails before sending with List Cleaner
- Personalize emails to each recipient with a powerful mail merge
- Maximize deliverability based on replies, unsubscribes, or bounces
- Build an outreach campaign in seconds with proven email templates
- Monitor opens, clicks, and replies for every email you send
- Discover which part of your sequence is converting with Mailshake Lead Drivers
3. QuickMail
QuickMail is built with one main focus – getting your emails delivered and avoiding spam filters.
With QuickMail, you can improve your cold outreach emails for free. They offer a free Auto-Warmer plan where anyone can improve their deliverability without paying a cent.
The key to any outreach tool for cold emails is the ability to automate. QuickMail significantly reduces tedious tasks and allows for more time to focus on growing your business.
Cold emails will be an important part of your content marketing strategy. You may want to reach out to media outlets and other channels to share your content and get it in front of a bigger audience.
Given that QuickMail is free, you will have plenty of room in the budget to do just that.
Features:
- Improve your deliverability at no extra cost
- Import prospects automatically
- Send emails and follow up on autopilot
- Scale campaigns with a couple of clicks
- Integrate with the rest of your tools
4. SalesHandy
SalesHandy is another great outreach tool for cold emails. SalesHandy is superior when it comes to email outreach and email tracking, especially if your team uses Gmail or Outlook.
With mobile becoming increasingly popular, especially among millennials, it’s important that your emails are optimized for mobile. SalesHandy allows for the creation of HTML templates that are directly integrated into Gmail.
These templates can then be easily shared across your team and stored in Gmail folders. These smart email templates are a key factor for improving your engagement and the overall success of your outreach campaign.
SalesHandy also has an impressive automated follow-up system. You can schedule follow-up emails up to 9 stages with multiple trigger conditions like: “Not Opened”, “Not Replied” and “Been Sent”.
Features:
- Create and send a campaign from any email address
- Set multi-stage automated follow-ups in seconds
- Send personalized automated emails to recipients who didn’t open or respond
- Track your links and discover how many times the recipient has clicked a particular link
- Integration with Gmail and Outlook
5. Yesware
Similar to SalesHandy, Yesware is a niche outreach tool for Gmail and Outlook users. You can easily add Yesware to Gmail or Outlook in 60 seconds.
This is the perfect option for businesses using Squarespace and the Google Workspace integration.
For example, Adventure For Less, an award-winning travel blog built on Squarespace, can easily add Yesware to Gmail and initiate a cold email campaign in seconds. Seriously, that is all it takes.
Yesware also stands out from the crowd with its proprietary meeting scheduler. Once you’re set-up, just insert your meeting link into any email, template, or campaign. Recipients click your meeting link and choose an available time slot in your calendar.
Sometimes the back and forth of scheduling a discovery call or product demo can last days or even weeks. But with the help from Yesware’s meeting scheduler, you can cut this lead time into less than a day.
Features:
- Save time with ready-to-go templates that personalize in seconds
- See who opens emails, clicks links, or views attachments in real-time
- Schedule meetings without the back-and-forth using Yesware’s Meeting Scheduler
- Integration with Gmail, Outlook, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Zoom, and more
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of outreach tools for cold emails available in the market. And most of the tools are available for a free trial. You can give them a test run before committing long term.
One thing is for certain – these tools will surely save you time and help generate more leads for your business.
Time to upload your contacts, personalize your email templates, and initiate that cold email campaign today!