Cold Email Personalization

Increase your email reply rate by 2x. Personalize your cold emails with relevant facts, enticing offers, and segmented calls to action.

Published on:

January 26, 2025

Last updated:

January 26, 2025

In 2025 more emails than ever are going unreplied. If you’re running your company’s demand generation or cold outreach function, you’re lucky if more than 3% of emails see a reply. Even then most replies are a cold “no thank you” or an automated response. 

To really stand out today, you need a personalized email - from subject lines, to email first sentences, to the entire body of the email, and the call-to-action at the end. In fact, according to HubSpot, personalized calls to actions alone account for 202% better performance compared to a generic CTA.

Anyways, getting a bad email is the worst. We partnered with a few experts who have run email outreach and demand-gen for some of the best companies in the world to help you out.

What is email personalization?

Email personalization is the practice of tailoring your outreach emails to individual prospects. It goes beyond simply inserting a name into the greeting and involves understanding the recipient's specific needs, challenges, and interests.

While regular email personalization might include using a person's name or referencing their company, cold email personalization takes it a step further. It requires research and customization to create a message that resonates with each prospect.

The spectrum of cold email personalization ranges from basic tactics like using names and companies to more advanced techniques such as:

  • Mentioning specific pain points or challenges the prospect faces
  • Referencing recent news or events related to their industry or company
  • Highlighting how your product or service can solve their unique problems

Effective cold email personalization demonstrates that you've taken the time to understand the prospect and their situation. It shows that you're not just blasting out a generic message to a large list, but rather reaching out with a targeted, relevant offer.

The anatomy of a personalized cold email

A personalized cold email is an email sent by someone you don’t have an existing relationship with, that’s tailored to your interests, needs, and background. Usually it will consist of…

  • Personalized subject line - A subject line that grabs the recipient's attention and is relevant to their interests
  • Addressed to your name, company, and persona
  • A punchy personalized first sentence - An opening that establishes a connection or common ground with the recipient
  • The problem statement - 
  • The proposed solution (your business) - 
  • A warmed inbox different from the main domain - 18 months ago, Google’s policy changes for mass email senders made warming up inboxes essential for better cold outreach deliverability. That means multiple domains with 2–3 inboxes each, proper email authentication (DKIM, DMARC, SPF), and gradual send-rate ramp-up over 2–3 weeks, often supported by warming services.
  • A personalized call to action - If you properly personalize the call-to-action, you can see 3x the conversions to booked demos

Unfortunately there’s no one-size-fits-all for the perfect cold email. I’ve seen a text-message length email with zero personalization convert just as well as sharp, relevant message that took an hour of social sleuthing to craft.

The benefits of personalized email outreach

Personalized email outreach offers a multitude of benefits for businesses looking to connect with their audience more effectively. By tailoring your emails to each recipient, you can significantly improve open rates, click-through rates, and overall engagement.

Increased open rates

A personalized subject line, according to an Experian study, can boost open rates by up to 26%. This means more prospects will read your pitch, understand your brand, and at the very least remember you for when they see you in the future. Remember, it takes on average 6-8 marketing touchpoints to generate a viable sales lead. 

Higher click-through and reply rates

Once your email is opened, personalized content can drive higher click-through rates and positive replies. By addressing the recipient by name, referencing their previous interactions with you, accurately describing a relevant problem, and offering a tailored pitch for your product, you create a more attractive reason to engage.

Research by Aberdeen Group shows that personalized email messages improve click-through rates by an average of 14% and conversion rates by 10%

Increased deliverability

When your emails are relevant and targeted, they are less likely to be flagged as spam, ensuring that your message reaches the intended recipient's inbox. In addition to higher open and click-through rates, email service providers will take these signals to mean your emails are valuable.

How to personalize cold email outreach? 5 strategies from experts

Overall: Segment based on pain and desire

Naufal Nugroho is head of GTM at Understory, a customer of Bardeen and also one of the leading cold outreach agencies around. He recommends going back to basics and targeting your campaigns based on persona, pain, and desire.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re reaching out to Sarah, a Head of Marketing at a mid-sized SaaS company struggling to generate inbound leads. Through LinkedIn research, you see her company just launched a new product feature. Based on this, you could write:

  • Subject line: “potential product launch roadblock” - one tactic to get higher open rates is to make it look like it comes from a colleague or client. So, all lower caps and 3 to 4 words max.
  • Intro sentence: “Hi Sarah, I saw your team just rolled out [specific feature]. That’s a big milestone—congrats!”
  • Problem statement: “Many marketing teams I work with face challenges driving awareness for new features without burning through their budgets.”
  • Proposed solution: “We’ve helped companies like [similar SaaS company] drive 20% more feature signups in 30 days with targeted campaigns. I’d love to share a quick idea for you.”
  • CTA: “Would you be open to a 5-minute video showing how we helped [similar client] do this?”

This approach ties the email to a recent event, addresses a likely challenge, and offers a relevant, low-friction solution.

Subject Line: Grab attention

The subject line is your first impression, and it needs to be strong. A compelling subject line can greatly improve your open rates and set the stage for the rest of your email.

A great subject line should include:

  • Relevance: Make it specific to the prospect's industry or recent accomplishments. This shows you've done your homework and aren't sending generic emails.
  • Curiosity: Create a sense of intrigue that makes the recipient want to learn more. This can be achieved by hinting at a potential solution or opportunity.
  • Value Proposition: Clearly convey the benefit of opening the email. This could be a potential solution to a known problem or a unique offer.
  • Personalization: Use the recipient's name or company to make the email feel tailor-made. Personal touches can significantly boost engagement.

Intro: Make a strong connection

Your email's first sentence is crucial. It's where you capture the prospect's interest and set the tone for the rest of your message. A powerful intro does the following: 

  • Personalization: Use their name, company, and mention something specific about them. This shows you've done your homework. 
  • Relevance: Connect with a recent event or achievement related to them. This can be a product launch or industry news. 
  • Empathy: Acknowledge their challenges or goals. This helps build trust and rapport from the get-go.

A few ways to do this are:

  • Ask a thought provoking question. In fact you can ditch the pitch and “poke the bear” instead.
Make a strong intro by poking the bear
  • Provide a shocking fact, particularly if it’s personalized to something you wouldn’t know unless you invested the time
  • Reference a situational event, like a conference, hiring, or funding. The important thing to do here is to be relevant. This tactic is heavily overused with empty, irrelevant remarks.

CTA and Offer: Provide value

Most cold emails don’t get this right - they ask for a meeting without earning it first. You already showed the lead you understand their problem and have a product that can solve it, the offer sets them a path.

A great offer gets the following right:

  • Value: The more you can give the better. This tactic is a bit overused these days, but an audit over Loom, a free report, a case study with a similar customer are all great ways to show value to a customer. We call it the golden carrot.
  • Friction: There’s a spectrum here from a meeting (high friction) to simply saying yes to a free offer (low). We’ve seen varying levels of success for both - it depends on situation. 
  • Urgency: If you found a true pain from the lead, urgency will be high. You can also generate urgency by introducinga limited time offer (use this sparingly) or by mentioning relevant competitors. If I’ve learned anything about sales, it’s that FOMO sells.

Can you automate cold email personalization?

Yes, you can automate cold email personalization, and doing so can maximize efficiency and effectiveness in sales outreach. By using AI tools, you can gather and analyze data to create personalized elements like subject lines, greetings, and specific content tailored to each recipient. These tools can pull relevant information from social media profiles, recent company news, or past interactions to craft emails that feel personal and engaging.

For sales and revenue operations, this strategy not only saves time but also increases the chances of engagement. Consider a sales team using AI to automate personalization for a new product launch. They can instantly tailor emails to highlight how the product addresses specific pain points identified in their research, leading to higher response rates.

Bardeen, an AI agent that lives in your browser, excels at automating these tasks without needing any code. Just type what you want to automate, and Bardeen will create a playbook to run personalized email campaigns efficiently.

Customer stories

From startups to industry leaders, high performance sales teams use Bardeen to build and close more pipeline.

This playbook saves me hours when I’m sending out emails. It usually takes me 20 minutes to get the data and format it into an email. This playbook will help me go from my LinkedIn account to drafted email in 5 minutes!
Troy Brennan
Chief of Staff at Site Marker Inc

Frequently asked cold email personalization questions

Is cold email illegal?

Cold emailing isn't illegal, but it must comply with regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act in the U.S. This means including an opt-out option, providing a physical address, and being truthful about your identity. For sales teams, understanding these rules allows for impactful outreach without legal repercussions. By using tools like Bardeen, sales and RevOps can automate proper cold outreach, ensuring every email adheres to legal standards efficiently.

Where can I find cold email templates?

You can find cold email templates through online marketing forums, email marketing tools, or by networking with other sales professionals. Many sales teams share their best-performing templates on LinkedIn, in webinars or online courses. For more efficient outreach, consider using Bardeen to automate personalization and template management.

How do you scale cold email personalization?

To scale cold email personalization, use automation tools to gather data on prospects and segment them by similar traits or needs. Use templates with customizable fields for quick personalization at scale. Incorporate AI to analyze prospect data and craft tailored messages efficiently.

What are the statistics for cold email personalization?

Personalized cold emails can lead to a 202% increase in performance when using tailored calls to action, according to HubSpot. Aberdeen Group found personalized emails improve click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%. A sales team at a mid-sized SaaS company increased feature signups by 20% in 30 days by personalizing outreach based on recent product launches. Bardeen can automate your cold email personalization process and help you unlock similar results, get started today.

What are the best tools for email personalization?

The best tools for cold email personalization include HubSpot and Bardeen. HubSpot offers amazing CRM features that help tailor emails to individual prospects by tracking interactions and segmenting audiences. Bardeen takes it further by integrating AI to automate data extraction from websites and enhance personalization. Sales teams can use Bardeen to quickly gather personalized data from LinkedIn profiles, enriching email content without extra manual effort, boosting engagement and response ra

How do you personalize an email in Gmail?

To personalize an email in Gmail, use mail merge to send tailored messages to multiple contacts simultaneously. Start by creating a spreadsheet with contact details and personalized information. Use a mail merge tool, like Google Sheets' add-ons, to draft your email template and insert placeholders for personalized content.

Jason Gong

Jason is the Head of Growth at Bardeen. As a previous YC founder and early growth hire at Kite and Affirm, he is an expert on scaling high-leverage sales, marketing, and GTM tactics across multiple channels with automation. The same type of automation Bardeen is now innovating with AI. He lives in Oakland with his family and enjoys hikes, tennis, golf, and anything that can tire out his dog Orca.

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