A 700+ Email Study (2025)

Chilly outreach emails suck. There, I stated it.

Sadly, chilly emails are additionally ubiquitous. Since I began working at a advertising and marketing company 5 years in the past, I’ve endured a each day onslaught of unasked-for emails—presents for leads, new software program demos, and web site backlinks.

Usually, I instantly delete these emails or mark them as spam. They litter my inbox, consistently clamoring to guide a demo or seize me for a fast chat. It’s annoying and the antithesis of my view of efficient advertising and marketing.

Then, initially of 2025, I considered a greater use for these chilly emails—analysis. What if I collected these emails and studied their methods? What if I may expose the lazy patterns of chilly e-mail blasting and statistically exhibit how ineffective (and aggravating) this apply is?

My methodology

I used to be remiss in having deleted all these spam emails for the final 5 years—all that juicy information misplaced. Nevertheless, I obtain such a quantity of chilly emails that it didn’t take lengthy to gather a brand new pattern of information to check. In lower than six months, I had over 700 emails to check.

My last big marketing research experiment was accomplished totally manually. It took me hours to compile and analyze one piece at a time. To deal with this quantity, I turned to a brand new useful resource: LLMs. I compiled all these emails and outsourced the evaluation to ChatGPT 4o.

I created a brand new folder in Gmail to categorize the emails. Each time a brand new chilly e-mail hit my inbox, I tagged it. ChatGPT did the remainder, with my steerage. I requested AI to jot down a customized script to construct a database from this Gmail folder. It scraped the info from every e-mail to gather sure fields:

• Ship date and time
• Topic line
• Sender’s identify and e-mail deal with
• Physique of the e-mail and phrase depend
• Variety of emails from the identical sender

Then, I labored with the LLM to construct a number of extra subjective fields like:

• Tone of the e-mail
• Service providing
• In the event that they included a hyperlink, a P.S., or a name to motion
• In the event that they talked about my identify or firm identify

My Google Sheets script mechanically scraped the folder each day and updated the database. This gave me an immediate snapshot of what the emails contained. As a result of this was accomplished mechanically and utilizing AI, I may add new information factors to reference and re-run the evaluation immediately.

The principles

These are the foundations I adopted to be as goal and truthful as attainable throughout this course of:

• Solely embody emails that come on to my e-mail
• Open each e-mail to learn the contents
• Don’t click on on any hyperlinks or reply to any emails
• No generic e-mail newsletters—solely direct gross sales emails
• No clearly rip-off emails
• Can’t submit any lead gen kinds to set off an e-mail, as a result of then it’s not chilly outreach

My objective

I’ll admit it, I’m already biased in opposition to chilly emails. So I by no means anticipated to evaluate whether or not or not they work. Knowledge reveals that chilly emails sort of work.

Research differ in outcomes: from a 30-50% response rate (uncertain) to closer to 1%. Even articles discussing tips on how to do “higher” chilly emailing admit that “No one wants to send them, no one wants to receive them.” The issue is that almost all of those research are accomplished by firms that provide chilly outreach companies. They’re measuring by sending emails, not receiving them.

At scale, you’ll get a number of responses and possibly a number of new gross sales. Nevertheless, this implies you must harass (and danger pissing off) numerous extra individuals. What number of offended potential prospects is one new buyer value?

Chilly emails have but to work on me. At finest, I ignore them. At worst, I mark them as spam after which write a whole analysis article exposing their practices.

My deeper query is what approaches do chilly outreach salespeople suppose work. We’ll name it their “worst practices” (as a result of “finest practices” is just too beneficiant). So I got down to accumulate as many chilly emails as attainable and establish conduct patterns and content material cliches.

The information

• 756 emails collected
• 180 days
• 4.3 emails per day
• 332 senders

I needed to have sufficient information to be statistically important. With ChatGPT’s enter, I made up my mind that I wanted at the very least 663 emails to succeed in a 99% confidence stage with a 5% margin of error. By gathering much more than that, we will confidently say this analysis means one thing.

You can check out the entire database your self at this hyperlink. (I’ll preserve gathering information in actual time even after this text is printed, so the numbers could change barely over time.)

8 Classes from the info

1. A number of emails greater than half the time

54% of senders reached out greater than as soon as. The typical variety of outreaches in a single thread was virtually three emails. Essentially the most emails from a single individual was 15.

A few of the frequent refrains in these fixed follow-ups included references to:

• My final/earlier e-mail (59 instances)
• My final/earlier message (37x)
• Getting in contact with another person on the firm (30x)
• Dropping into my inbox (17x)
• Not getting buried underneath different emails (16x)

They received’t take no (or a chilly shoulder) as a solution.

2. Virtually all emails are predictably “customized”

84% of emails had been customized with my identify. 45% of the emails talked about my company identify (GreenMellen) in some unspecified time in the future. There are additionally a handful of instances I’ve been known as the mistaken identify (like George) or by the identify of the individual sending the e-mail (I’m taking a look at you, Joseph Wilson).

There have been additionally loads of random mentions of my job title, tasks on our web site, or different meaningless items of knowledge from my LinkedIn profile (“Congrats on that on-line certification you earned six years in the past!”). Loads of the private particulars had been simply mistaken—like the e-mail congratulating me on my first work anniversary once I’d been on the firm for over 4.5 years.

3. Emails are usually quick, however hardly ever candy

Even (most) chilly emailers know they don’t have your consideration for lengthy. The typical phrase depend for the emails was simply over 180 phrases. The longest was 1,440 phrases; the shortest solely 18.

The automated script additionally included a rating for readability utilizing the Flesch Studying Ease rating. It’s a scale from 0-100, with the next rating being higher. The typical readability of all of the emails was 47, which Flesch ranks as “very troublesome” to learn and equates to a 10-12 grade studying stage.

I additionally fed the textual content (greater than 125,000 phrases, or the size of a protracted fiction guide) right into a phrase cloud generator to detect the most-used phrases.

4. They use complicated topic strains to behave like clickbait

Topic strains are essential to e-mail open charges. As such, chilly emails overly prefer to personalize them—35% of the topic strains included my identify.

The typical size of the e-mail topic strains was 5 phrases. The longest topic line was a whopping 40 phrases lengthy; and 22 of the emails had a topic line of solely a single phrase.

Identical to with the e-mail our bodies, I extracted all of the textual content and generated a phrase cloud.

Oh, and right here’s a listing of a few of my favourite, horrible topic strains:

• 60 minutes every day. Yours once more
• Need To Put This On Ice?
• one factor Robert
• Lets Attempt That Once more
• Robert, are you able to deal with extra gross sales?
• Extra in your quiz: What Type of Mother Are You
• GreenMellen?
• You Deserve Higher
• it’s truthfully absurd Robert

5. Their objective is to get you to reply, not click on

Solely about 37% of emails included a hyperlink. Often, that hyperlink was to guide a calendar assembly with them, nevertheless it may additionally embody examples of their work or backlinks they may promote me.

Solely 13% included a transparent name to motion, like reserving a gathering. Presumably, their principal objective is so that you can reply to the e-mail (with out them mentioning it particularly—like a type of advertising and marketing inception) to indicate curiosity. That’s how they hook you.

Talking of hyperlinks, solely 19% of the emails talked about an unsubscribe hyperlink. Technically, you’re supposed to incorporate one, however since I by no means subscribed to obtain their emails, they don’t should let me unsubscribe.

6. Over half of the emails are despatched within the morning

Greater than half (57%) of the chilly emails are despatched within the morning—between 6 am and midday. One other third (35%) was despatched within the afternoon, from midday to six pm. A small fraction was despatched exterior of that point—both the very early morning or late night. The hour with probably the most emails was 10-11 am.

This shouldn’t come as a shock. Most emails are despatched within the morning, and a good bigger share in some unspecified time in the future through the work day. Most individuals aren’t checking emails usually exterior of enterprise hours.

7. We have now totally different definitions of “worth”

As an excuse to maintain emailing me, they create many causes to observe up. In addition to the empty ones like elevating their e-mail to the highest of my inbox, there have been fairly a number of “value-driven” emails—at the very least helpful to them.

These are a number of the most typical refrains from these emails (and what number of emails every phrase was talked about in):

• A fast chat (145) on Zoom (43)
• A assure (36) of ROI (66)
• Gives a present card (26)—normally Amazon (14)
• Gives a demo (38)
• Free trial (6) with no obligation (16)
• Personalised Loom video (22)
• Some type of free obtain (11)

8. Utilizing chilly emails to promote… extra chilly emails

With so many emails, it’s simple to surprise what companies and merchandise these individuals are truly promoting. What are they pushing so arduous? Keep in mind I work for a advertising and marketing company, as a result of this actually shapes the sort of presents I’m receiving.

I did a fast examine to see how typically a few of these phrases had been talked about within the emails:

• Adverts: 149
• Leads: 141
• AI: 106
• Video: 90
• SaaS: 83
• web optimization: 66
• Partnership: 27
• Backlinks: 18
• Sponsorship: 16
• Graphic design: 8

A lot of the lead technology companies themselves are promoting extra chilly outreach. I suppose that is primarily simply individuals utilizing their very own instruments to promote the software. 41 emails particularly talked about “chilly emails” straight—speak about meta.

The opposite irony right here is that we had been typically provided companies we offer to our purchasers. There have been a handful of presents for web site growth, graphic design, and web optimization—all are companies we promote. Nothing extra tone deaf than providing to enhance the web site of a web site company.

2 The explanation why you shouldn’t ship chilly emails

Folks will nonetheless ship chilly emails—regardless of what number of articles I write or chilly emails we ignore. For a lot of causes, however primarily as a result of they’ll. There’s nothing authorized stopping them.

My principal argument in opposition to chilly emails is that it’s totally unethical. It offers advertising and marketing a nasty identify and makes even respectable channels tougher to succeed in individuals. Each chilly e-mail devalues belief in advertising and marketing—even for many who don’t apply it. But when the ethics argument labored, nobody can be sending chilly emails. We wouldn’t must have this dialog.

As a substitute, I’ll enchantment to their baser nature: outcomes. Even in case you ship the “finest” chilly e-mail, is it actually efficient once you’re enjoying in a poisonous surroundings? If I get 5 chilly emails per day, I’m not going to answer the one good one—I’m going to disregard all of them.

So please cease attempting to ship “higher” chilly outreach as a result of everybody round you is simply optimizing for scale, and rapidly degrading high quality. If you play that sport, everybody loses.

3 items of recommendation for avoiding chilly emails

Don’t have interaction

Opening, clicking, or responding is their sign that you simply’re . When you goal your self, that solely opens the floodgates much more. Your finest wager is to deal with them like hypothetical bullies—ignore them and hope they go away.

Mark them as spam

Spamming individuals is authorized, in accordance with the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act. Your finest safety in opposition to undesirable emails is your e-mail service supplier (ESP). Labeling these incoming emails as spam lets Gmail, Outlook, and so on. know that these senders are shady and undesirable, not only for you, however for others, too.

Don’t ship chilly emails your self

Right here’s the golden rule of selling—don’t take part in any advertising and marketing exercise you wouldn’t wish to be focused with your self. So, until you get pleasure from being interrupted all day with gross sales emails, then don’t inflict the identical therapy on others. What must you do as a substitute?

• Use permission-based advertising and marketing to gather contacts
• Ship out emails to a listing you’ve legitimately collected with content material individuals truly need
• Meet your target market in individual at business occasions or conferences
• Be a part of on-line communities like Reddit or Fb teams to construct a relationship first
• Create value-based content material that builds belief and curiosity with the proper individuals
• Get artistic to search out strategies different individuals aren’t already utilizing (and abusing)

The place can we go from right here?

I’ve been engaged on this text for over six months—rigorously gathering emails, observing patterns, and crafting this passionate enchantment in opposition to chilly e-mail. Who is aware of if it makes a distinction? However at the very least I’ve actual information to level to on why individuals ought to cease.

Within the meantime, I’ll most likely proceed to gather these emails. Perhaps I’ll revisit this subject once more in one other 2-3 years after I’ve collected one other few thousand examples. I do know it’ll be successful when some chilly emailer casually mentions how excited he was to learn my superior new article on chilly emails… solely to attempt to promote me extra leads I don’t need.

Within the meantime, you too can play Chilly E-mail Bingo with me.