This post will explore why cold emails are bad for small business owners and why customer-initiated conversations are the key to successful email marketing.

What are Cold Emails?

First, let’s define what we mean by “cold emails.” Cold emails are unsolicited emails sent to individuals or businesses without prior interest in your products or services. Essentially, it’s spam.

Many small business owners use cold emails to generate leads and grow their customer base. However, this approach can do more harm than good.

Why Cold Emails are Bad for Small Business Owners

There are several reasons why cold emails are bad for small business owners. Here are a few:

Cold Emails are Ineffective

The truth is cold emails are often ignored or deleted. People are inundated with emails daily, and if they don’t recognize the sender or the subject line doesn’t catch their attention, they’re likely to delete the email without even opening it.

Cold Emails can Harm Your Reputation.

Sending unsolicited emails can harm your reputation and brand image. People are more likely to remember negative experiences than positive ones, so if you send a cold email that’s poorly written or irrelevant, people may remember you for all the wrong reasons.

Cold Emails are Inconsiderate

Cold emails can be perceived as inconsiderate or even rude. By sending an unsolicited email, you essentially say your time is more valuable than the recipient’s. This can leave a bad taste in people’s mouths and make them less likely to do business with you in the future.

If you’re interested in learning more about how cold emailing could do more harm than good, be sure to read our blog post, “The Dangers of Cold Emailing (And Why We Don’t Do It).”

Why Customer-Initiated Conversations are the Key to Successful Email Marketing

So, if cold emails are wrong, what’s the alternative? The key to successful email marketing is to focus on customer-initiated conversations. Here’s why:

Customer-Initiated Conversations Build Relationships

When customers initiate a conversation with you, they’re expressing an interest in your products or services. This is an excellent opportunity to build a relationship with them and provide value.

Customer-Initiated Conversations are More Effective

When customers initiate the conversation, they’re more likely to be engaged and interested in what you have to say. This makes them more likely to take action and become a customer.

Customer-Initiated Conversations are Considerate

When customers initiate the conversation, they’re in control of the interaction. This makes them feel respected and valued, which can help build trust and loyalty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cold emails are bad for small business owners. They’re ineffective, can harm your reputation, and can be considered inconsiderate. 

Instead, focus on building relationships through customer-initiated conversations. This approach is more effective and considerate and can help you build long-lasting customer relationships.

So next time you think about buying an email list that some spammer cold-emailed you, take a step back and consider the benefits of customer-initiated conversations. You’ll be glad you did!

Finally, don’t forget to measure your results and analyze the data from these customer-initiated conversations. This will help you identify areas for improvement and refine your email marketing strategy over time. Good luck!

Thank you for reading my post about why cold emails are bad for small business owners and why customer-initiated conversations are the key to successful email marketing. I hope this has given you some valuable insights into how to optimize your email marketing efforts. Best of luck on your journey!

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about cold emails and customer-initiated conversations:

Experience the Benefits of Customer-Initiated Conversations with BlakSheep Creative!

At BlakSheep Creative, we understand the importance of customer-initiated conversations and how they help create lasting relationships with your customers. Our team of experienced email marketing professionals will work with you to develop a custom strategy that leverages customer-initiated conversations to maximize your results.

Take advantage of our comprehensive email marketing services, including audience segmentation and targeting, content creation, list building, A/B testing, reporting, and more. With BlakSheep Creative on your side, you can be sure that you will see the best possible return on your email marketing investment.

Let’s get started today! Visit our email marketing services page to learn more about how we can help you create lasting relationships with your customers through customer-initiated conversations. Together, we will ensure that your email marketing campaigns are successful and generate the most value for your business.

Here are some reasons why here at BlakSheep Creative, we don’t employ cold emailing as a method of contact for new business.

1. You Could Be Spamming

I almost never “Unsubscribe”. If I didn’t consent to you sending me spam, I’m not giving you a break by letting you get “one for free”. If you sent me something following an interaction (like registering/etc), then I’m fine unsubscribing. But cold email? SPAM it is…

— Anthony Ferrara (@ircmaxell) December 14, 2017

When you send out a cold email, there’s always the chance that your message will be considered spam.  And we all know what people do with spam – they delete it without reading it.  So not only have you wasted your time writing the email, but you’ve also wasted time that you could have spent on finding new leads that are actually interested in what you have to say.

2. You Might Be Breaking the Law

There are laws in place that protect people from unwanted email messages.  If you’re not careful, your cold email could violate these laws and land you in hot water.  Not only would you have to deal with the legal ramifications, but you’d also likely lose any chance of doing business with the person you contacted.

3. You Could Destroy Your Reputation

Hey Marketers

Quit it with the lazy pitches.

When you contact me offering services that our team specializes in, it’s not just annoying—it’s damaging to your reputation.

Spend 5 mins doing some research before you hit send on that cold email.

— Katelyn Bourgoin (@KateBour) October 11, 2020

Your reputation is everything when you’re in business.  If you start sending out cold emails, you could quickly develop a reputation as a spammer.  Once that happens, recovering and getting people to take you seriously will be challenging.

4. You Might Waste a Lot of Time

Even if you manage to avoid all of the above pitfalls, there’s still a good chance that your cold email will be ignored.  People are bombarded with emails daily, and it’s tough to stand out from the crowd.  If you’re going to take the time to write a cold email, you might as well spend that time on something more productive.

Why?  Let’s dig in a little deeper.

It’s Ineffective

The first way that cold emailing will waste your time is that it simply doesn’t work. In most cases, people will either delete your email without reading it, or they’ll mark it as spam. Either way, you’re not getting your message across to the people who actually matter – your potential customers.

It’s Annoying

Even if your cold email isn’t considered spam, there’s a good chance it will still be annoying to the person who receives it. Remember, people are bombarded with emails daily, and most are trying to sell something. If you add to the noise, you’d better ensure that your email is worth reading. 

yes I have purchasing authority, no your cold email will not help

don’t call us, we’ll call you

— Ian Coldwater (@IanColdwater) July 12, 2022

Instead, your time could be better spent developing relationships with potential customers through other channels, such as social media or networking events. These are far more effective methods of building rapport and getting your name out there.

It’s Counterproductive

One of the main goals of any business is to build a good reputation. After all, your reputation is what will make people want to do business with you.

However, if you start sending out cold emails, you could quickly develop a reputation as a spammer. Once that happens, recovering and getting people to take you seriously will be tough. In fact, you might even find yourself on some blocklists, which will make it even harder to reach your target audience.

For example:

We get pitched offers for guest blog posts every day — dozens at a time. We’ve even gotten a few hundred in a single day. Most of them are irrelevant to our site, and many are just plain old spam.

As a result, we’ve developed a pretty strict policy when it comes to guest blog pitches. We don’t even read them. If you want to guest blog on our site, you must go through the proper channels and submit a proposal that goes through our editorial process.

And we’re not the only ones. More and more bloggers and website owners are adopting similar policies, which means that your cold email pitch is likely going straight into the trash.

True story:

Just yesterday, we got pitched some random job estimating services.  The problem is that we’re a marketing agency, not a construction company.  We get emails like this all the time, which gets annoying.

So I did what any marketer would do.  I jotted down the contact number in the email and called them incessantly until they answered. (Their number is on there, feel free to hit them up…)

“Hello, is this the job estimate software company?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Great! I’m calling because I’m interested in your product.”

“Awesome!” (Reads off their elevator pitch.)

“So, how do I sign up?

“Well, you just need to go to our website and…”

And that’s when I hung up.

Know what I did next?  That’s right!  I called them right back up.  I asked the same questions and got the same answer.  So I hung up again.

I had some downtime, so I repeated the process another 3 or 4 times.

The final time I saw they were aggravated, I pitched them on some real estate in the Bahamas.   They scoffed and asked if I was serious.

I asked them, “Oh so you don’t like unsolicited calls from strangers trying to sell you things?”

“N-no,” they said, “Of course not.”

“So why do you keep doing it to other people?”  And then I hung up.

It’s a waste of time because:

1. It’s ineffective
2. It’s annoying
3. It’s counterproductive

Don’t waste your time with cold emailing.  It’s a terrible idea, and you’re better off spending your time on more productive activities.

What about you all?  What are your thoughts on cold emailing?  Have you ever had any success with it?  Or has it been a colossal waste of time, like it has for me?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!