There are a lot of moving parts, which is why it can help to see how other people are doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that in mind, In this article, I\u2019m going to show you step-by-step how I built a campaign that generated $22,500 from just 200 emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But first… <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Little Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/01-A-Little-Background.jpg?resize=250%2C175&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAs a freelance writer, my days are filled with various tasks, with content creation at the top of the priority list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While keeping clients happy is job number one, there\u2019s always another task lurking: marketing my services to potential clients.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSince embarking on my freelance writing career in 2006, I\u2019ve experimented with every marketing strategy imaginable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social media. Cold calling. In-person networking. Cold emailing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You name it, I\u2019ve tried it (with varying degrees of success).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though the average cold email campaign gets less than a 1% response rate<\/a>, it\u2019s by far my favorite marketing strategy. Here are the two biggest reasons why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- My campaigns typically achieve a reply rate of 7 to 10 percent<\/li>
- My campaigns typically achieve a follow-up call rate of 4 to 6 percent<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
But, talk is cheap. I want to show you exactly what happened when I sent a cold email to 200 Inc. 5000 companies<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy the Inc. 5000 List?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To build a successful cold email campaign, it\u2019s critical to target the right prospects. For me, there are no better prospects than those on the Inc. 5000 list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These companies are growing fast, open to new ideas, and generally interested in learning more about innovative marketing techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, inclusion on the list gives me the perfect hook for my email (more on this below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, let\u2019s examine the three steps I took to get my outreach up and running:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Choose Target Companies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
There are 5,000 companies on the list, but I knew four things going into this step:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I only wanted to send 200 cold emails.<\/li>
- I didn\u2019t want to target companies that don\u2019t need my service.<\/li>
- I didn\u2019t want to target companies in industries I don\u2019t enjoy writing about. <\/li>
- I wanted to target as many companies close to home (Pittsburgh, PA) as possible.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
RELATED: <\/em><\/strong>Is this your customer? Proper prospecting with profile enrichment<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe first thing I did was set the industry to \u201cBusiness Products & Services\u201d and the metro\/city to \u201cPittsburgh, PA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what I got:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/YuzHXPzXsr6PE0N5o1GMHKeTdqNOAf_vNp_j-1nsL_ChJxDkRXKyYwdF0NOCqoN64FtFs5Blq0aMJQptyp5w9Slv4wxY3VxJujAAC9h0a55qalrvTRQlv30rtZnVV7nDWDOPgdjI\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhile it was a good start, I still needed another 197 companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This prompted me to remove the industry, but leave the metro area as Pittsburgh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/owgoy35fzpsyuXfrsy5KS9IRSLxaPNlGPp0cSy6FvMWNjKE0Yw_xsgZctFyQsi1yuWsnLEN2An_AXTh-APeLxifnUhmZju1MdxaBfpKLaDGLhO96abOjUyggtKKJ43VR6rkQ6YTF\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOf the 27 companies on this list, I was able to add another 17, bringing the total to 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, with 180 companies to go, I expanded the search by adding \u201cBusiness Products & Services\u201d as the industry and eliminating the location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"http:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/GZ65pkJkueuUaO9bO9vOSLQ9yQ2er63lz29TJMYQCH5GYR0LxxQfdDFcAWYjV7g_rHnbOwA4ZiPGrGq6UeByoUKSztzui0q7udGBKDUQWmxwJRuiMQLz6H-WHq4E32tPyNws0M2X\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBingo! With 492 companies on the list, I knew I could find another 180. Here\u2019s how I decided which ones to choose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Proximity to Pittsburgh, PA<\/li>
- Size of the business (for me, smaller is better)<\/li>
- Growth <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
At this point, I had my list of 200 companies. Step #1 was in the books!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Find Contact Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is by far the most time-consuming step, as it\u2019s critical to find the right person at each company, along with their email address<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere\u2019s no secret to getting things right during this step. It\u2019s all about making time in your schedule, using a few tools, and staying organized. Here\u2019s what I did (it took about four hours):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Set aside an entire afternoon for nothing but this task <\/li>
- First search method: company website <\/li>
- Second search method: LinkedIn (with the help of LeadLeaper<\/a>)<\/li>
- Third search method: Google<\/li>
- Fourth search method: Hunter<\/a> <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
I was able to find 12 contact names and emails on company websites, with the remaining breaking down as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 126 via LinkedIn, with LeadLeaper<\/li>
- 37 via Google search<\/li>
- 25 via Hunter<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Finding the right contact person is a skill that will improve over time. If you struggle with this, keep at it. As you gain more experience, you\u2019ll better understand where to spend most of your time searching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my early cold emailing days, I would have spent most of my time on Google and trying to connect on LinkedIn. However, after discovering LeadLeaper and Hunter, this all changed. Find what works for you and stick to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also use our LinkedIn Google search operator spreadsheet to find outreach targets based on company name and role. Check out the video below to see how it works, and click here<\/a> to download a copy of the spreadsheet.
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAs a freelance writer, my days are filled with various tasks, with content creation at the top of the priority list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While keeping clients happy is job number one, there\u2019s always another task lurking: marketing my services to potential clients.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since embarking on my freelance writing career in 2006, I\u2019ve experimented with every marketing strategy imaginable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Social media. Cold calling. In-person networking. Cold emailing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You name it, I\u2019ve tried it (with varying degrees of success).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though the average cold email campaign gets less than a 1% response rate<\/a>, it\u2019s by far my favorite marketing strategy. Here are the two biggest reasons why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, talk is cheap. I want to show you exactly what happened when I sent a cold email to 200 Inc. 5000 companies<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To build a successful cold email campaign, it\u2019s critical to target the right prospects. For me, there are no better prospects than those on the Inc. 5000 list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These companies are growing fast, open to new ideas, and generally interested in learning more about innovative marketing techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, inclusion on the list gives me the perfect hook for my email (more on this below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, let\u2019s examine the three steps I took to get my outreach up and running:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 5,000 companies on the list, but I knew four things going into this step:<\/p>\n\n\n\n RELATED: <\/em><\/strong>Is this your customer? Proper prospecting with profile enrichment<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first thing I did was set the industry to \u201cBusiness Products & Services\u201d and the metro\/city to \u201cPittsburgh, PA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what I got:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it was a good start, I still needed another 197 companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This prompted me to remove the industry, but leave the metro area as Pittsburgh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 27 companies on this list, I was able to add another 17, bringing the total to 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, with 180 companies to go, I expanded the search by adding \u201cBusiness Products & Services\u201d as the industry and eliminating the location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bingo! With 492 companies on the list, I knew I could find another 180. Here\u2019s how I decided which ones to choose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, I had my list of 200 companies. Step #1 was in the books!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is by far the most time-consuming step, as it\u2019s critical to find the right person at each company, along with their email address<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no secret to getting things right during this step. It\u2019s all about making time in your schedule, using a few tools, and staying organized. Here\u2019s what I did (it took about four hours):<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was able to find 12 contact names and emails on company websites, with the remaining breaking down as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding the right contact person is a skill that will improve over time. If you struggle with this, keep at it. As you gain more experience, you\u2019ll better understand where to spend most of your time searching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In my early cold emailing days, I would have spent most of my time on Google and trying to connect on LinkedIn. However, after discovering LeadLeaper and Hunter, this all changed. Find what works for you and stick to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also use our LinkedIn Google search operator spreadsheet to find outreach targets based on company name and role. Check out the video below to see how it works, and click here<\/a> to download a copy of the spreadsheet.Why the Inc. 5000 List?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Choose Target Companies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Find Contact Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n