Consider this the marketing version of the red pill and blue pill concept. You are given two pills.

  • You have to give a 30-second impromptu speech to your prospect

  • You already have an audience, and you want to build a marketing connection with them

Which one do you think is more profitable? Which one would you choose?

It’s a tough question – these two are completely different concepts that most people fail to realize. If you ask me what cold emailing is, it’s simply introducing yourself to someone who knows nothing about you, is learning about you for the first time, and somehow relates to your work. 

In the language of marketing, you are the unknown person, a blessing in disguise, to your prospect, and you will try your best to pitch your solutions to their problems while talking about yourselves a bit.

Oh, and that’s not necessary. Sometimes, you can just shoot a hi. Just be interesting enough to keep them hooked. If you wanna know how, read our guide on how to write killer subject lines with the highest opening rates.

Email marketing is entirely different from this. You are not new; people already know you and are interested in you. They subscribed to your website or newsletter and want to hear more about your services. Here is what you can do to get ahead of the game:

It plays the long game – to keep the audience close enough that they can tell a few. 

So which one is preferable to you now? 

This guide will help you figure this out, while we explain the concept of Email Marking vs Cold Emailing, and ways you can stand out in the crowd. 

More about Cold Emailing

Do you see the word play here? It came from the concept of an ice-breaking session, where you don’t know the person, but the interactors are related through work or any other form. This is exactly what Cold Emailing is. 

It is a direct approach to introduce yourself … to people who never asked you to introduce yourself. This message lands in a busy inbox, where people might not be interested in you at all. 

The prime motive is to get noticed and be relevant in seconds. We've discussed this at length in this article of ours.

For the B2B sales team, there is a compact list of potential clients and a carefully crafted message for each of the prospects, targeting their goals and problems. 

The best of the campaigns might see 1% to 5% reply rates depending on the industry and the approach. It helps to bond and start a business relationship that didn’t exist in the first place, and offer meetings to seal the deal in the final stage. 

A good campaign may use data-driven resources, an intent list of emails, and a killer copy that the prospect couldn’t resist.

The open rate and success ratio are sensitive, which means every detail counts. You just need to be careful about the choice of words so that it doesn’t end up in the spam box – or worse, in the blocklist.

All about Email Marketing

Have you ever visited a website and it was so interesting that you wanted to hear about it more? Then, the golden option pops up:

“Wanna hear more about us?

[Type your email address here]”

And you are now one of the members of their targeted audience.

This is what Email Marketing is. Here, you already know who you are talking to. These are the people who are willing to know more about your services and your business. The best part? They are willing to be a part of it.

As easy as it sounds, it might just be a long-term business plan – yet the hardest one yet. One wrong choice of word and they might lose interest. Way too many emails? Spammy. Way too few emails? You have nothing better to offer. 

Marketing emails, SaaS companies, etc, use these types of marketing to let their audience know more about their services. If you ask me, this one is a fantastic way to build a connection with your prospects. 

That’s because this involves the people who are already interested in you. Companies update the audience on the new features of the products, new product launches, discounts, or anything of that sort in the audience’s inbox. 

The open rates are higher, and that leads to higher buying rates. With the right steps and strategy, this is the perfect way to scale up your business.

Cold Emailing vs. Email Marketing: The Prime Differences

These two might get the same work done, but the primary difference is what changes the game. Here, we will break down how each of the steps shapes the different outcomes and how you can make it work in your favor.

The Approach

Cold emailing means you are meeting new people who, in the future, might be your clients. But the catch is, you are not emailing random people you like. 

There is a well-crafted list.

Now, how do we do that? We study potential buyers, people who are interested in similar businesses and buy from them. Or, people and companies who are facing some kind of problems, and you might offer them a solution for that. 

This part is known as ‘Lead Generation’. There’s a whole new chapter on that; we’ll discuss it in our next article.

The message is sent to the target audience, crafted according to their personal details, in various forms. It could be building rapport or could start with a basic question. 

Whatever you think can work in that business is a strategy you must implement. One wrong move and you’re out forever in the spam box.

Email Marketing doesn’t need a specific list of potential clients. These are people who willingly subscribed to know more about your company. Suppose you own a clothing line and you got 10 new subscribers on your newsletter. Whenever someone subscribes, you can:

  • Give them a subscriber’s discount

  • Send them exclusive discounts

  • Send them new features every other week

  • Send them updates on the new launch

See the pattern? This starts with a warm welcome and slowly transforms you into a loyal customer with perks. A good campaign is measured by good strategies and those lie in interactive activities, forms, specified discounts, etc. 

The Inside Talks

Here’s an example of a cold email:

“Subject: Are you the right person?

Hello [Name],

Just wanted to drop by and see if you’re the right person to discuss [issue] with.

[Proof of a post or anything that the company has done which is related to the issue]

I love to discuss these with businesses and pick their brains for successful revenue buildups. Do

you think you can spare a few minutes to discuss [issues] with me?

Let me know if you’re available on [date/time]. Would love to learn a thing or two.

Cheers,

[Your Name]”

As the pattern suggests, it could be introductory, it could be a question, anything you want, based on the person you’re sending this to. 

Also, this won’t be automated as every prospect needs their unique approach. But it should be something that grabs their attention. You will be given only a few seconds for this. 

Email marketing is entirely different from this. No introduction, just shoot your texts to your beloved audience. Let’s say I subscribed to Apple’s newsletter. Here’s what came in the mail the other day –

“Only at Apple: Save on iPad, Mac, AirPods, or other accessories.”

Here, it is about storytelling and selling. You can use interactive animations (like Apple does) and any creative attachments to grab attention. You are free here to do anything to grab that focus, but remember to stick to relevant topics so as not to make your followers lose interest. 

When should you choose Cold Emailing? Or, when to use Email Marketing?

I’ll make this short and easy for you.

Want new prospects? Cold Emails.

Want to enter a new market? Reach out to new accounts – Cold Emailing.

Desperate for fresh leads? Cold Emails.

Want to make new relations? You know the answer.

Or,

Want to upscale your business? Reach out to interested people – Email Marketing.

Sending product updates and features? Email Marketing.

Missing your audience? Keep in touch with them and engage them in various activities –Email Marketing.

Want to deepen that relationship? You have the answer.

Key Takeaways

Cold emailing is stepping out of your comfort zone and creating new bonds to upscale the potential. While it is an important part of marketing, be careful to be on the right side of the law and not get reported as spam every now and then.

Email Marketing helps to deepen that newly found bond. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to creating successful campaigns in this. 

You've got to tally the leads, string words together depending on what your readers want, and schedule the messages to be sent during peak hours. Don't forget to use necessary tools after you monitor your results to optimize the campaign better.