50 Cold Email Statistics: Why You Need to Start Cold Mailing Today

You can reach out to literally anyone in the world through cold emails.

While this may sound simple, knowing how to optimize your cold emails is crucial as the email recipients might not even know who you are and what you do. 

This is where understanding some cold email statistics can help you ensure you don’t leave any stone unturned.

Cold emails can change lives— in fact, a single cold email changed mine. 

Why trust me? In 2022, I joined beehiiv as a writer through a cold email. (more tips from me on this at the end of the article).

Here’s the Tim Ferriss template to nail your cold emails:

Paragraph #1: “I know you are very busy and get a lot of emails so this will only take 60 seconds.”

Paragraph #2: 1 or 2 sentences about who you are and how that’s relevant to the person you’re contacting.

Paragraph #3: 1 or 2 sentences with a specific question the recipient can answer quickly.

Paragraph #4: “I totally understand if you’re too busy to reply. Even a 1-2 line response will make my day.”

To get your email opened though, don’t forget that your subject line should stand out. 20 Subject Lines That Get Emails Opened 

In the world of business communication, cold emails hold a unique position. They can either be a game-changer, helping you reach out to virtually anyone on the planet, or they can end up lost in the depths of a crowded inbox. 

The difference lies in understanding the cold email statistics.

Whether you're a seasoned pro looking to refine your approach or a newcomer eager to tap into the vast potential of cold emailing, these 50 cold email statistics will be your trusty guide. Keep reading!

Top Cold Email Statistics You Need to Know in 2024

“Hard work is no substitute for who you work with and what you work on.” - Naval

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Before you begin your cold emailing journey, knowing where you are headed and how to make the most of it can increase your chances of winning. 

Here are 11 cold email statistics for 2024 that can help: 

1. We dug deep, and found that creators who keep their subject line to 0-20 characters have a 40.17% open rate on beehiiv!

2. The average open rate for tech emails on beehiiv is 42.25%.

3. The average open rate of cold emails is 23.9%.

4. The average cold email response rate is 8.5% – Your subject line will make them open the mail, and the content will influence them to reply.

5. 75% of cold emails are opened within 1 hour of sending them.

6. Wednesday is the “best” day to send outreach emails. Saturday is the worst.

7. Cold email campaigns with longer subject lines get 24.6% higher response rates.

8. Personalized subject lines get 32.7% more replies - nobody wants to receive a cold email that doesn’t even refer to them by their name.

9. Subject lines that resonate with the recipient, result in just over a 30% higher response rate. Refer to a topic that matters to the recipient to get them to open your email, like a podcast they appeared on, or a book they talked about recently.

10. Whoever says SEO is dead, is lying – SEO-related emails get the highest response rates.

11. 80% of people prefer sales reps to contact them via email.

Cold Email Spending Statistics

Do people even invest time, money, and effort in cold emails? Here are some statistics about cold email spending: 

12. The average sales rep spends 21% of their day writing cold emails.

13. The average conversion rate for cold emails is 15%.

14. The average ROI for email marketing is $36 for every $1 spent.

15. The average cold email bounce rate is 7.5%.

16. The highest response rates of 16.5% and more come from museums, non-profit, and religious institutions.

17. 70% of outreach reps stop sending emails after not getting a response from the first email.

18. If you have a new inbox and sending address, start by sending 10-20 cold emails per day to build your domain reputation.

Cold Email ROI Statistics

I like this quote from Nike, “Your job isn't done until the job is done.” – No matter how good your email is, if it doesn’t lead to conversions, it doesn’t matter. Here are some stats on cold email ROI:

19. The best 25% of campaigns have a 20% reply rate or more.

20. Approximately 50% of cold email campaigns have a reply rate of under 10%.

21. 200-400 characters: 3.5% response rate.

22. 500-1000 characters: 7.5% response rate

23. 1400–1500 characters: 8% response rate.

Latest Cold Email Marketing Statistics for 2024

Cold emailing has been around for years, and it works. So many people are proof of it. Here are some numbers you need to know for 2024:

24. 8 out of 10 buyers prefer to be contacted by email.

25. Reaching out to 2–4 people from one company gives the highest reply rate of up to 7.8%.

26. Emailing 5 to 10 target contacts from the same organization drops the response rate from 6.1% to 2.5%.

27. In 2023, an average of 347.3 billion emails are sent and received per day.

Cold Email Marketing Effectiveness Statistics

28. Cold emails with follow-ups are 2-3 times more likely to get a response as it shows their reply matters to you and was not just another email you sent to 50 other people.

29. The average click-through rate of newsletters on beehiiv in 2023 was 3.98%

30. 8% of cold email campaigns have an open rate of 80% or more.

31. You should avoid sending more than three follow-up emails.

Marketing Institute Statistics

Here are some marketing statistics from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI): 

32. 40% of B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy.

33. 64% of the most successful B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy.

34. 33% of B2B marketers have a strategy, but it's not documented.

35. 27% of B2B marketers have no strategy whatsoever.

36. 57% of B2B marketers expect investment in social media/community building during 2023.

37. 89% of B2B content marketers use short articles/posts.

38. 75% of B2B content marketers use video.

39. 89% of content marketers publish mainly website or blog content.

40. 77% of internet users read blogs.

41. 55% of B2C marketers outsource content marketing.

Cold Email Statistics for 2024 and Beyond

Cold Emailing is not easy to crack, but once you know what works, there is no going back:

42. The average conversion rate for cold emails is 15%.

43. The 30/30/50 rule states that you should aim for a 30-50% response rate to your email campaigns.

44. The median ROI for email outreach is 122%.

45. 60% of prospects purchase an outreach campaign.

46. Nearly 25% of all emails are opened via mobile devices, so having a responsive email design can work wonders here.

Cold Email Marketing Growth Statistics

I spend most of my time on X (Twitter), and I have seen 100s of creators tweet about one thing – connecting with more people. The more people you meet, the more you grow and learn. Here are some numbers that prove the same:

47. Including numbers in subject lines increases open rates by 113%.

48. Emails with subject lines that include a question get 21% higher open rates.

49. Subject lines that have emojis result in higher open rates. 

50. The average unsubscribe rate for cold sales emails is 2.17%.

Importance of Cold Email Marketing Statistics for Long-Term Planning

Cold email statistics can help you improve your cold email marketing strategy. For example, you can use statistics to: 

• Try new content. Experiment with your cold emailing approach to understand what clicks.

• Improve your subject lines. As mentioned earlier, this is the first thing that your recipient will check out, make the most of it.

• Find the best time to send your emails. Nobody wants to receive an email at 3 AM on a Friday.

• Improve deliverability rates. Ensure you are not using spammy words that can get flagged by emailing providers.

• Ensure high reply rates. Sending out an email takes time, but making sure you reply to them is as important.

Tools and Resources for Measuring Cold Email Metrics

Here are some tools and resources for measuring cold email metrics: 

• beehiiv: A newsletter platform that allows you to design responsive emails, automate them, and segment and target your audience.

• Google Analytics: A tool that can help you track email marketing metrics. 

Metrics to Track:

• Click-through rate: The ratio of people who clicked on an embedded link in an email to the total number of people who saw the email.

• Conversion rate: The number of potential customers that have become loyal buyers after reading your emails.

• Bounce rate: The number of bounced emails divided by the number of emails sent, multiplied by 100.

• Unsubscribe rate: The percentage of people who opted out of your mailing list after an email campaign.

• Reply rate: The number of email responses divided by the number of emails delivered, multiplied by 100.

• Email ROI: A metric that helps you determine how effective your email strategy is by tracking the efficiency and profitability of one or more campaigns. 

What is the success rate of cold emails?

The average response rate for cold emails is 8.5%. However, the response rate can vary depending on factors like the industry, target audience, and email quality. A good response rate is generally between 10-15%.

What percentage of cold emails get a response?

The average response rate for cold emails is 8.5%, which means that for every 100 cold emails sent, about 8 people will respond. However, the average response rate varies widely depending on the industry and other factors. A good response rate is generally between 10-15%. 

Is cold emailing still effective?

Yes, cold emailing is one of the best ways to reach out to anybody in the world. It can take many iterations to know what works and what doesn’t, but once you crack the code, you can move mountains.

Does cold email still work in 2024?

A common misconception is the number of emails sent per day is increasing and hence cold emails in 2024 might not make it, but what truly matters is the way you write. Here are some tips for sending cold emails: 

• Turn off opt-out links and tracking.

• Make sure your email addresses are valid.

• Use your first 1,000 leads as a test.

• Never use the same email content across multiple email domains.

Final Thoughts

While statistics never lie, knowing how to play the game lies in your hands. Before sending a cold email to someone, you should know what they do, their full name, and even their time zone to make sure you reach out to them at the right time.

I have sent 250+ cold emails to date – you might send out 100 cold emails in a week and not get any replies, but that means you have to experiment more. 

Cold emailing at its core is all about building connections and that can only be done when you talk about something that matters to the recipient.

Try different approaches and see what leads to the most engagement. You will only realize the power of cold emails when you have cracked the code.

What are some other ways to optimize your emails? Use beehiiv.

Why? 

You can start for free, automate your emails, segment your audience, and even use features like boosts and referrals to make the most of it!

Try it for yourself! :)