Cold email has remained a popular and cost-effective way for businesses to generate leads. There’s an increase in email agencies offering end-to-end email outbound. But for some reason, agencies are still stuck explaining that cold emails are different from general email marketing campaigns. 

Understanding the difference between the two makes it easier to decide which approach will work best for your business – or exactly how much time and resources you should put into using both channels as an effective method for converting prospects into paying customers.

What is cold email?

According to HubSpot, “Cold emailing is a subset of email marketing where sales reps send unsolicited emails to prospects they have no prior connection to”. 

It’s an effective way for sales reps to connect with potential customers who they might not have been able to reach – and it can take up less time and resources than having a room full of reps simply making calls. 

Ideally, sending cold emails will form a part of your outbound efforts but it shouldn’t be all you do.

What is email marketing?

Mailchimp defines email marketing in the following way: 

“Email marketing is the use of email to promote products or services, as well as incentivize customer loyalty. It is a form of marketing that can make the customers on your email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services”. 

The important thing to note is that email marketing usually includes a list of people who have signed up to receive communication from your company. 

Cold email, however, usually involves purchasing email address information to build lead lists who will receive a personalized and relevant email based on what the sender knows at the time.

Spot The Difference: Cold Email vs. Email Marketing

Some of the key differences between cold email and email marketing

Cold Email

• No prior contact with the recipient
• Unsolicited
• Initiates a new relationship

Email Marketing

• The recipient has shown interest or has signed up to receive communication from your company
• Recipient opts-in to receive emails
• Nurtures an existing relationship

What Does the Law Say?

With general email marketing, as long as the recipient has opted in and you’ve provided a simple way to unsubscribe you’ll be fine. 

While completely legal, cold email senders have to navigate aspects of the law carefully so they can remain compliant. Specific cold email laws don’t currently exist but there are two laws to keep in mind: 

1. GDPR (EU) 
2. CAN-SPAM Act (U.S.)

GDPR

If you’re emailing contacts in the EU that means you’ll have to source their information from a database (like Apollo). It also means that you’ll need a reason for processing that information. For cold email, as well as various other reasons for processing that data, that basis is called “legitimate Interests”. These “interests” are broad and refer to your own or the interests of third parties. 

However, there are a few requirements you need to follow: 

• Process only the data you need and it should be for sales purposes only. 
• Ensure the data is secure at all times. 
• Delete the data once you no longer need it.

CAN-SPAM Act 

The CAN-SPAM Act often surfaces when a discussion about cold email legality arises. However, the act refers to more than just email but commercial messages as a whole. 

This means that both cold email and general email marketing must comply with the act. 

Below are some of the requirements for compliance: 

• The origin domain name and email address of the sender must be accurate and easily identifiable. 
• Subject lines should be accurate and reflect the content of the message. 
• Your email must contain a way to opt out and you are liable to action these requests. 
• You are still liable to comply even if you hire an agency to run emails on your behalf. 

Whether you’re sending cold emails to a U.S. or EU audience, there are some legal implications you need to be aware of before launching your campaigns.

What is Cold Email Used For?

One of the most popular use cases for cold email is lead generation, but it goes beyond simply reaching out to a potential prospect to pitch your product or service. 

Cold emails can also be used for networking and building partnerships. 

At Leadbird, we’ve worked with clients who have used our expertise in cold email to send out partnership campaigns. In addition, we’ve also used cold email to connect our clients with angel investors to help them raise capital. 

Other agencies have been known to use a networking approach, such as sending an email ahead of an event to all attendees (when that information is made available) or simple networking ahead of a popular industry conference.

Is Cold Email Right for You?

Deciding whether cold email is the right strategy for your business depends on your specific goals and the nature of your industry. If you’re looking to expand your reach, connect with new prospects, or explore partnerships, cold emailing can be an effective part of your overall outbound strategy. 

When you’re considering cold email, there are a few things you should do: 

• You can test if your offer resonates via cold email using a small list of potential prospects (around 5000). You should pair this with email copy that adheres to best practices. If you receive a few good responses, cold email can likely work for you. 
• Learn everything you can about cold email. You don’t need all the intricate details, but there are some detailed and free resources available that will help you make an informed decision. 
• Partner with an agency that specializes in sending cold emails to your niche. That way, the risk is lower and there’s a higher chance that they’ll perform, i.e. deliver the leads they’ve promised you.

Common Mistakes To Avoid in Cold Emails 

1. Sending Generic Copy: One of the most common pitfalls is sending generic emails that lack personalization. Unlike email marketing, where the audience has already shown interest in your brand, cold emails need to be hyper-targeted and relevant to catch the recipient's attention. Personalization is key and can significantly increase the chances of your email being read and responded to. 
2. Failing to send a follow-up: Since the recipient isn’t familiar with your brand, it will take more than one email to solicit a response. Failing to create a robust follow-up strategy will reduce the ROI you see from cold email efforts. 

Using images/attachments: Unlike traditional marketing emails, cold emails use plain text so there shouldn’t be any fancy graphics or links in your email. This is to support the deliverability of your cold email campaigns.

What Are The Top Cold Email Tools?

There are several email sending tools available with different features that meet various needs. The important thing to remember is that not every tool is an all-in-one platform. This means that you might need a B2B database to get your leads from as well as a sending tool to schedule campaigns. 

As a Certified Smartlead Partner, we love the features Smartlead gives us as well as the ability to build our internal automations that push through to Smartlead. That’s completely changed the way we develop processes and systems in-house. 

If you’re looking for a detailed review and possibly some price comparisons, this Saleshandy article does a great deep dive into Smartlead. 

Now that we’ve outlined the definition of a cold email vs. email marketing, and explored the laws and best practices, let’s get into some reasons why cold email may not be the right fit for your business.

3 Reasons Cold Email Isn’t For You (From A Cold Email Agency)

​​Cold email can be a powerful tool in the B2B world, but it isn’t for everyone. There are specific scenarios where using cold email might not be the best approach. Let’s dive into three key reasons. 

1. You’re Selling B2C 

Cold email works best when targeting businesses, not individual consumers. The key reason is that businesses expect outreach from other businesses. It’s part of how deals are made. On the other hand, consumers are often more skeptical of unsolicited messages and see them as spam. B2C sales typically benefit more from inbound marketing strategies such as social media, SEO, or paid ads, where the buyer initiates the interaction. These methods allow for a more personal, trust-building approach, which is critical when selling directly to consumers.

If you're in a B2C market, focusing on building a brand presence and leveraging platforms where consumers actively search for products (like Google or Instagram) will often yield better results than sending cold emails.

2. Your Offer Doesn’t Have Product-Market Fit 

Cold email is highly effective for established products or services that solve a clear problem. Without product-market fit, it's difficult to communicate the value of your offer, and prospects are unlikely to convert. This means that you’ll waste resources trying to convert from cold email. 

A strong product-market fit ensures that the value proposition in your email resonates with the pain points of your audience, which would make your cold outreach far more successful.

TIP: It can be done, you’ll just have to send way more emails to see results and that could backfire. 

3. Your TAM is <1000 Accounts 

The larger your Total Addressable Market (TAM), the more opportunities you have to generate leads and conversions. If your TAM is less than 1,000 accounts, cold email may not be the right strategy. The reason is simple: with a small market, there are limited opportunities for follow-up or personalization, and you can quickly exhaust your list of potential leads. 

In cases where your TAM is small, a more targeted approach like account-based marketing (ABM) or relationship-building through networking may be more effective. These methods allow you to focus on quality rather than quantity, ensuring you’re making the most of your smaller pool of potential customers.

Understanding the differences between cold email and email marketing is essential for any company looking to maximize its outreach and conversion efforts. While both strategies fall under the broader umbrella of email marketing, they serve distinct purposes and require unique approaches. Cold emails are a powerful tool for initiating new relationships and expanding your network, while email marketing excels at nurturing existing relationships with an already engaged audience which makes it ideal for long-term customer retention. 

To achieve the best results, businesses should carefully consider their goals, resources, and target audience before choosing between these two channels.

In many cases, a combination of cold email and email marketing can provide a well-rounded strategy that covers both new lead generation and ongoing customer engagement.