Cold email can be a polarizing topic for many businesses. Some see it as an invasive spam tactic, while others view it as an essential tool for sales and marketing.
When done right, cold email provides a scalable way for web designers to cut through the noise, establish authority, and build direct relationships with potential new clients.
But generic blast emails full of promotions and offers will likely annoy prospects and damage your sender reputation. Mastering the art and science of effective cold email takes research, personalization, useful content, and persistence.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how web design agencies can leverage cold email to win business and stand out from the pack.
You’ll learn:
- The benefits of using cold email specifically for web design services
- Best practices for creating emails that prospects open, read, and respond to
- Templates and examples tailored to different web design client types
- Tools and strategies to optimize and scale your outreach
- Key metrics to track to continually improve your cold email performance
Let’s dive in to how cold email can become an invaluable new lead generation channel for your web design business.
Why Cold Email for Web Design?
Cold email can be an extremely effective strategy for web designers to win new business and stand out from the competition. Here are some of the key benefits of using cold email specifically for web design services:
Reach New Potential Clients Directly
One of the biggest struggles for many freelance web designers and agencies is finding enough qualified leads. Cold email allows you to go directly to your ideal target customers, even if you have no prior connection with them.
Rather than waiting for potential clients to stumble upon your website or social media, cold email enables you proactively reach out to your dream clients. Even if you have a small marketing budget, cold email can help you cast a wide net and connect with prospects that may not have found you otherwise.
According to statistics from Mailshake, cold emails have around a 40% higher open rate compared to other types of bulk email campaigns. With some optimization and personalization, you can achieve 70%+ open rates.
So if you take the time to research and compile targeted email lists of potential web design clients, cold email gives you a great channel to get your services in front of them.
Establish Authority and Thought Leadership
Beyond just promoting your services, cold emails also provide an opportunity to establish your authority on web design and position yourself as a thought leader.
Rather than always blasting promotions or offers, aim to provide value to prospects first through your cold emails. Share links to helpful blog posts you’ve written, guides and ebooks, case studies, or other educational content related to web design.
This allows you to demonstrate expertise and builds trust with recipients, making them more inclined to hire you or refer you to others. According to research by Demand Metric, 60% of B2B buyers are more likely to consider a vendor that provides custom content.
Positioning yourself as an authority who provides value rather than as a salesperson is crucial for cold email success.
Cost Effective Outreach
Paid advertising through platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram can be extremely expensive, costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars to acquire a single new client in competitive sectors like web design.
Cold email provides a much more cost effective way to generate new business.
The only real investment is your time researching prospects and crafting emails. Effective cold email outreach can drive results at a fraction of the cost of paid ads.
And many email marketing and automation tools like MailChimp, Woodpecker, and Mixmax offer free plans that support basic cold email features. So beyond your time, cold email can require minimal financial investment.
Stand Out From Your Competition
The web design industry is highly competitive in most major cities and regions. When potential clients put out RFPs or start searching for web design services, they are often inundated with proposals and bids.
Rather than relying solely on RFPs or other inbound leads where you directly compete on price and deliverables, cold email provides a way to proactively stand out from the pack.
With personalized outreach that highlights your unique expertise, style, and successes, cold email enables you to differentiate yourself and build relationships that go beyond just responding to RFPs.
According to research by SuperOffice, email has 4x higher ROI than social media. That’s why even just a small amount of cold email outreach each week can pay dividends compared to other marketing tactics.
Creating Effective Cold Emails for Web Design
Crafting cold emails that get opened, read, and generate responses is both an art and a science. Follow these best practices to create effective cold emails for your web design business:
Research Your Prospects
The first step is doing research on your prospects to enable personalization. Here are some tips:
- Identify the decision maker: Make sure you’re emailing someone that can actually hire you, rather than a lower level employee. Use tools like LinkedIn to find founders, marketing directors, etc.
- Look for pain points: Study their current website and online presence to spot issues, tech stack limitations, aesthetic challenges, etc. that you can provide solutions for.
- Note recent news/events: Check their social media and news mentions for any launches, rebrands, new products that provide hooks to personalize your outreach.
- Review their competition: Analyze sites of competitors in their space to identify what their site is missing in terms of features, design, conversions.
- Qualify interest/budget: Use tools like BuiltWith to get a sense of their technical abilities and estimate project size/budget.
Personalization is key – the more you can tailor your email to each prospect’s needs, the better chance it gets opened and read.
Craft a Personalized Subject Line
With tons of cold emails flooding their inbox, the subject line is your first chance to grab your prospect’s attention.
- Use first name – Starting the subject with their first name personalizes it from the get-go.
- Highlight value – Convey what’s in it for them – avoid self-promotional language.
- Urgency – Implied scarcity or urgency can boost open rates. But don’t overdo it.
- Relevance – Include keywords or their company name to signal the email relates directly to them.
Some examples:
- Hey [First Name], Your Website Needs This Design Trick
- [Company] is Missing Out on 30% More Traffic
- We Rank #1 for [City] Web Design – Let’s Talk
Highlight Your Expertise
Don’t immediately jump into a sales pitch. Take a soft-sell approach that highlights your expertise and establishes trust.
- Show don’t tell – Provide links to case studies, client testimonials, examples of work, etc. that demonstrate expertise.
- Share insights – Provide actionable tips, industry analysis, or informational content that provides value.
- Social proof – Mention big brand clients, testimonials, press mentions, awards to build authority
- Be specific – Note expertise in areas relevant to their business – ecommerce, custom CMS, mobile optimization, etc.
Provide Value to Build Trust
Avoid coming across as a stereotypical salesperson. Offer free value to prospects to build a relationship.
- Give advice – Provide honest feedback on their site, suggestions for improvements, rankings compared to competitors.
- Send resources – Link to a relevant blog post, guide, or other content asset.
- Extend an invite – Offer something free of value like a webinar, audit, ebook, or consultation.
- Be helpful – If there are ways you can provide value or assistance without them hiring you, do it to build goodwill.
Make a Clear Call-to-Action
After establishing value and expertise, include a clear CTA at the end of the email:
- Soft CTA – A simple next step like requesting a follow up call or meeting.
- Time constraint – “I have 2 appointment times left on Tuesday at 3pm and 4pm.”
- Offer deadline – “I’m offering free audits this week only.”
- Question – “Are you open to discussing a site redesign project in Q2 this year?”
Make it easy for them to say yes or take the next step.
Follow Up Promptly
If you don’t receive a response in a few days, follow up. But politely.
- Don’t overdo it – Generally, don’t follow up more than 2-3 times without a response.
- Add value – The follow up should offer something new of value, not just resend the same exact email.
- Offer alternative – Such as a phone call or meeting rather than email if they prefer.
- Consider timing – Take holidays and typical vacation periods into account when following up.
Following up shows persistence and commitment to helping them. But don’t stalk!
Cold Email Templates and Examples
When crafting cold emails, it helps to have templates tailored to different types of prospects. Here are templates and examples to use when cold emailing some common web design client types:
Template for Small Business Owners
Subject: Hey [First Name], Your Website Needs This Design Trick
Hi [First Name],
I was browsing for local businesses in [City] and came across your site for [Company]. I love supporting local businesses like yours and think you have a great product/service!
As a web designer focused on helping small businesses generate more leads and sales online, I noticed a few ways your site could be improved.
Specifically, your homepage is missing strong visuals and “proof elements” – testimonials, customer photos, awards, etc – that builds trust and credibility with visitors.
Here’s an example from a recent client I helped: [link to case study]
Would you be open to a quick 20 minute call to discuss how we could optimize your site to get more leads and sales? I have some availability this Thursday at 2pm or Friday at 11am.
Either way, keep up the awesome work! Love seeing successful local businesses like yours.
Best,
[Your name]
[Web design company]
Why It Works
- Shows personalized research into their business
- Highlights specific ways to improve their website
- Provides a case study demonstrating expertise
- Soft CTA with specific time slots rather than a generic call request
Template for Startups
Subject: Quick question about your site’s tech stack
[First Name],
My name is [Your Name] and I work with a lot of startups in [City] on optimizing their websites for rapid growth.
I noticed you recently launched [startup name] and was impressed by your overall site design and messaging! Very clean look and love the illustrations.
Out of curiosity, what technology did you build the site on? Our team specializes in taking early-stage startups built on [Shopify, Wix, WordPress] to the next level for scale and speed.
For example, we helped [startup name] go from 20k to 200k monthly visitors in under a year by migrating them from [Wix] to a custom [HTML/CSS] codebase. Happy to chat more if you’re looking to take [your startup name] to the next stage.
Either way, best of luck with the new business! Excited to see where you take it.
Cheers,
[Your name]
[Web design company]
Why It Works
- Research into their new startup shows personalized effort
- Asking about their tech stack gets them thinking about site improvements
- Provides social proof and case study of rapidly growing startup
- Positions your expertise in scaling sites as key benefit
Template for Agencies
Subject: Our Web Design Process Gets Results for Agencies
Hey [First Name],
I came across [Agency Name] while researching top design agencies in [City]. Impressive list of clients you’ve worked with!
Our web design firm [Your Company] has partnered with over 100+ agencies to design and build custom sites for their clients.
We follow a proven design process that gets results:
- Strategy call to align on goals
- User research and persona development
- Sitemap and content planning
- High-conversion page design
- Development using latest best practices
- Page speed optimization
This process helped us help [Agency Name] deliver a site that increased leads by 46% year-over-year for their client.
Would you be open to discussing how we could collaborate on upcoming client projects? I have availability to chat on [Date] or [Date].
Looking forward!
[Your Name]
[Your Company]
Why It Works
- Shows you understand they are an agency rather than an end client
- Quickly communicates your specialized process for agencies
- Provides case study of results delivered for an agency
- Focuses on collaborating versus trying to sell to them
Template for Enterprise Companies
Subject: Website Performance Opportunities for [Company]
Hi [First Name],
I hope you’re doing well. This is [Your Name] with [Agency Name], a web design firm that has worked with Fortune 500 companies like [Company, Company, Company].
I was recently on [Company’s] website and noticed a few ways it could be improved to deliver a faster, more user-friendly experience:
- Page load times are averaging 6+ seconds on mobile – this leads to high bounce rates
- Some images are not properly compressed – slowing down load times
- Form clickthrough rates could be improved by simplifying fields
We specialize in performance optimizations for enterprise websites. For [Company], we [helped improve mobile speeds by 41% in just 3 months].
I welcome the opportunity to have a quick call and discuss how we could help optimize [Your Company’s] website performance. Are you available on [Date] or [Date]?
Best,
[Your Name]
[Agency Name]
Why It Works
- Demonstrates expertise working with other major enterprises
- Provides specific feedback on exactly how their site can improve
- Gives a case study example of results for an enterprise company
- Focuses on performance vs. visual design as the value prop
Tools and Strategies to Improve Cold Emailing
Beyond writing effective cold email copy, leveraging the right tools and strategies can further optimize your outreach and improve results for your web design business.
Email Tracking and Analytics
Email tracking and analytics tools are essential to measure and improve the performance of your cold email campaigns. Here are some key features to look for:
- Open tracking – See who opened your email vs just receiving it.
- Link click tracking – Track clicks on links and CTAs in your emails.
- Email analytics – Conversion rates, open rates over time, top performing subject lines.
- Unsubscribe monitoring – Be notified if someone opts out to avoid further contacting.
Popular email tracking tools include Mixmax, YesWare, Cirrus Insight, and Mailtrack. Most integrate directly into your email provider.
Tracking email performance enables you to continually refine subject lines, content, timing, follow-ups, and more. It transforms cold email into a data-driven channel.
Email Automation and Sequencing
Automation and sequencing tools are game changers for cold email productivity. They allow you to:
- Instantly personalize and send emails from a template
- Schedule emails to be sent at optimal times
- Set up follow-up sequences when people don’t respond
- See who replied and automatically remove them from sequences
This saves huge amounts of time compared to manual cold email. It also enables more thoughtful nurturing of leads over time.
Top tools to explore are Mystrika, Mailshake, Mailchimp, Outreach, and Woodpecker. Most integrate with your email provider and tracking tools.
Lead Enrichment and Verification
Researching and enriching data on prospects before emailing them enables greater personalization. Useful data to collect:
- Job title/role – Confirm you’re emailing a relevant decision maker
- Email accuracy – Verify the email before sending to avoid bouncing
- Company data – Funding, revenue, executives, trends
- Social profiles – For additional context and personalization hooks
Lead enrichment tools like Clearbit, RocketReach, and Hunter help automate prospect research at scale.
A/B Testing Subject Lines and Content
Try different versions of your cold emails to determine what works best. Tools like Mystrika make it easy to A/B test:
- Subject line testing – Test different subject line lengths, types of value propositions, urgency, etc.
- Content testing – Test different offers, value propositions, or calls to action in your content.
- Timing tests – See if certain days/times get higher open and reply rates.
- Segment testing – Test different approaches for various prospect categories.
Try to isolate variables so you can pinpoint what copy and strategies work best over time.
List Growth and Verification
Expanding your lists of target prospects is crucial to scale cold email efforts. Strategies like:
- Web scraping – Scrape relevant sites for business email addresses
- List acquisition – Buy targeted email lists in your space
- List exchange – Swap smaller lists with other designers
- Events – Network and collect business cards
- Customer referrals – Get intros from happy clients
List growth tools like Mystrika, Hunter, and Clearbit Fetch can automate finding relevant prospects at scale.
And always verify emails before sending to keep your sender reputation intact!
Measuring the Results of Your Cold Email Campaign
To continually improve your cold emailing strategy, it’s essential to track key performance indicators (KPIs) that indicate how well it is working. Here are the main metrics to measure:
Open and Response Rates
The most basic metrics to track are open and response rates.
- Open rate – Percentage of people who opened your email. Industry average is around 20-25%.
- Response rate – Percentage who replied or clicked your CTA. Average is 3-5%.
Benchmark to industry averages to assess how compelling your subject lines and content are. The higher above average, the better.
Segment by prospect type, offer, subject line, etc. to identify what works. Use email tracking software to easily collect this data.
Qualified Leads Generated
Pay attention to the quality, not just quantity, of leads:
- Website traffic – Did your emails drive traffic to your site for further research?
- Lead score – Grade leads based on engagement, profile, etc.
- MQLs – Number of marketing qualified leads with sales potential.
- Sales accepted – Leads sales deems viable prospects to prioritize.
The goal is generating promising leads, not just sterile metrics like opens or replies.
Opportunities and Revenue Pipeline Created
Most importantly, focus on the real business opportunities produced:
- Meetings booked – Initial calls/meetings to present services.
- Proposals sent – Formal proposals to prospects.
- Price quotes – Specific quotes provided based on project scope.
- Opportunity size – Potential deal size or budget if secured.
- Sales pipeline – Total value of potential deals in progress.
Activity metrics are vanity. Pipeline and revenue metrics tell the real story.
Client Retention and Repeat Business
Beyond new business, track how cold email translates into retained revenue:
- Clients won – New clients secured via cold outreach.
- Project revenue – Revenue from projects originating from cold email.
- Retention rate – Percentage of clients retained for additional projects.
- Lifetime value – Total revenue per client over time.
- Upsells/expansions – Additional projects with existing clients.
Cold email shouldn’t just drive new leads – it should produce high-value, long-term clients as well.
Analyze these metrics regularly to tune your cold email strategy. Proper measurement provides accountability and room for optimization.
Key Takeaways
Here are the major lessons for successfully using cold email to win more web design clients:
- Cold email puts you in front of qualified prospects who otherwise may not find you. Don’t wait for inbound leads – go direct to your dream clients.
- Personalize every aspect of your emails – from subject line to content – based on research on each prospect’s needs and interests.
- Establish expertise and credibility by providing value like helpful advice and resources rather than pitching too hard.
- Write clear calls-to-action that make it easy for prospects to take the next step like booking a meeting or call with you.
- Track open rates, response rates, and other email metrics to continually optimize your outreach strategy and copy.
- Expand your prospect lists across your target customer profiles to have a larger pool to engage.
- Follow up promptly with non-responders, but avoid being overly aggressive or annoying.
- Prioritize qualified leads and track pipeline created to focus on real business opportunities, not just vanity metrics.
With a strategic, multi-channel approach, cold email can become one of your most effective tactics for winning new web design clients and growing your business.