A small company wants new customers and decides to write to businesses it has never dealt with. The first email runs to twelve lines. It describes the company's history, lists every service and ends with "let us know if you are interested". The reader sees a wall of text from a stranger and deletes it.
A first email to someone you do not know has one job: to get a short reply. It does not need to sell anything. This article describes a simple way to write it and a rule for when to stop.
Decide who to write to
A message to info@ or a contact form usually lands with someone who has no reason to pass it on. Spend ten minutes finding a person instead.
- Look at the company's website, its public profiles and any announcements for the person who looks after the area you can help with. In a small business that is often the owner or manager.
- Write to one person. Copying three people makes each of them assume another one will answer.
- If you cannot find a name, write to the general address, but ask by name for the right person: "Could you point me to whoever looks after your orders?"
Keep to business addresses and to what the person has published themselves. Check the rules that apply to unsolicited business email where you and the recipient are located, and always include an easy way to say no.
Why you, why them: the three lines
Three short lines are enough.
- Why them. One specific fact that shows you looked, for example "I saw you opened a second shop this spring." A generic compliment does not count.
- What you offer. One sentence about the result you can give, not a list of services. "We help small shops cut the time spent answering the same delivery questions" is better than "we offer a full range of digital solutions".
- One easy next step. A question that takes ten seconds to answer, such as "Would a 15-minute call next week be useful?"
An example:
Subject: Delivery questions at your new shop
Hello Marta, I saw you opened a second shop this spring. We help small shops answer repeated delivery questions faster, without hiring anyone. Would a 15-minute call next week be useful, or should I send two examples first?
The subject line and the sender
The subject line should say what the message is about in plain words. Avoid capital letters, promises and the word "opportunity". A subject that mentions something specific to the reader's business is read more often than a general one.
Send it from a real person's address with a normal signature: name, company, website and a phone number. A message from "noreply" or from a mailbox with no name looks like a mass mailing.
Ask for a small step
People rarely agree to buy from a stranger in the first reply, but many will agree to a short call or to look at one example. Offer a choice between two small steps. That makes a reply easier than a simple yes or no, and it keeps the conversation going even if the answer is "not now".
Do not attach brochures or price lists to a first message. Attachments from unknown senders are often not opened, and they turn a short question into a decision.
One follow-up, then stop
Most people do not answer a first email, and the reason is usually that they were busy rather than that they said no. One follow-up is reasonable.
- Send it after about a week, as a reply to your first message so that the context is visible.
- Keep it to two lines. Add one small new piece of information, such as a short example, instead of repeating the question.
- If there is no answer, stop. A third or fourth message does not help and may damage how the company is seen.
If the person says no, thank them in one line and note it. If they ask not to be contacted again, do not write again. For follow-up after a quote the rules are different, because the customer has asked for something; see quoting and follow-up routine for a small sales team.
Keep a simple record
A shared sheet with five columns is enough: company, person, date of first email, date of follow-up and result. It prevents two colleagues writing to the same business and it shows after a month which kind of message worked. Agree who owns the sheet and how fast incoming replies are answered, in the same way as for other shared mailboxes; see company email and shared calendar rules for a small team.
What to avoid
- Starting with the history of your company.
- Listing every service in the first message.
- Writing to ten people at one business at the same time.
- Pretending you know the recipient or that they asked to hear from you.
- Sending the same text to hundreds of addresses with only the name changed.
- Following up more than once.
When a routine helps
Once the three lines work, the research and the record keeping are what takes time. A simple setup that stores the contact, the date of the first message and a reminder for the follow-up can save that effort. This is the kind of small marketing systems work that can be built once and kept simple.
A simple start
- Pick five businesses and find one named person at each.
- Write the three lines for each, using one real fact per business.
- Ask for one small step, such as a 15-minute call.
- Send one follow-up after a week and then stop.
- Record the result in a shared sheet and review it after a month.
Sources
- This article describes a working routine and makes no statistical claims. The related WVI articles linked above cover quote follow-up and shared email rules.