A million-dollar question that many people ask themselves about their cold mailing campaigns: is “how long should a cold email be?” There is no exact answer to this question, but most marketers agree that your cold email should be long enough to impart the main message but short enough that it encourages your prospect to read the email and take specific action.
Even though you may be writing engaging emails, you also need to be careful about how much text or content you include in a single correspondence. That means determining the right cold email length is crucial.
In this guide, we will help you find the best length for your cold email.
Why Does the Length of a Cold Email Matter?
There is no one-size-fits-all length for cold emails – but every single cold email has an ideal length. The right email length can be the difference between a high click-through rate, products sold, and appointments scheduled, or poor performance that results in thousands of marketing dollars wasted.
When it comes to the length of your cold email, just consider it this way. The longer your message, the more time your reader will have to spend reading it.
Of course, a great subject line will help improve your email open rate; however, if the reader is then greeted with a huge block of unbroken text, it is not likely that they will read through the whole thing and take the action that you need.
In the worst case scenario, they might mark you as spam, which will land you in the junk folder, and in the process, contribute towards damaging your sender's reputation.
That is why you need to carefully consider the length of your emails. Keeping emails short and to the point is a great approach when writing cold emails. This shows you respect your prospect’s time. To learn more about writing the perfect email, we have written an article on this.
The Perfect Length of a Cold Email
People these days are so busy that only 24% of sales emails are being opened by them. It is important for marketers to make the most of the emailing opportunity they have and deliver their message in the best way possible.
There is no straightforward answer to the perfect email length. However, some studies show what length of emails gives the best results.
According to a study by Bloomberg, the emails that perform the best are anywhere between 50 and 125 words. With that length, the click-through rate is more than 50%. Similarly, a study conducted by Constant Contact reveals the best-performing emails were no more than 20 lines long (approximately about 200 words). Emails within length had the highest click-through rate.
If you consider both the Bloomberg and Constant Contact studies, your email should be between 50 and 200 words.
When to Make Your Emails Short
People’s attention span is decreasing more and more every day and they are increasingly opting to communicate via small screen devices.
When you keep your emails short, it means you value your prospect’s attention and time. Since the message is short, it also means that the prospect will not be too bothered by reading it.
Short messages, however, need to be to the point and should have all the pain points necessary to grab the reader’s attention. They also work better when you redirect the prospect to learn more about you. This means adding a link that leads them to more details.
Readers today have an 8-second attention span, so make sure your email is short and engaging enough to grab their attention in that short amount of time. Keep in mind that the email should contain credible information, a clear pitch, and an obvious CTA.
Short emails are more readily opened and reviewed since they do not take up much time, are easier to read, and are mobile-friendly.
Long and winding emails have a higher probability of remaining unread.
Don’t Make Your Emails Too Short
Short and direct emails have the best chance of resonating with readers and getting a response. However, make sure that your emails are not too short.
According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound report, emails that were 10 words or shorter only got a response 36% of the time.
The trick is to strike a balance, and the only way you can determine how long your cold emails need to be is to perform split tests in real conditions. Keep in mind that your offerings and your prospects are not the same that have been used in various studies, so it is a good idea to keep experimenting with the length of your email.
When Should You Increase the Length Of Your Email?
The answer to this lies in the specific content of your cold email. If a prospect is reading information that holds special interest to them, like reading about themselves or a specific pain point, they will be willing to read longer emails – in some cases, emails that are more than 400 words long.
If your prospect already recognizes your brand, you can use short emails. However, in most cases of cold emailing, your prospect will not have much information about you.
In this case, you should keep your subject line short and engaging, but have a slightly longer email that will have enough information to cover all the pain points.
Giving the right amount of details is important when you want more engagement and conversation through your emails. To convince your prospects to fulfill a desired action, you will need to provide more details about yourself to appear more authentic.
A successful cold email campaign is less about how much information you can deliver in a single piece of correspondence and more about how you present the information. It is about delivering your message in a clear and succinct way that grabs the prospect’s attention and prompts them to take action.
If you need help with your cold emailing campaign, Emelia can help you out. We offer customized solutions and state-of-the-art features for cold emails at the best price that can make your cold mailing campaign a success.