How Long Should a Cold Email Be? Expert Tips for Higher Open Rates

Dan Mowinski

Sep 30, 2024

9 minutes read

20 to 50 words is the ideal length for a cold email.

There’s your rule of thumb. The fuller answer—with sincere apologies for being so unoriginal—is that it depends. 

Specifically, it depends on who you’re writing to, why you’re writing to them, and where they stand in your funnel, for example if you’re sending follow-up or you’ve connected on social. 

What’s The Ideal Length for a Cold Email?

Spend some time digesting the various studies into the ideal cold email length, and there’s a good chance you’ll leave with a headache. 

There’s a lot of conflicting data and an equal amount of nuance. Ideal length is significantly influenced by the type of email you’re sending—a cold follow-up versus a newsletter broadcast, for example—and it’s easy to misapply information. 

Let’s explore some of that detail and break down the data. 

Ideal Cold Email Length: What Does the Email Actually Say? 

One of the most cited studies on optimal email length was conducted by Boomerang in 2016. It found that emails between 50 and 125 words have the highest response rate. However, Boomerang doesn’t slice this data down into specifics, and it’s not clear whether responses were from warm subscribers, cold prospects, or even internal emails. 

Another oft-cited study by Constant Connect states that “emails with three or fewer images and approximately 20 lines of text (150 to 200 words words) result in the highest click-through rates from email subscribers.” Note the word subscribers. They’re not talking about cold leads. 

More recent data from Lavender—which does focus on cold email—paints a different picture. It puts the ideal length between 25 and 50 words for initial cold emails. Hunter, which conducted its own study, suggests between 20 and 39 words. 

Data published by Gong suggests that the ideal length of follow-up email is higher, at 30 to 150 words. But, again, there’s a lack of clarity. It’s not clear if the follow-up emails tested were in response to a request for further information from a previous cold email that didn’t receive a reply. 

Based on insights from our own campaigns at Artisan, we recommend that cold follow-up emails should be of a similar length to your first email. The important thing to remember is to reiterate key information, as prospects may not want to trawl through a thread.

If you’ve already got a recipient’s attention and are sending a follow-up to a request for more information, emails can, of course, be longer. No more than 150 words is a good benchmark. 

How to Determine the Right Length for Your Audience

Different audiences require different approaches, and the only way of knowing what’s right for your cold leads with 100% accuracy is testing. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. However, it’s useful to have some general rules. 

Remember that buyers of all shapes and sizes are busy. C-Suite executives will likely prefer shorter and to-the-point emails. Mid-level managers are likely to be open to more detail, but brevity is still important. In all cases, personalization and tailoring are crucial. 

Technical executives—especially if you have a very targeted offer—may be willing to read longer cold emails, especially in areas like tech, supply chain management, construction, institutional finance, and so on. 

What’s Too Short for a Cold Email? 

Based on all the available data, cold emails below 20 words tend to underperform. You likely won’t be able to include all relevant elements—personalization, a description of your offer, and an open question—at anything below that. 

Now, you might be thinking, “ 20 words is way too short!” 

Well, it can be done. Here’s an example of a short but catchy 20-word email: 

Hi Bill,

Congrats on your recent funding.

I’m Ava. I boost sales teams’ email response rates. 

Want to learn more? 

The key point to keep in mind is that for cold email, extreme brevity is sometimes preferable. Most emails will be closer to the 50 word mark, but much shorter emails do sometimes work and can cater to ever-diminishing attention spans. 

What’s Too Long for a Cold Email?

Based on our own in-house data at Artisan and expert opinion, we recommend keeping cold emails under 100 words. However, this is niche-dependent. If you have a very focused product and a well-established brand, you can go longer. 

Equally, if you’re responding to a request for information off the back of an earlier cold email, between 150 and 200 words is a good benchmark. 

How to Write a Short Cold Email That Gets Results Every Time 

Successful cold email outreach is fundamentally about nailing down a handful of core copywriting techniques and doing lots of testing. 

If you can grab your prospect’s attention and articulate your value proposition, you’ve already done 90% of the work. 

Let’s have a look at the five principles of writing cold outreach that gets results. 

Lay the Foundation With A/B Testing 

Studies and third-party data have their place. However, A/B testing is the only way to arrive at a formula that works optimally for your ICP and industry. 

Split-test the following cold email elements:

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  Subject line

  
  
• 

  Opening sentence 

  
  
• 

  Description of services

  
  
• 

  Clear call to action

  
  
• 

  Email signature 

  
  

Cold email campaigns require a degree of scale to be successful, and sending hundreds, if not thousands, of emails every week provides an opportunity to run multiple split tests. 

Grab Their Attention with the Perfect Cold Email Subject Lines

Subject lines should be specific, personalized, and no longer than 50 characters, so as to be visible in your recipient’s email client. 

Here are some templates: 

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  Great job, [recipient’s name!

  
  
• 

  [company name]  and [your company name] 

  
  
• 

  [recipient’s name], would you like to connect?

  
  
• 

  An introduction from [name of shared connection] 

  
  
• 

  Quick question, [recipient’s name] 

  
  

Some industries respond better to more casual subject lines, while others will require a more formal approach. As always, tailor to your prospects. 

Hook Them with a Personal and Relevant Introduction

Personalization is non-negotiable. In a sea of auto-generated junk, personalization—done well—is one of the easiest ways to stand out. 

The following parts of your email “introduction” should be personalized:

• 

  Subject line

  
  
• 

  Greeting 

  
  
• 

  Opening paragraph

  
  

Remember to keep your opening short and reference specific attributes and events, such as a post you liked, a recent company achievement, or a product feature that interests you. 

In the past, sales teams would often hire copywriters for the sole task of researching and writing thousands of personalized first lines. 

Crafting a Concise, Value-Packed Body

Your body copy is where you introduce yourself, describe the benefits you offer, and provide some initial proof that you can follow through on your claims. 

Your body copy should have three components:

• 

  A brief introduction stating who you are and what you do.

  
  
• 

  A description of the main benefit you provide, ideally with specific numbers. 

  
  
• 

  A case study where you have achieved a positive, relevant result for a past client. 

  
  

Every sentence should serve a purpose and focus on value. Overly complex and convoluted language is a big no-no. Keep it concise and benefit-focused. 

Design a Clear and Compelling Call-to-Action (CTA)

Research shows that open-ended questions tend to perform best as CTAs. These are questions like “Would you like to learn more?” or “Are you interested in receiving more information?”

Again, CTAs are somewhat industry-dependent. For busy CEOs, an invitation to a 15-minute meeting might be ideal. For recipients with longer sales cycles, a CTA requiring less commitment is likely to work better. 

CTAs are one of the easiest email elements to split-test and can have a significant effect on your positive response rate. However, if in doubt, opt for the open-ended question.  

3 Examples of Effective Cold Emails 

So you know the theory, but what about the application? Let’s look at some practical examples that you can use to make your own cold email templates

Example 1: Short and Effective Email (50 Words)

Subject: Quick question, Bill

Hi Bill,

Just wanted to say I was very impressed by your recent keynote at the Microsoft Summit. 

My name’s Ava, and I help businesses generate more sales through cold email. I’ve helped hundreds of clients double (and in some cases triple) their revenue.

Would you like to learn more?

Regards,
Ava

Here are the reasons this email works:

• 

  Appeals to busy skim readers

  
  
• 

  Focuses on benefits 

  
  
• 

  Includes evidence of past results

  
  
• 

  Creates a basis for an ongoing discussion with an open question

  
  

Example 2: Medium-Length Email (100 Words)

Subject: Bill, would you like to connect? 

Hi Bill,

I was very impressed by your recent keynote at the Microsoft Summit. Your point about the need for software companies to focus more on social responsibility was particularly insightful. 

My name’s Ava, and I help businesses generate more sales through outbound cold email and social media messaging. 

I’ve helped hundreds of clients double (and in some cases triple) their revenue, including Apple and General Electric. I’ve got hundreds of positive reviews on G2 and have been featured in magazines like Forbes and Business Insider. 

Would you like to see some case studies for clients in the software space?

Regards,
Ava

Here are the reasons this email works:

• 

  Provides a nice balance between detail and conciseness for readers that want information

  
  
• 

  Includes in-depth personalization 

  
  
• 

  Allows greater space for evidence of claims in the form of case studies and social proof

  
  
• 

  Entices the reader in with a curiosity-provoking CTA

  
  

Example 3: Longer Email (200 Words)

Subject: Ava and Microsoft

Hi Bill,

I was very impressed by your recent keynote at the Microsoft Summit. Your point about the need for software companies to focus more on social responsibility was particularly insightful. 

I also have to say that I admire your strategic approach at Microsoft, which I’ve been following closely over the last year on your social media accounts. Your ongoing commitment to innovation and customer experience is truly inspiring. 

My name’s Ava, and I help businesses generate more sales through outbound cold email and social media messaging. I rely on a mix of AI-based process automation, comprehensive research of target prospects, and in-depth analytics for fast optimization. 

I’ve helped hundreds of clients double (and in some cases triple) their revenue, including Apple and General Electric. I’ve also been featured in magazines like Forbes and Business Insider. 

Specifically, I could help Microsoft improve its positive response and meetings booked rates by adding automated personalization to its outbound email flow. 

Would you be interested in booking a quick exploratory call?

Regards,
Ava

P.S. I know trust is earned, not given. That’s why I wanted to quickly mention I’ve got hundreds of positive reviews on G2, where I’m currently one of the category leaders. 

Here are the reasons this email works:

• 

  It includes a high level of personalization

  
  
• 

  It allows for a full technical explanation of the services on offer

  
  
• 

  It gives enough information for the recipient to make a decision about booking a meeting 

  
  

Use AI to Help You Optimize Cold Email and Get Responses 

Cold email marketing is hard. It requires a deep understanding of the pain points of your target audience, the ability to make a killer first impression, and an aptitude for persuasive copy.

And then there are the technicalities of deliverability, performance metrics, and A/B testing, to name just a few examples. 

However, an AI-based approach makes it much easier to manage the many moving parts of cold outreach campaigns, including finding the ideal word count of your sales emails.

For example, Artisan’s AI platform—and its virtual sales rep, Ava—can automate and optimize significant parts of the outbound sales funnel, testing different variations to find top-performing content—all on autopilot.

Ava can handle the following tasks:

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  Lead prospecting from a database of over 300 million leads 

  
  
• 

  Automated warm-up and deliverability optimization 

  
  
• 

  A/B split testing of email variations based on length, content, personalization, etc. 

  
  
• 

  Personalization testing based on a “waterfall” algorithm

  
  
• 

  Ongoing ideal customer profile (ICP) optimization

  
  
• 

  Automated LinkedIn outreach

  
  

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Author:

Dan Mowinski