Cold Email Strategy: Data-Backed Tactics from 85M Emails
Master the art of cold email outreach with proven strategies based on analysis of 85 million emails. Powered by Bravo Ad Solutions research.
Will Pettinato
Sales & Marketing Strategist
Cold Email Benchmarks
Where does your cold email performance stack up? Based on Gong.io research analyzing 85 million emails.
Key Insight: Top performers get 3x more opens and 4x more replies than average
Subject Lines: Longer is Better
Long (36+ chars)
Open rate
Short (1-5 chars)
Open rate
Do This
"Quick question about [Company]'s Q4 marketing strategy"
Avoid This
"Hi" or "Quick sync?"
Email Length: Sweet Spot is 75-100 Words
25
1.5%
50
3.5%
75
5%
100
4.5%
125
4%
150
3%
200
2%
Key Takeaway
Emails between 75-100 words get the highest reply rates. Shorter emails feel rushed; longer emails get skipped.
Personalization: Individual > Company > Generic
Generic
2.3%
Reply rate
Company
3.8%
Reply rate
Individual
5.2%
Reply rate
Pro Tip
Reference a specific LinkedIn post, podcast appearance, or recent company news. Individual personalization doubles reply rates over generic approaches.
Call-to-Action: Soft CTAs Win
Soft CTA
"Would you be open to..."
Hard CTA
"Book a meeting..."
Why Soft CTAs Work
Soft CTAs feel less demanding and give recipients an easy way to engage without full commitment. Questions like "Would you be open to a quick chat?" perform 34% better than direct asks.
Multi-Touch Strategy: LinkedIn + Email + Phone
1. LinkedIn First
Connect and engage with their content before emailing
2. Email Sequence
3-5 touch sequence over 2 weeks with value-first messaging
3. Phone Follow-Up
Call within 24 hours of email engagement signal
Ready to Transform Your Outreach?
Book a strategy session with Will Pettinato to optimize your cold email campaigns with data-backed tactics.