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notes from 13thirtyone: Cold Emailing vs. Cold Calling?

8.13.2007

Cold Emailing vs. Cold Calling?

Unfortunately, times can get slow for all of us. This morning I was reading a short blurb from HOW Design magazine discussing a design firm who regularly uses cold emailing instead of cold calling. Read blurb below:

Peleg Top, of Top Design Studio, finds Web and email addresses for his prospects in trade publications. "Cold email marketing works better than cold calling on the phone," says Top. "It enables the prospect to respond without a confrontation." Top tells of sending an email message to a prospect at a record company that he wanted to work with. "A day later she responded with a positive response, and we're now going through the introductory mode."

Each time writer and photojournalist Jed Block does email marketing, he gets at least one job as a direct result. "And a job that I probably wouldn't have gotten otherwise," he adds. That's what happened when he sent a warm message to Mary Kramer of K&G Tax Consultants—warm, because Block is a client of the firm.

Hey, Mary:
I just updated my Web site and thought you'd be interested in an exercise that appears under "Current Piece of Work." If you haven't visited for a while, I invite you to look around the site. It's not all business—most of the time, I try to have a little fun.
This is a onetime mailing that I thought might interest you. If you'd like to stay in touch, the site makes it easy for you. And please don't hesitate to contact me if I could ever help out.
Thanks,
Jed Block,
who writes for businesses and people wanting to communicate clear, stimulating, professional information with others.
http://www.jedblock.com

"What grabbed me was that all his message did was introduce his Web site," says Kramer. "It wasn't a big pressure thing. We had been thinking about doing a Web site for a year, so we were looking for help. When I got the message, I looked at his site, which was really creative. Plus, he was local." Since then, Block has worked on their brochures and a few small mailings, as well as their Web site.



I really like this type of marketing. I feel that these days, companies can come across as being not very genuine. In a recent post I discussed that a great reminder to your clients about your company is to simply send a quick note, sort of "thinking of you" in feeling. I truly believe that if you let it be known that you put forth a little bit of effort, people will respond.

2 comments:

Chris Bolmeier said...

Angela, do you know of any legal issues surrounding the subject of cold e-mailing? I want to say that in the Smartist Telesummit someone talked about being careful who you email because it may be some type of breechment to email someone you don't know, without their permission. Undoubtedly it happens all the time.
I guess it depends on whether the person's email address is in a magazine such as the article you spoke about in the blog, surely that would be kosher. Chris

angela said...

hi, chris. thanks for the comment. i'm not sure of all the legalities having to do with emailing. however, i do know a few tips. if you are going to be sending out mass emails or e-newsletters regularly, it's best to get the individual's permission to use their email address. while i'm pretty sure there are no legal ramifications for the action of emailing an individual (unless they have already opted out of your list), there can be penalties for the content of an email.

some companies choose to use email disclaimers for the protection of content, etc. This deals with the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM). For more info you can visit this great resource at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.shtm