How to Gather Targeted Email Intelligence

Years doing cold outreach taught me this: Bad segmentation will break your campaigns Look, I get it—spray and pray is easy. It’s low maintenance, and sometimes it even works. But here’s the problem ❌ Low reply rates ❌ Risk of burning your dream clients ❌ Wasted email volume on unqualified prospects The result? Fewer meetings booked per week. Here’s what to do instead: 𝟭. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 Scrape your Total Addressable Market (TAM) using Apollo.io (or similar). Then, upload the data into Clay for deeper segmentation. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 Break your list down by: ✅ Industry ✅ Seniority ✅ Revenue* ✅ Company size ✅ Role/Department To get precise revenue data, use waterfall enrichment: 🔹 Clearbit 🔹 HG Insights 🔹 RocketReach 🔹 People Data Labs 🔹 Owler - A Meltwater Offering This helps you focus on high-probability prospects who are more likely to convert. 𝟯. 𝗚𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Leverage Claygent to segment based on unique attributes: 🔍 Does the company offer Buy Now, Pay Later? 🔍 Are they SOC II, GDPR, or ISO 9001 compliant? 🔍 Do they have a podcast? Use yes/no questions or multiple-choice (max 3 options) to improve accuracy. The goal? Gather enough intelligence to anticipate their pain points, and solutions before even reaching out. 𝟰. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Ocean.io helps you find hundreds of companies similar to your highest-paying clients, while a simpler (but still effective) approach is to segment by industry and refine it over time. 𝟱. 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝘀 & 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 Another powerful way to qualify leads is by the vendors they use: ⚡ BuiltWith – See what technologies are installed on a website. ⚡ ScrapeLi – Check if they follow a certain company on LinkedIn. ⚡ PredictLeads – Scrape employee certifications & job postings to understand what software they’re using. At the end of the day, better segmentation = better results. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽: Scrape a lead list Segment by firmographics Use Claygent for advanced segmentation Use case study-based segmentation Use vendor-based segmentation P.S. Are you implementing these methods?

Most cold email campaigns fail. Not because of the email itself or because it doesn’t work. But because you're aiming at the wrong people! And for it to work, getting your cold email targeting right is key. Here’s how to make sure you’re reaching ⤵️ The right people, at the right time, with a message that actually lands leads: STEP 1: Define your ideal customer profile (ICP) Start by nailing down who you actually want to reach. Go beyond basic demographics. Think about industry, company size, pain points, and even buying behavior. The better you understand your ICP, the more relevant your messaging will be. - - - - - - STEP 2: Segment your audience Break down your target audience into smaller segments based on criteria like: - Role - Industry - Company size - Or problem area This way, you can customise your message to each segment. Showing you “get” their world. - - - - - - STEP 3: Find decision-makers Research the people who actually have a say in buying decisions or heavily influence them. Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator are great for finding these folks. Aim to connect with those who will see value in your solution. - - - - - - STEP 4: Personalise at scale For each segment, craft a template that feels personal. Use dynamic fields (like name, company, pain point) but add extra personalisation wherever possible. Mentioning something specific about the company’s recent news, projects, or challenges adds a human touch. - - - - - - STEP 5: Test, measure, and refine Track open rates, responses, and conversion rates. Test different subject lines, email formats, and call-to-action placements to see what sticks. The more you analyse, the more targeted (and effective) your emails will become. With these steps, you’ll be reaching a more focused and receptive audience, leading to better results in less time.

Continuing the series on Cold Emails: Post 5 : These 5 Tools Will Transform Your Outreach (3 min Read) Cold emailing can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. But with the right tools, you can save time, boost efficiency, and get real results. The Secret Sauce? These 5 Tools for Cold Emails : -Hunter.io: Simplify lead generation by finding verified email addresses in seconds. Action Step: Search for your target audience's domain and extract accurate email addresses. -Mailshake: Automate your email campaigns and follow-ups to stay consistent without manual effort. Action Step: Create a sequence of follow-up emails to stay on your prospects' radar. -lemlist: Add a human touch to your outreach with personalized emails at scale. Action Step: Use dynamic fields (e.g., names, company names, or pain points) to make emails feel tailored to each recipient. -Grammarly: Ensure your emails are professional, polished, and error-free. Action Step: Review every email with Grammarly to maintain clarity and credibility. -googleanalytics: Track email click-through rates and website visits to measure what works. Action Step: Integrate UTM parameters into your email links to track performance. How to Use These Tools Together: -Start by using Hunter.io to gather targeted leads. -Automate your campaigns with Mailshake to stay efficient. -Personalize your emails at scale with Lemlist for better responses. -Polish and proofread with Grammarly for clear communication. -Finally, measure results using Google Analytics to refine your strategy. Pro Tip: -Experiment with different workflows and combinations of tools to find the strategy that drives the most replies for your business. What tools do you use to simplify your cold emailing process? Let’s help each other out—drop your recommendations in the comments!