Cutting through email noise with relevance

I was asked this question on a podcast recently: “Do cold emails still work in 2025?” My honest answer: Email as a channel has a very low ROI right now because of all the noise. Even genuinely useful emails don’t get opened simply because no one wants to sift through 100+ unreads everyday. So does that mean email is over? Not quite. At Leadle, we’ve found email still works when paired with LinkedIn. Especially when reaching out to execs and C-levels, the response rates go up significantly with a multi-channel approach. So, how do you ensure your emails manage to grab the most precious thing in today’s digital world - ATTENTION? Here’s a list of prompts we run through at Leadle to ensure the copy is tight, relevant, and worth the reader’s time: #1: "Would I reply to this if I had zero context about the sender?" If the answer is no, it’s not the market. It’s the message. Write for the coldest possible reader. #2: "Is my opener about me or them?" If your first line says “I help…” or “We are…” start over. No one cares until they feel seen. #3: "Can I say the same thing in half the words?" Short wins. Because attention spans lose. #4: "Am I asking for too much too soon?" No one agrees to a 30-min call with a stranger out of the blue. Start with low-friction asks like: “Do you think this is worth looking into for your team?” #5: "Do I sound like a template?" Personalization ≠ {first name} or any signal with 0 context. Mention a recent campaign, role change, or metric they posted that’s relevant to your offering. #6: "Does this message surface a gap between their current state and ideal state?" If not - why would they change? Outbound should surface problems they didn’t know they had (yet). #7: "Have I earned the right to pitch yet?" Build context → create relevance → then make the ask. Earn. The. CTA. #8: "Is this message hyper-relevant to this specific ICP?" One-size-fits-all = zero-size-fits-any. Get narrower. Speak to their role, stage, and priorities. #9: "Would this message still work if it were sent to a competitor?" If yes - it’s too generic. Make it only make sense for them. #10: "What would make me respond to this message?" Put yourself in their shoes. Time-starved, inbox-bombarded, context-poor. 10/10? Then and only then hit send. 🙂 Cold emails work when the purpose behind them is simple: → Does it make them curious and want to learn more?  → Does it make them see themselves in the message as clearly as possible? Done right, good copy doesn’t just get noticed, it gets conversations started.  What would you add to this? #outbound #coldemailtips #coldemails 

“...we were in a really bad place and you've almost single handedly dragged us into a much more healthy state...” 🥹 A recent B2B client messaged me this. Here’s more 👇: “…a massive, massive thank you for everything you have done – thinking back on what our marketing was like before you joined, we were in a really bad place and you've almost single handedly dragged us into a much more healthy state. So a huge heartfelt thank you, not sure what we would have done without you…” I LOVE getting messages like these! So. What did I change? Their cold email system Here’s the exact 11-step playbook that took them from noise to traction: 1. Your email setup is essential ↳ If your inboxes aren’t healthy, nothing else works ↳ We moved them to Google Workspace + warmed up over 21 days ↳ SPF, DKIM, DMARC needed to be sorted fast. 2. Deliverability matters most ↳ Bounce rates need to be less than 3% ↳ Used Reeon → NeverBounce → Debounce for catch-alls ↳ If reply rates dip, check inbox health first 3. Build lists smartly, not blindly ↳ DON't buy from databases ↳ Built new lists with Store Leads + BuiltWith ↳ Get emails from people attending trade shows! 4. Use frameworks not templates ↳ Rebuild emails using this structure: ↳ Personal Hook → What You Do → Proof → Soft Ask ↳ Corporate fluff was binned 5. Keep sequences short and sharp ↳ 7-message drips don’t work anymore. I used just 3 Max ↳ First message = relevant trigger. Second = add value ↳ Final = relaxed, low-pressure offer 6. Make personalisation authentic ↳ 1 solid line of context beats 5 fake ones ↳ Ours came from LinkedIn posts, press releases, or recent funding ↳ We tied that detail into the value, not just name-dropped 7. Lead with value, not pressure ↳ Volunteer an audit. No ask. ↳ Told them upfront: no obligations, just insights. ↳ Followed up 3 days later with a genuine invitation to go deeper. 8. Use lead magnets that actually help ↳ No ebooks. No gated PDFs. Just usable stuff. ↳ Built a calculator that was helpful to their ICP. ↳ They used it immediately to close 2 deals. 9. Track the right benchmarks ↳ We aimed for 2.4–5.8% reply rates and hit 4.2%. ↳ 38% of replies → meetings within 2 weeks. ↳ <1% reply? It’s not your copy, it’s your list or offer. 10. Subject lines should feel human ↳ We tested 9 subject lines. The winner? “quick one” ↳ Anything pitchy (“Scale your ops now”) got deleted. ↳ If it doesn’t feel like something you’d say aloud, bin it. 11. Tools help, but insight converts ↳ Yes, I use automation, but every insight was hard-earned. ↳ This playbook came from 2 years of testing and fine-tuning. ↳ Just clarity and compounding lessons. 💬 “Not sure what we would have done without you…”. Yes or No: Is your cold email system working the way it should? 👇 Be honest. 👣 Follow me, Kobi Omenaka, for sharp insights on trust-first marketing, podcasting and audience growth 📨 DM me if you have ANY questions about this post

I've spent a decade mastering the art of cold emailing. And I've noticed one critical mistake that everyone makes. They focus on the wrong metrics. Most people obsess over: → Open rates → Click-through rates → Response rates While these metrics matter, they don't guarantee conversions. The one thing that truly moves the needle? Relevance. Your cold emails will only succeed if they are: ↳ Tailored to your prospect's unique pain points ↳ Offering a solution that aligns with their goals ↳ Demonstrating a deep understanding of their industry To craft relevant cold emails: 1. Research your prospects thoroughly   ⤷ Study their business, challenges, and objectives 2. Personalize your messaging   ⤷ Address their specific needs and show how you can help 3. Provide value upfront   ⤷ Share insights, resources, or strategies that benefit them 4. Keep it concise and compelling   ⤷ Respect their time and make every word count Remember, relevance trumps all other metrics. It's the key to capturing your prospects' attention and driving meaningful conversations. Don't get caught up in vanity metrics. Focus on delivering relevant, value-packed cold emails. That's the secret to unlocking true success in your outreach. P.S. What's your biggest challenge when it comes to crafting effective cold emails?

A few months ago, I spent hours crafting what I thought was the perfect cold email campaign. Clean copy. Concise subject lines. A/B tested CTAs. And then… silence. Barely any replies. I went back to the drawing board and asked myself: "If I were on the receiving end of this, would I care?" Turns out, I had made the classic mistake. The emails didn’t really address a problem my audience was facing. They were technically sound, but not relevant. After analyzing over 11 million emails, the conclusion is clear (read the report below): 71% of people ignore cold emails because they don’t address a relevant problem. That stat hit home. Now, every campaign I write starts with a single question: "What specific problem am I solving for this person?" And it’s made all the difference. If your emails are being ignored, don’t start by tweaking your subject lines or switching tools. Start with relevance. #coldemail

I'm amazed at how few sales teams have a structured framework for outbound prospecting. Most reps are just spraying and praying, wondering why their response rates are dropping... 👇 Here's the W.A.R.M framework that helped us hit 144% of pipeline goals last month. ——— 1️⃣ Well-Defined TAM (The Foundation) Before you send a single message, you need to know exactly who you're targeting. Start by building your TAM using tools like Keyplay. Focus on firmographics, tech stack, and GTM team size. But here's the key - don't just build a massive list. Segment it into tiers based on fit. The tighter your TAM, the higher your conversion rates will be. 2️⃣ Authority (Your Secret Weapon) If your outbound is falling flat, you might have an authority problem. You need to be seen as a trusted voice in your space. Don't have thought leaders at your company? No problem. Curate and share valuable insights from industry experts with your prospects. Show them you understand their world before asking for their time. 3️⃣ Relevance (The Game Changer) This is where most teams go wrong. They focus on personalization before relevance. You need to layer three types of signals: - External signals (job posts, news, earnings calls) - Engagement signals (website visits, content downloads) - Product signals (usage spikes, feature adoption) The more signals that align, the higher your chances of success. 4️⃣ Make it Personal (But Be Smart) Stop doing the "signal dump" - you know, the "congrats on your funding round" messages that go nowhere. Instead, connect signals to value props. Ask yourself: "Does this signal relate to the pain point I solve?" If not, use it for prioritization, not personalization. And use AI tools to cut research time - you shouldn't spend hours crafting five emails. The magic happens when you bring all these pieces together. We use this framework to run both strategic and scaled plays. But remember: focus on relevance first, and the meetings will follow. We’ve got a whole blog on the WARM framework you can check out here (or if you subscribe to my newsletter you got an updated version of this): https://lnkd.in/ejAnRnHv What did I miss? Anything critical you include in your outbound framework?