Glossary · Lead generation · Last updated October 31, 2026
Cold email
Cold email is a one-to-one business email to someone you have no prior relationship with, sent to start a conversation about a specific offer.
Also called: Cold outreach, Outbound email.
Cold email differs from spam in targeting and intent: a relevant message to a business that plausibly needs what you offer, from a real person, with an easy way to say no. Done well, it's one of the cheapest ways to reach local businesses, because almost all of them publish an email or have one findable on their website.
Three things decide results. The list: the right businesses, verified addresses, catch-all kept separate. The setup: a separate sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, warmed up, with low daily volume per mailbox. The message: short, specific to the business, honest in the subject line, with one clear question.
The law varies by country. In the US, CAN-SPAM allows cold email without consent if you include a postal address and a working opt-out. Canada (CASL) and Australia (Spam Act) require consent, which can be implied by a conspicuously published business address. The UK allows emails to companies but not sole traders without consent.
Common mistakes: sending to unverified lists, fake personalization, follow-ups that never stop, and no suppression list.
Example
"Hi Maria, I saw Bayside Dental has 31 reviews and a 4.9 rating, but no online booking on the site. We set that up for practices in Tampa. Worth a quick look? If not, reply 'no' and I won't email again."
Sources
Related terms
- Email deliverabilityEmail deliverability is the ability of your emails to reach recipients' inboxes rather than bouncing or landing in spam.
- CAN-SPAM ActThe CAN-SPAM Act is the US law for commercial email; it allows cold email without consent but requires honest headers, an address and a working opt-out.
- Email warm-upEmail warm-up is gradually increasing the volume sent from a new domain or mailbox so mailbox providers learn to trust it before full campaigns.
- Bounce rateBounce rate is the percentage of sent emails that were returned as undeliverable; for cold email, under 2% is a sensible target.
- Suppression listA suppression list is a list of addresses or domains you must never email again, such as opt-outs, hard bounces and complaints, checked before every send.
Further reading
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