Cold Email Templates: 8 First Emails for Agencies to Copy

A cold email template is a first email with gaps for the details only you can supply. For an agency writing to a local business, the gap that matters is one finding from the owner's own website. Here is a template you can copy now. Filled in, it runs to about 70 words.

Subject: [Company]'s [page] on a phone

Hi [first name],

I opened [company]'s website on my phone [today]. [One specific finding, such as "the contact page shows Not secure in the address bar"].

[One sentence on what that costs them.]

I build websites for [their trade] in [town]. Would it help if I sent the two changes I would make first?

[Your name]

Seven more cold email templates follow, each for one situation. All eight are first emails, and what you found on the prospect's website decides which one fits.

The eight templates

Every one is a B2B cold email template, written from an agency to the owner of a local business. Square brackets mark what you change. The filled-in examples use a made-up business, Copper Ridge Plumbing at copperridgeplumbing.example, and a made-up sender.

A sales cold email template fails when its brackets can be filled without looking at the prospect. None of these eight says [pain point] or [value proposition]. Each bracket asks for something you saw. For more subjects, see our list of cold email subject lines.

1. The one finding

The default first email, for a site with one clear fault. The blank version opens this page, and here it is for Copper Ridge Plumbing.

Filled in.

Subject: Copper Ridge Plumbing's contact page on a phone

Hi Maria,

I opened Copper Ridge Plumbing's website on my phone this morning. The contact page shows "Not secure" in the address bar, right above the form that asks for a home address.

Some customers will stop there and call a different plumber.

I build websites for home trades in Fort Collins. Would it help if I sent the two changes I would make first?

Sam Okafor

Why it is built this way. The first line is a fact the owner can check in ten seconds. The ask needs a one-word reply.

2. The broken thing

A form, a link or a button on the site fails. Report it and ask for nothing.

Subject: The [form or link] on [company]'s site is not working

Hi [first name],

I tried the [form, link or button] on your [page] today and got [what happened]. I tried again on a second device and got the same.

You may be missing inquiries because of it. I can send a screenshot for whoever looks after the site.

[Your name]
[What you do, in five words]

Why it is built this way. It gives before it asks. Send it only when the fault is still there on the day you write.

3. The search gap

Use it for SEO work, when a business with good reviews does not show up for its main service and town.

Subject: "[service] [town]" and [company]

Hi [first name],

I searched "[service] [town]" this morning. [Company] did not appear in the first [number] results, and [number] businesses with fewer reviews did.

Your [number] Google reviews are stronger than theirs. One likely cause is [one cause you can show on their site].

I do SEO for [trade] businesses. Can I send you the comparison I made?

[Your name]

Filled in.

Subject: "emergency plumber Fort Collins" and Copper Ridge

Hi Maria,

I searched "emergency plumber Fort Collins" this morning. Copper Ridge Plumbing did not appear in the first 10 results, and 3 businesses with fewer reviews did.

Your 212 Google reviews are stronger than theirs. One likely cause is that your site has no page about emergency work.

I do SEO for home trades. Can I send you the comparison I made?

Sam Okafor

Why it is built this way. It sets the owner's real strength against a visible loss. The words "one likely cause" keep the claim no larger than what you can show.

4. The hidden proof

The business has reviews or credentials that its website does not show.

Subject: [Number] Google reviews, none on [company]'s site

Hi [first name],

[Company] has [number] reviews on Google, averaging [rating]. I could not find one of them on your website.

A visitor who lands on the site first never reads what your customers say about you.

I [what you do] for [trade] businesses. Would you like to see your homepage with [number] of those reviews on it?

[Your name]

Why it is built this way. It opens with praise that is true, then names a gap the owner can confirm. The owner hears that the business is better than its website, which is easier to accept than criticism.

5. The meeting ask

Use this cold email template for meeting requests when the prospect is worth an hour of your research.

Subject: 15 minutes on [company]'s website, [day]?

Hi [first name],

I spent an hour on [company]'s website this week and wrote down [number] things that cost you [calls, bookings or quotes]. The largest is [one specific finding].

Could I walk you through all [number] in 15 minutes? I can do [day] at [time] or [day] at [time], by phone or at your office.

If neither suits, name a time and I will fit around it.

[Your name]
[Phone]

Filled in.

Subject: 15 minutes on Copper Ridge's website, Thursday?

Hi Maria,

I spent an hour on Copper Ridge Plumbing's website this week and wrote down 4 things that cost you calls. The largest is that the phone number at the top is a picture, so nobody can tap it to call.

Could I walk you through all 4 in 15 minutes? I can do Thursday at 8:30 or Friday at 4:00, by phone or at your office.

If neither suits, name a time and I will fit around it.

Sam Okafor
555-0137

Why it is built this way. A meeting is a large ask from a stranger, so the email first shows an hour of work already done. Two fixed times turn a yes-or-no question into a choice of days.

6. The mockup

You have already made something for them. Use it only when the work exists.

Subject: I redrew the top of [company]'s homepage

Hi [first name],

I redrew the top of [company]'s homepage last night. The current one [one specific finding]. Mine [what yours does instead].

It is a single image. May I send it over? There is no charge and nothing to sign up for.

[Your name]

Why it is built this way. The work is finished, so the owner only has to say yes.

7. The neighbor

You work in the same town and can say so truthfully.

Subject: From a [town] business near [company]

Hi [first name],

I run [your business] on [street or area], about [distance] from [company]. I looked you up after [true reason, such as "driving past your new sign"].

One thing on your website stood out. [One specific finding.]

I [what you do] for businesses around [town]. I can stop by for ten minutes to show you, or send a note here if that is easier.

[Your name]

Why it is built this way. Being nearby is a reason no out-of-state agency can give. The finding still has to be there.

8. The missing website

The business has a Google listing and no website. Our guide on how to find businesses without websites shows where to look.

Subject: [Company] on Google, with no website to visit

Hi [first name],

I found [company] on Google Maps while looking for [service] in [town]. The listing has [number] reviews and no website link.

People who want to check [prices, services or hours] before they call have nowhere to go.

I build simple websites for [trade] businesses. Would a one-page example for [company] be worth a look?

[Your name]

Why it is built this way. With no site there is nothing to criticize, so the finding is the gap itself. Our reply data covers businesses that had a website, so we have no figure for this template.

What should you change before you send?

Change the first line, every time. The finding has to come from the prospect's own website on the day you write.

Here is how a note becomes that line.

1. Open the site on your phone. Note the first thing a customer would trip over.
2. Write it as one plain sentence. Include a number, a page name or a place, as in "the contact form asks for 14 fields".
3. Say where and when you saw it. "On my phone this morning" is enough.
4. Delete the praise around it. "Love your site" followed by a fault reads as a mail merge.

A note that says "form too long" ends up as "I opened your contact form on my phone this morning and counted 14 fields before the Send button."

Then match the ask to the work you have done. An hour of research can ask for 15 minutes. A two-minute look cannot.

Last, add what the law asks for. US law requires a valid postal address and a clear way to opt out in every commercial email (FTC). This is not legal advice.

Our guide on how to write a cold email goes through each line in more depth.

What does the data say about cold email templates?

The wording of a template matters less than who receives it.

We scored 20,000 Dutch company websites and sent 3,570 cold emails to three groups. A random sample from the other 80% of websites replied positively 0.50% of the time. Businesses with the weakest 20% of websites replied positively 1.60% of the time to a generic email and 2.35% of the time when the email named the problem on their site.

Choosing the weakest websites made a positive reply about 3.2 times more likely. The gap between the two emails was not statistically significant, with p = 0.238. The test covered Dutch companies and email only, and our write-up of the test has the numbers.

Writing the specific line by hand is slow. For an earlier campaign to 1,382 companies, reviewing every website by hand would have taken about 184 hours, at about 8 minutes a site. Twip, the AI inside Leadodo, scores every website in a search, and its findings become the opening line of each letter and email.

Where does the first email sit in a sequence?

The first email can be the second contact. In Leadodo, your Outbound Machine opens with a posted letter that arrives on day 1 and sends the first email on day 4, with two more on days 7 and 11. When a letter went first, say so in the opening of the email.

For the later emails, use our cold email follow-up templates. The complete guide to cold email covers the list, the sending setup and the rules.

Questions

What is the best cold email template?

The best template is the one whose first line could only have been written to that business. In our test of 3,570 emails the list changed replies more than the wording did, so choose the prospects before you polish the template.

How long should a cold email template be?

Under 100 words once it is filled in. The three filled-in examples on this page run from 65 to 83 words without the subject line.

Can I send the same template to every prospect?

You can reuse the frame. The subject, the finding and the cost have to change for every business.

Should a first cold email ask for a meeting?

Only when you have done enough work to earn it. For most first emails a smaller ask is easier to accept, such as permission to send two fixes or a screenshot.

Can AI fill in a cold email template?

Yes, when the AI reads the prospect's real website. A finding that is wrong or out of date tells the owner you did not look, so our advice is to read each line before it goes out. In Leadodo you choose. You can review every letter and message before it goes, review a sample such as the first 100, or let your Outbound Machine send without review.

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Next step. Your Outbound Machine opens each letter and email with a line from the prospect's own website. See the Outbound Machine.