22 Cold Email Statistics to Drive Success in 2024

Despite rumors of dwindling effectiveness, email marketing is still king. As an estimated $10 billion market by the end of the year — and an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent — this method is recommended for businesses of every size.

But what about cold email specifically? While still falling under the email marketing umbrella, this type of outreach is notoriously difficult to succeed in — that is, unless you know the proper strategies. In this article, we will detail 22 of the top cold email statistics to influence your campaigns and drive success in 2024.

Read on to get the information you need to succeed in cold email marketing.

Best Time to Send Cold Emails

1. The best time to send a cold email is between 9 am and 12 pm. (HubSpot)
2. The best days to send cold emails are Monday to Wednesday. (HubSpot)
3. 3 in 4 outreach emails are opened within the first hour. (Yesware)
4. Over 4 in 10 outreach emails are replied to in the first hour. (Yesware)

The Takeaway:

It’s hard enough to get a response to your cold emails, don’t make it harder by sending them at the wrong time.

Research shows that the best time to send emails is early in the day and early in the week. Shoot for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before lunchtime. While the same study indicates sending emails is still effective from 12pm to 3pm, stack the odds in your favor by sending your outreach in the morning.

Additionally, if your prospect does receive and become receptive to your offering you’ll know quickly — in as soon as an hour. If you don’t get a fast response, however, it could be time to add that prospect to the follow-up list.

Cold Email Prospect Tendencies

5. 80% of prospects rate email as their preferred method of communication. (HubSpot)
6. Just under 24% of sales emails get opened. (Gartner)
7. Prospects respond to just under 9% of cold emails. (Backlinko)
8. 6 in 10 customers have made a purchase from an outreach email. (OptinMonster)
9. Nearly 16% of emails are flagged by spam filters or go undelivered. (EmailToolTester)

The Takeaway:

With less than one in ten prospects responding to cold emails, it can be a daunting task to enact a successful cold email campaign. That being said, don’t get discouraged. 

Prospects still greatly prefer to communicate with businesses over email, and 60% of them have made a purchase from an outreach campaign. Make sure your subject lines and body copy are optimized, and your chances of being part of this favorable statistic will improve.

Additionally, make sure your emails aren’t triggering spam filters. A little less than one in five of all outreach gets re-routed directly to spam — make sure your message isn’t one of them.

Cold Email Subject Lines

10. Subject lines that have emojis result in higher open rates. (Return Path)
11. Outreach emails with longer subject lines have nearly a 25% better chance of being opened than emails with short subject lines. (Backlinko)
12. Personalized subject lines result in a 30.5% higher response rate. (Backlinko)
13. Nearly 70% of recipients that send an email to spam do so because of the subject line. (Zippia)

The Takeaway:

An optimized subject line is your greatest asset in getting your cold emails opened and in front of your prospects.

Research shows to craft your subject lines with personalization. Subject lines that resonate with the recipient either by including their name or something identifiable result in just over a 30% higher response rate. Furthermore, longer subject lines are proven to be more effective, and feel free to use emojis if appropriate for your industry.

The dreaded spam filter is the mortal enemy of cold email campaigns — fight back with an effective subject line.

Cold Email Mobile Statistics

14. Nearly 25% of all emails are opened via mobile devices. (GetResponse)
15. Over 42% of prospects will delete an email if it’s not optimized for mobile. (SaleCycle)
16. Roughly 3 in 4 Gmail users use a mobile device to read their emails. (TechCrunch)
17. 1 in 5 marketing emails are not optimized for mobile. (DemandSage)

The Takeaway:

In an age where consumers can access a wealth of knowledge and purchasing choices from the palm of their hand, your cold emails need to take advantage of mobile.

Nearly 75% of all Gmail users use a mobile device to access their email, and over 42% of prospects will delete an email if it’s not optimized for their device. Those statistics should be a clear indication that your outreach needs to be crafted with mobile users in mind.

That being said, not all businesses understand the importance of mobile optimization, as 1 in 5 marketing emails don’t take advantage of it. Make sure your messaging is compatible with the ever-growing subset of mobile users.

Cold Email Success Statistics

18. 4 in 5 sales require no less than five follow-up emails or contact points. (HubSpot)
19. Cold email campaigns with 4-7 sequences receive triple the response rate as campaigns with 1-3 sequences. (Woodpecker)
20.  Email response increases by over 40% when the body is 200 words or less. (SellingSignals)
21. Using ‘guilty’ phrases in follow-up emails such as “I never heard back” decreases booked meetings by 14%. (Gong)
22. Using ‘positive’ phrases such as “hope all is well” increases booked meetings by 24%. (Gong)

The Takeaway:

Cold email campaigns can be discouraging at times, but know that there is light at the end of the tunnel with effective persistence.

Studies show that cold email campaigns that involve over four sequences get triple the response as smaller sequences, and the majority of sales require no less than five follow-ups or contact points. It’s important not to send ineffective messaging multiple times — doing so can land your address on the block list — but if your message is optimized and relevant to your prospect, more attempts to reach out will be met positively the majority of the time.

Additionally, be mindful of the language and tone of your message. Using positive phrases in your copy can increase booked meetings by 24%, while using negative or guilty phrases can decrease booked meetings by 14%.

Right Inbox Can Assist With Cold Email

While email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to conduct outreach, cold emailing specifically can be a tall order. We hope you found value in our list of cold email statistics, and you learned something that can propel your campaigns forward.

That being said, you don’t have to do it alone. At Right Inbox, we offer a wealth of features that aid in cold emailing campaigns such as email sequences to ensure follow-up messaging, recurring emails to plan consistent and effective content, and email tracking to know when your messages have been opened.

Get started with Right Inbox today!