A lot of people think low reply rates mean they need a better template. So they keep rewriting emails, trying new openers, new CTAs, new angles. People say templates don’t work anymore. TEMPLATES AREN’T THE ENEMY In reality, templates work fine if: - The targeting is tight - The offer makes sense - Deliverability is good - Volume per inbox is low enough You can send the same email to 2,000 people and get great results or send a “perfect” custom email and still get ignored. Relevance beats personalization. TEST WITH ENOUGH DATA Another mistake is judging a campaign too early. Sending 50 emails and getting 1 reply doesn’t mean anything. Sending a few hundred to a few thousand (depending on your setup) gives a much clearer signal. But this doesn’t mean blasting. - Keep volume per inbox low - Ramp slowly - Let the campaign run long enough to see real replies - Then decide what to change. TRACK THE RIGHT METRIC Open rate is unreliable; we discussed this here. Better metrics: - Total reply rate - Positive reply rate - Booked calls You can have a high reply rate but no interest. That usually means the copy creates curiosity but not real value. Positive replies tell you if the offer actually fits the market. That means, offer clarity matters more than clever copy. Good emails usually fall into one of these: Make money Save money Save time If the reader can’t quickly understand what they get, reply rate drops. SIMPLE TESTING CYCLE THAT WORKS - Write a few variations - Send with safe volume - Let the campaign run - Look at replies, not opens - Keep the winner - Test again Cold email improves with data, not guesses. Curious what most people here changed that made the biggest difference. Copy, targeting, or infrastructure?