How to Write a Cold Email That ACTUALLY Gets You Business

I've been running an online business for over 5 years and I get dozens of cold emails every single day from people trying to get business. Most of them I completely ignore because they're just not good. But one of them recently blew me away and it made me want to hire this person on the spot. So in this video, I'm going to review the cold email that worked, explain why it worked, and give you an example of what not to do when you send a cold email so you can actually make some money. Now, before we get into the actual emails, I just want to talk about what makes a cold email actually work. What is the difference between a cold email that gets ignored and a cold email that makes somebody want to hire you on the spot? Imagine that you're working out in the gym, you're lifting weights, doing your bench press or whatever you're doing, and somebody just walks up to you and starts telling you that your form sucks and that you need to hire them right now to be your personal trainer so that you can get stronger. Unless they're incredibly jacked and a really cool person too, you're probably not going to hire them because they're missing one key ingredient that makes cold email and cold outreach as a whole actually work. And that's trust. The reason it's called cold email is because it is a cold lead. They do not know who you are. It's not like you're hitting up somebody on your email list or somebody inside of your network who's like, oh yeah, I know James. We've known each other for years. It's way easier to get people to trust you who actually know you. This is why you need to warm people up. You can do that by either knowing people, speaking on a stage, creating content, anything like that. But when you're sending a cold email, it's not that cold email doesn't work. It absolutely does. You just have to do it the right way. Because you need to know how to build trust really fast. If you can't do that, then you probably shouldn't be doing cold outreach. And the fastest way to build trust instantly is through proof. So the key to cold email isn't to just say that you're awesome, it's to show it. And you have to show it really fast. Otherwise you're not going to make the sale. So let's dive into the bad example of cold email that I actually got right before making this video. And I said, perfect, now I get to show a bad example of cold email. So this is the email right off the bat. The subject line says, I am Iron Man, and it's by Siddharth I hope I said that right. I am Iron Man. First off, I mean, just looking at the subject line, it is all about this person. I am Iron Man. There's no value for me to even click on it. Again, the only reason I did is because I figured, cool, here's an example I can use for my video that I want to make. So when we read the email, hi James, just watched this recent video that I put up. Your point on pricing is about positioning outcomes rather than content length has really stood out. So he's giving me some compliments, which is pretty standard. And then of course they transition into like, you're doing good, but you also are not very good at this thing. Talks about right now your videos get around 40 to 300 views, even though I just had a video pass 120,000 views, and other people are doing way better than you. I've helped 7 creators in the online coaching space fix this exact gap. One went from under 300 views per upload to consistently crossing 12,000 and landed inbound high-ticket clients within 60 days. Here's the problem. They're just telling me that. There's no attachment here. There's no proof. There's no example of this. If he simply said, here is that client, and sent me to the YouTube channel, or showed me some proof that, wow, I just made money from hiring you, then this would've been a lot more juicy. I can show you 3 simple tweaks that can make your next video impossible to scroll past. Much easier to show you live than explain over text. Much easier if you just sent me a Loom video giving me the 3 examples. Open to a 15-minute chat this week? Absolutely not. P.S. If any of this stings because you know the content deserves more, let's talk before others catch up. Okay, so I just want you to understand what's going on here. There is no trust that has been built here. They're just saying I'm awesome instead of showing me that they're awesome. Like, at least record me a Loom video. Which takes you under 5 minutes. It could take you 2 minutes to record a Loom video just to show some proof, introduce yourself, show your face, and that alone would help me build— have more trust for you. So if you are sending cold emails like this and you're sending 100 a day or whatever the guru has told you to do, this is not going to land you business. Maybe it'll get you business, but it's worth spending a couple extra minutes just to record a custom Loom video, which is like a dirt cheap, even free tool. You get up to 5 minutes for free. Using Loom. If you record a quick video just kind of showing that you're awesome, then you are going to get way more replies. So if you're doing this, stop. By the way, if you are watching this video and you're going to send me something like this, don't send it because I'm not going to reply. All right. So let's get into the good email and show you what real good cold outreach actually looks like down here. I saved this because I knew it was going to be a good example. This is by Ayan, I think is his name. Gosh, dude's awesome. If you get an email from this guy, I'd just say hire him. But he, look at this difference in this email subject line. Free video edit, no catch, with a present. So the present emoji does make it pop a little bit more, but also free video edit, no catch. The other guy said, I am Iron Man. The ego is blowing me away. So I clicked on this and it was a really short email, easy to read, good spacing, it's skimmable. Which is really important. He says, I came across your video and I really enjoyed it. I really like how you simplified this. Usually they open up with some kind of like compliment of some kind and then they go, however, you're also not doing very good over here. He just said, I noticed a few things that can improve and drive more clicks, get you some better viewer engagement. Right now your business leaves thousands on the table because the video editing doesn't convey your messaging, so the viewers are not retained. To show you what I mean, this is the key. I re-edited a portion of your video using a style designed to increase watch time and boost conversions. But before watching that, I made a Loom audit, 2 minutes and 2 seconds, sharing my insights on how you can improve your content. And then you click on the link. He literally linked it in here and then he goes over my own channel. What a guy. I don't know how many he's sending of these, but this is how cold outreach is supposed to be done. And him just doing this, it is not a copy-paste Loom video. It is a genuine video that he made literally introducing himself and talking about me, showing me my own YouTube channel, which I thought was incredible. Now I'm not gonna watch that Loom video right now, but it says now as you have watched the Loom, here is the re-edit. And I'm gonna play the quick clip for you just so you can see what he's doing here. I've been selling online courses and coaching for over 6 years and built a 6-figure business doing it. I wasted years building courses that nobody bought because I didn't understand the real game behind selling online courses. So in this video, I'm going to give you the exact roadmap that I wish I had when I got started so you can save some money and skip the years of guesswork that I had to go through. I'll show you how to create a course that people actually want to buy before you even build it, how to make your launch as profitable as possible even with a tiny audience, and how to automate your course so it sells while you sleep. And if you're serious about turning your online course into a predictable and consistent passive income stream, I have a full masterclass on how to do it linked right below this video. Bro, are you kidding me? The dude showed me how awesome he was. He didn't just tell me. And that is the key. Not only did I get a customized Loom video, he showed me a full effort intro. Just the intro was like the first 30 seconds, but he went all in on it. Like, what a guy. Again, I get so many emails from people who just talk about how awesome they are, or if they do give me an example, it's some half-assed, subpar example, and they're like, oh, if you pay me, then I'm gonna give you the full experience. That's like getting a free sample from Costco and then pulling out someone's half-eaten example from the trash and giving you that and say, oh, if you want to actually taste the food, you're gonna have to buy the full package. Like, I'm not gonna do that. He also gave me a before and after from my current, uh, clip that we have, and then the after right here as well. I've been selling online courses and coaching for over 6 years and built a 6-figure business doing just so you can see the difference between what we're doing and then what he could do for us. Now, I already have a video editor, and on top of video editing, he does way more for me and my business when it comes to like scheduling and a bunch of other stuff. So I was just like, hey man, like, you're amazing. I replied to him, told him how awesome he was. I referred him to one of my clients and that's been going great for him. But for me right now, it's just not the time. But if I did not have a video editor, I would just hire this guy because he's awesome. So then he says at the bottom, the goal is simple: more engagement, more conversions, more revenue. If you like the new style and want to explore how we could work together, let's hop on a quick call. And then you can book a call straight from here. And even when you click here to book a call, it doesn't just go to his calendar link. It goes to a nice landing page. Turn YouTube into a client-generating machine without wasting 10+ hours a week on editing. Like, dude's speaking the language that me as a business owner, his target audience would really care about. And then he goes down into more proof and examples of people he has worked with in the past saying, here's what people are saying about me. He's not just talking about how amazing he is. He's linking to their actual YouTube channels so you can see the editing in action. And then he's saying, book a call. This is how cold outreach is supposed to be done. Now, one key thing here is that this guy knows what he's doing. He has the skill set, and that's what's making this so much easier for him. When you are really good at what you do and you can show people that, hey, here's what I can do for you. I gave you a taste of it. If you want to get the full experience and keep this going long term, you can totally hire me. That is how business should be done ethically and sustainably. The kid obviously put time into his video editing skills, and right now video editing is one of the highest income skills that you can learn. So if you want to make more money online and learn high income skills like video editing, and then be able to send out messages like this to people and start generating business. Watch this video next and I'll give you the 5 high-income skills to learn in 2026 so you can start making more money online. If this video was helpful and insightful, give me a like and leave a comment below if you have any questions or takeaways. I want to hear your thoughts about cold outreach and maybe your experience with it. As always, take what you learned here, get out there, make something happen. I'll see you in the next one.