Cold Email
TL;DR
Cold email is the cheapest, most controllable way to put your exact ICP on your site and into a microsite flow. Clean your list, personalize with Clay, send safely via Smartlead/Instantly (~15 emails per inbox/day, 5 or fewer inboxes per domain, use separate campaign domains), and judge success by website visits + microsite engagement, not just replies. With a relevant offer, ~10% of sends typically turn into site visits at a tiny fraction of paid media. Use your identity pixel to see who came, then trigger a 1:1 microsite + fast follow-up.
Why use cold email (for microsites)
Precision
Reach the exact companies/roles you care about instead of buying broad clicks.
Narrative Control
Email to your page to your microsite. No ad network noise.
Unit Economics
Thousands of targeted touches for the price of a single broad paid test.
Measurable Intent
Reverse-IP/identity pixels confirm which accounts visited, even when they do not reply.
The safe sending foundation
Critical Limits
Cap at ~15 emails per inbox/day (45-75/day per domain)
Ramp slowly: 5/day → 10/day → 15/day across 7-10 days
Campaign Domains
Do not send from your primary domain. Buy separate domains like trybrand.com, getbrand.com, meetbrand.com.
Warmup & Auth
Ensure SPF/DKIM/DMARC pass. Use tool warmup features before sending.
Forwarding
Forward all campaign inboxes to a shared folder for fast triage.
Recommended Tools
Smartlead or Instantly - buy domains/inboxes in-app, rotation, warmup, auto-pauses, deliverability checks.
Data: get, clean, prep
Source: Apollo, ZoomInfo, Sales Navigator (see Data Sources lesson).
Verify: Run through Leadmagic or NeverBounce. Keep bounces under 3%.
Dedup and segment: Group by industry, trigger, persona, or hypothesis so messages stay relevant.
Personalize inputs: Push to Clay for enrichment (site tech, recent news, pages, job posts) and for generating true first-line personalization.
Writing emails that land and get read
The Format
Plain text, short (75-125 words). One idea. One link. No attachments.
Subject Line
Specific beats clever. Example: "competitor's lead times vs yours"
Opening Line
One sentence that proves relevance (from Clay enrichment).
Value Statement
One sentence tying their situation to your outcome. "Teams like peer use us to... result"
Offer / CTA
Light CTA, ideally your microsite hook: "Want a one-pager built just for company?"
Voice & Compliance
Voice: Helpful, direct, low-friction.
Compliance: Include physical address + easy opt-out (and follow local laws).
Ship with a simple stack
Clay
Enrichment + 1:1 openers
Smartlead / Instantly
Sending, rotation, warmup, tracking, auto-stops
Leadmagic / NeverBounce
Email verification
Vector / RB2B / Leadfeeder
Identity and visit tracking
Cirql Microsite Generator
Instant 1:1 asset when intent appears
Measure what matters
Track account-level intent and conversion, not just reply rate:
Visit Rate
% of sends that become website visits. Target ~10% with good fit/offer.
Engagement Metrics
Time on page, scroll depth, CTA clicks on your site and microsites.
Meetings by Account
Attribution to campaign/sequence.
Deliverability Health
Bounce and complaint rates. Stay under 3% bounces, negligible complaints. Smart pauses if metrics spike.
Follow-up playbooks (turn visits into meetings)
When Your Pixel Sees a Visit
Auto-generate a microsite (pre-filled with their company context), then follow up immediately.
"Made this quick page for company - mind if I walk you through it?"
LinkedIn DM
Friendly nudge + microsite link.
Call
"I can walk you through the one-pager we built for you."
If No Visit
Finish the sequence, then try a second angle or channel.
Guardrails & common pitfalls
Avoid These Mistakes
Too much volume — deliverability tanks. Keep to the limits above.
Generic personalization — spam folder. Use Clay to ground it in facts.
Unverified lists — bounces. Always validate.
Reply-only mindset — you will miss the real signal. Most people click first, reply later.
Single channel — add LinkedIn/calls to lift meetings from high-fit visitors.
Quick checklist
Before You Send
Campaign domains bought; SPF/DKIM/DMARC set; warmup on.
5 or fewer inboxes/domain; cap 15 sends/inbox/day; ramped.
List sourced, verified (under 3% bounces), segmented.
Clay personalization plugged in; plain-text templates ready.
Smartlead/Instantly sequences live; pauses configured.
Identity pixel installed; alerts on target visits.
Microsite generator ready; follow-up call/DM scripts prepped.
Remember
Cold email's job is not to win the deal in the inbox - it is to earn a visit you can recognize, convert with a microsite, and finish with a conversation.