Is Cold Email Spam?

As business owners we are all trying to get the word out.

One technique is to send "cold emails" to a list of prospects you think might be interested.

But is it spam?

Here is what Google says... "No, cold email is not inherently spam; the key differences lie in intent, personalization, and value."

Which is fine, but what exactly does that mean? Every cold email from a marketer has the "intent" to sell you something. So if it says Hey Bob, why does that make it okay?

And further, why are some emails considered spam, while others not?

And why are some emails flagged as spam and placed in spam folders despite being a simple outreach?

As a marketer, you may have a legitimate reason to send cold email, for example, you met someone at a trade show, looked up their email, then reached out to them to promote your product or service. There is nothing wrong with that.

Same thing with cold calling or door-to-door sales, other than being annoying there is no law against it.

Generally speaking, those who are successful at cold email first follow the CAN-SPAM Act, and provide legitimate products and services.

However, two things always break the camel's back.

Volume and frequency.

The more emails you send (i.e. bulk emails) the more your email address is scrutinized. Some folks warn not to send more than 50 cold emails per day, others warn not to send more than 2 cold emails per email address, some warn you should use an SMTP service.

Why the fuss? To avoid spam filters. The game is to keep emails in the inbox, not the spam box.

Sending cold emails is still a cheap way to get the word out. If you do, it is recommended to follow the rules:

• Don’t use false or misleading header information
• Don’t use deceptive subject lines
• Identify the message as an ad
• Tell recipients where you’re located
• Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future marketing email from you
• Remember that subscribers and members can opt out of marketing emails, too
• Honor opt-out requests promptly
• Monitor what others are doing on your behalf

As Google mentioned, cold email is not spam inherently, it becomes spam after you push the volume too much and too fast.