14 B2B cold email templates (and how to write a cold email that gets replies)

A cold email has one job: earn a reply from someone who has never heard of you. Most fail because they talk about the sender, ask for too much, or look like they went to ten thousand people.

This guide gives you 14 B2B cold email templates you can adapt, grouped by situation: first touches, follow-ups, a breakup, referral asks, event outreach and a few more. Before the templates, you get the structure that makes them work, a follow-up cadence, and the compliance basics. All templates are examples we wrote for this guide. Replace every bracketed field with something specific, or don't send it.

How to write a cold email: the structure

Almost every good cold email follows the same five-part shape. Keep the whole thing short enough to read on a phone without scrolling, roughly 50 to 125 words.

1. A plain subject line

Write it like an internal email: short, lowercase is fine, no hype. "question about [company]'s onboarding" beats "🚀 Boost your revenue 10x". Avoid words that make it look like a newsletter. For more ideas, see our email subject lines guide.

2. An opening line about them, not you

The first sentence shows up in the inbox preview. Use it to prove you looked: a recent hire, a product launch, a job post, a line from their blog. "Saw you opened a second warehouse in Dallas" works. "I hope this email finds you well" wastes the preview.

3. One problem, in their words

Name a problem companies like theirs usually have, tied to what you noticed. One problem, not a list of features.

4. Proof, kept small

One sentence that makes your claim believable: a similar customer type, a specific outcome you can stand behind, or how the thing works. Only use results you can back up.

5. One low-effort ask

Ask for something easy to say yes to: "Worth a 15-minute look?" or "Should I send the one-page summary?" Don't paste three calendar links and a deck.

Plus: a real signature and an opt-out

Sign with your real name, title, company and a postal address, and add a simple way to opt out, such as "Not relevant? Reply 'no' and I won't follow up." More on why in the compliance section below.

Personalisation that is worth the time

Templates save time on structure. The reply comes from the one or two lines you write for each prospect. Good sources for a specific first line:

• a job post (hiring for a role your product supports);
• a product launch, new market or funding announcement;
• something they wrote or said: a blog post, podcast or conference talk;
• a tool they visibly use (a "Powered by" badge, a public integrations page);
• a shared connection, customer or event.

Merge fields like {first_name} and {company} are not personalisation on their own. Everyone uses them, and recipients know it.

First-touch cold email templates

Template 1: The trigger event

Use when something changed at the company, such as a new hire, launch or expansion.

Template 2: The problem-first email

Use when you know a common pain point for the role.

The closing question invites a real answer, even a "we solved it", which still opens a conversation.

Template 3: The specific observation

Use when you found something concrete on their site or product.

This one gives value first. Only send it if the observation is accurate and genuinely useful.

Template 4: The short question

Use for busy senior people. Three lines, one question.

Template 5: The relevant case

Use when you have a real customer story in their industry that you are allowed to share.

Never invent a customer or a number. If you can't name the result, describe what changed instead.

Template 6: The resource offer

Use when you have something genuinely useful: a checklist, benchmark you compiled from public data, or a teardown.

Follow-up email templates

A single email is easy to miss in a busy inbox, so plan your follow-ups before you send the first one. Each follow-up should add something new: a different angle, a resource, a simpler ask. "Just bumping this" adds nothing.

Template 7: Follow-up 1 (new angle, 3 days later)

Template 8: Follow-up 2 (useful resource, about a week later)

Template 9: Follow-up 3 (simpler ask)

Template 10: The breakup email (last touch)

A breakup email is polite and final. Mean it: if you say you won't follow up, don't.

Referral, event and other templates

Template 11: The referral ask

Use when you're not sure you have the right person.

Template 12: The mutual connection

Only use with permission from the person you name.

Template 13: Before an event

Template 14: After an event or webinar

Only reference what the person actually did. If they just registered, say so; don't pretend you spoke.

Cold email follow-up cadence

A simple sequence for a new prospect:

A few rules make any cadence work:

• Stop on reply. Any reply, including "not now", ends the sequence. Nobody should get a follow-up after they answered.
• Stop on bounce or opt-out. Remove the address at once.
• Send follow-ups in the same thread so the context is right there.
• Space them out. Shorter gaps feel pushy; four or five touches over three to four weeks is a common, reasonable pattern.
• Send on weekdays, in their business hours, in the prospect's time zone.

Compliance basics: CAN-SPAM and a real sender identity

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the rules for the countries you email.

In the US, the CAN-SPAM Act covers commercial email, and the FTC's compliance guide says plainly that "the law makes no exception for business-to-business email". According to the FTC, as of October 2026 a compliant message must:

• use accurate From, To and Reply-To information that identifies you;
• have a subject line that reflects what the message is about;
• identify itself as an advertisement where it is one (the law allows flexibility in how);
• include a valid physical postal address;
• explain how to opt out, and honour opt-outs within 10 business days.

The FTC lists penalties of up to $53,088 for each email in violation.

In practice, for cold outreach:

• Send as a real person from a real mailbox, with your name, title and company in the signature.
• Include your postal address in the signature.
• Make opting out easy: "Reply 'no' and I won't email again" is a simple, working method. Then honour it everywhere, not just in one sequence.
• Keep a suppression list so someone who opted out isn't re-added from the next CSV.

Other countries are stricter. In the UK, for example, the ICO's PECR guidance lets you email companies (corporate subscribers) without prior consent, but treats sole traders and some partnerships as individuals who need consent. GDPR also still applies to the personal data of named contacts in the EU and UK.

Deliverability: make sure templates reach the inbox

A great template in the spam folder earns nothing. The short version (our cold email deliverability guide has the detail):

• Use a separate domain for cold outreach so problems don't affect your main domain's marketing and transactional mail.
• Authenticate it with SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
• [Warm up](/blog/email-warm-up) new mailboxes and keep daily volume per mailbox low.
• Verify addresses before sending, and keep bounces low.
• Write plain text: few or no links, no images, no tracking-heavy HTML in the first email.
• Don't send the same text to everyone. The personal first line also makes each email different.

Sending cold email with EterMail

EterMail's cold email tools (EterMail is our product) send from your own Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or SMTP mailboxes, ideally on a separate domain. New mailboxes warm up gradually, and each stays within a safe daily limit that rises as it warms up. Follow-ups go in the same thread and stop the moment a prospect replies, bounces or opts out. AI can draft a personal opener for each company from its website, and every sequence waits for your approval before it sends. Cold email is turned on for a workspace after a short review and costs 5 credits per email (about $0.005), or is not charged per send on the Ultra plan.

FAQ

How long should a cold email be?

Short enough to read on a phone without scrolling, roughly 50 to 125 words. One problem, one proof point and one ask are enough. If you need more space, the email is probably trying to do too much.

How many follow-ups should I send after a cold email?

Three or four follow-ups over three to four weeks is a common, reasonable pattern. Each one should add something new, such as a different angle or a useful resource. Stop as soon as the person replies, bounces or asks you to stop.

Is cold email legal?

In the US, B2B cold email is legal under CAN-SPAM if you use accurate sender information, a truthful subject line, a postal address and a working opt-out that you honour within 10 business days. Rules elsewhere differ; the UK and EU are stricter, especially for individuals and sole traders. This is general information, not legal advice.

What is the best subject line for a cold email?

A short, plain line that reads like an internal email and refers to the prospect, such as "question about [company]'s onboarding". Avoid hype, all caps and emoji. The subject only needs to get the email opened; the first line does the convincing.

Should cold emails include links or images?

Keep the first email plain text, with no images and at most one link. Heavy HTML and many links make a message look like bulk marketing. Share a resource in a follow-up once you know the person is interested, or when they ask.

What is a breakup email?

A breakup email is the last message in a cold sequence. It politely says you'll stop following up and leaves the door open. Because it asks for nothing, it can prompt a reply from people who meant to answer earlier, but only send it if you really will stop.