Cold Outreach: Should You Add Links in the First Email?

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A few days back, I was asked about the cold outreach: is it fine to add links in the first cold email?

At first glance, this question seems very innocent. You can add a link or not, so what’s the big deal? However, there are many matters behind this question. That’s why I decided to write a blog post about it.

This question is useful to technical people, alike marketers or salespeople. By adding links (or not), you adequately influence the perception of your brand, its recognition, and importantly; email deliverability.

So, is adding links in the first cold email a big deal? Let’s find it out!

The Role of Links in Cold Outreach Emails

Links play a crucial role in cold outreach e-mails, serving as bridges between initial contact and deeper engagement.

When used effectively, they can significantly enhance the impact of your e-mails, driving conversions and fostering connections with your target audience. Here’s how links function within cold outreach emails:

FOMO Building

No one likes the feeling of missing out. That’s exactly the purpose of adding links in the right places in e-mails, especially in the first one.

“See what we’ve got for clients in your industry.” Sounds intriguing, a bit curious. You don’t know what to expect, but you’ve probably thought, “Hmm, is the competition doing something better than me? If so, what and how?” This is the essence of FOMO (fear of missing out).

Conversion Growth

The first cold e-mail doesn’t have to be sales-oriented, meaning it doesn’t need to generate profit immediately. You can aim to increase conversions instead. Conversion can be set up for many variables. It can be:

• registration
• downloading an ebook 
• signing up for a webinar
• leaving contact information (e.g., phone number)

This is why adding links in the first cold message makes sense. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to lead to sales from the first interaction.

Personalization

Everybody loves receiving personalized emails. It shows that you’ve done your research and made an effort to surprise your recipient. This makes a strong impression, especially in the first message and cold outreach.

The above example is indeed a personalization of a LinkedIn message, but the same principle applies when writing first e-mails in cold outreach. The better the personalization, the better the outcome. Of course, you have to find the golden mean—it’s not about including an excessive amount of information, but rather A/B testing to see what works and what doesn’t.

Moreover, By using personalized URLs or unique landing pages, you can create a more customized experience, making your outreach feel more relevant and targeted.

This is what you can personalize in your first, could outreach:

• Recipient’s Name: Doesn’t have to be explained.
• Prospect’s Job Title: Use LinkedIn and Apollo.io to get the right information.
• Company Name: Put the certain name.
• Pain Points: What problem your customer faces that your solution will solve?
• Prospect’s Solution: What are you referring to?
• Mutual Connections or Shared Interests: A mutual friend recommended you to contact that prospect? Don’t forget to mention it.
• Custom Offer or Solution: Write explicitly how your company helps others.
• Call to Action: Want to take further action? A CTA is a must.

Cold outreach isn’t just for fun. It is a must, but also a great fun. Your first message must say: “You need me, and this is why!”. Good, first cold e-mail increases your open & response rate.

Building Credibility

Adding links in cold approach is also a way to increase credibility in the eyes of your audience.

Here, what you link is more important than where you link. Let me explain.

As a client, you’ve likely received e-mails with messages like:

• visit my blog
• take a look at my portfolio
• check out my testimonials
• we work with these brands
• and much, much more.

All of these messages aim to show you something that will make you trust your potential business partner.

That’s why adding links to cold emails is very important. Each one serves as a so-called Call to Action (CTA) and guides your prospect to take further action.

Call to Action

Call to action is one of the most important elements in sending cold emails. Alongside the right personalization, I’d say it’s just as crucial.

A call to action is the part of the email that prompts your reader to take action. This is the first step where you can convert a prospect into a customer.

CTAs in message body are often discussed during the first days of training in a new job, yet surprisingly—many salespeople still don’t use them. Why? Perhaps they don’t know how, or they don’t realize how important they are? That could be the case.

This time, let’s reverse the roles a bit. You know that you need to include a call to action in your cold approach. But what happens if you don’t?

You might receive responses like:

• thanks
• got it
• cool

Or simply nothing at all.

Create a sense of urgency or action for your prospect. If they feel they need to do something, trust me—they will.

Here are some (must-use) CTA examples:

• Book a meeting using my calendar: online meeting.
• Buy it today and get a 10% discount: Your Purchase.
• Download your free copy.
• Register now.

Benefits of Including Links in the First Cold Email

As you already know, adding links in cold e-mail has many advantages. The more relevant the link and its placement, the higher the likelihood of conversion—even from the first contact.

Let’s now focus on what works and what doesn’t in cold outreach.

Why Links Can Enhance Cold Outreach Effectiveness

The previously mentioned increase in brand credibility is the first factor. The next is the touchpoint between the customer and your brand.

Of course, in reality, the first moment when a prospect encounters your brand is when they receive your e-mail. They see your company name. But do they take any action? Let’s be honest—if you don’t capture your prospect’s interest, and they don’t engage with the email, they won’t even remember your company’s name. That’s why it’s crucial for the email subject line to be exceptionally well-personalized. And then—ensure that the message body is well-crafted, including the appropriate links leading to the action you want to achieve.

What is Email Deliverability & How Does It Help?

Deliverability refers to the ability to successfully reach its intended recipient’s inbox. E-mail deliverability is especially important when sending sequences and email marketing campaigns. The more you send, the higher the likelihood that something can go wrong. Good deliverability ensures that your emails are not flagged as spam or blocked by external service providers (ESPs), thereby maximizing the chances that your message will be seen and acted upon by the recipient.

Several factors influence the deliverability, including the quality of your waiting list, the content of your messages, your sending reputation, and the technical setup of your mailing infrastructure. A clean email list with engaged recipients, well-crafted content that avoids spam triggers, and a positive sender reputation are all essential to maintaining high deliverability rates.

Of course, the words used in the email subject line play a crucial role. Good personalization is not everything. If you use an example like: Simon, buy it for your blog simongorlak.com!, you increase the risk that such a message will wind up in the spam folder. Why? There are certain words you should avoid using in subject lines. Here they are:

• Buy
• Free
• Offer
• Cheap
• discount

Nevertheless, how does good email deliverability help your business? First and foremost, it enhances the visibility of your brand. The more are seen by your prospect, the better. If your messages consistently land in the inbox rather than the spam folder, your audience is more likely to engage with them, leading to higher open rates, click-through rates, and, ultimately, conversions. Moreover, strong deliverability helps to protect your sender’s reputation. ESPs monitor how recipients interact with your emails—such as whether they open them, click links, or mark them as spam—and this data has an effect on your overall reputation as a sender and the domain that you send emails from.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Adding Links

The most common problem is adding too many links. This is problematic for both the prospect and the email servers. When a prospect sees too many links, they get confused. They might want to click on a link, but aren’t sure which one. And they won’t click on all of them because it’d take too much time. So, what should you do?

Limit the number of links to a maximum of two per one message. Adding links also serves as a CTA. You don’t have to explicitly say “click the link,” but your message should guide your potential customer to take an action—in this case, clicking on the link.

Another mistake is linking too many words. I’ve had the opportunity to review emails where entire sentences were linked! It looked something like this: If you want to see who we work for, click this link. <— And this entire sentence was linked! That wasn’t the best approach.

So, how many words should be linked? To keep it looking clean, link a maximum of three words. The best option would be to use two specific words. Sometimes even one word, like blog, portfolio, or testimonials, is sufficient.

Use Secondary Domain Address for Cold Outreach

This aspect must’ve been mentioned in this post. A secondary domain is the perfect solution to protect the quality of your main domain. It may seem like a minor detail, but it actually offers a much bigger solution.

Your main domain, let’s say wordpress.com, is where everything happens. It hosts your offers, blog, and landing page. If this domain gets hurt, you won’t even appear high in Google search results. The search engine may classify your domain as spammy, meaning you’ll never achieve a high ranking for your targeted keywords. The result? Fewer leads, lower-quality inquiries or none at all, and loss of revenue. You know what I mean. That’s why you need a secondary domain.

If you’re pursuing an outbound strategy, a secondary domain is a must.

For instance, if your main domain is wordpress.com, buy a secondary domain like wordpress.net or wordpress.org—something that still includes your brand’s name. But avoid the common mistake of buying an extended domain like wordpress.marketing.agency.com. At first sight, it looks suspicious. As a result, your target audience might not respond, even if you land in their inbox with a perfectly personalized email subject line.

As you can see, a secondary domain is a must for an outbound-based business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Cold Outreach

So, speaking about the cold outreach: should you add links in the first email? Now you know the answer better than your competitors.

Would you add something else? What’s been your strategy? Feel free to reach out to me if you need any help!

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this post, you can always support my blogging journey 👇

Thanks for contributing & reading,
Simon

Author Profile

Simon Gorlak

Simon Gorlak is a Digital Marketing Expert with over 8 years of experience. He specializes in 3 areas: SEO, Copywriting, and Email Marketing. Simon's blog gathers knowledge that helps Marketers & C-level to increase profits from their online businesses. Also, his content helps to reach the most difficult customers, make others' content to be read & purchased. Besides digital marketing, Simon speaks 4 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish & works as a Head of Business at an Indian Start-up.

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