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Cold email

A cold email is a first email to someone you have never been in touch with, sent to start a business conversation. It goes to one person's work address, says why you chose them, and asks only for a reply.

Updated October 2026 · 4 min read · GetSales team

What makes an email cold

An email is cold when the person has had no contact with you before: no sign-up, no call, no earlier thread. In B2B it goes to the work address of one person you chose for a reason, such as their role, a hire on their team or a tool their company runs. It comes from a real person, it is short, and the only thing it asks for is a reply.

That is what separates it from a mass mailing. The list is small and picked on purpose, and each message says something that only fits the person who gets it.

The parts of a cold email

  • The subject line. A few plain words that read like a note from a colleague and match what the email says.
  • The first line. Why you are writing to this person now, in a sentence nobody else on the list could get.
  • The point. One problem you solve, in their terms, in a couple of sentences.
  • The ask. One question that is easy to answer with a yes or a no.
  • The sender. A real name, your company's postal address and a clear way to opt out.

A cold email is usually the first step of a short sequence: the first email and a few follow-ups in the same thread, which stop when the person answers. In a GetSales workflow a cold email is a Send email step, and by default a reply pauses the follow-ups.

The rules a cold email has to follow

In the US, CAN-SPAM covers every commercial email, and the FTC says it makes no exception for business-to-business email. Its guide lists what each one needs: honest header information, a subject that matches the content, a clear notice that the message is an ad, a valid postal address and a working way to opt out. An opt-out must be honored within 10 business days.1

In the UK, the PECR rule on marketing email does not apply to companies and other corporate bodies, so PECR does not ask for consent to write to a corporate address. You still may not hide who you are, and you must give a valid address to opt out. Sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals, so a cold email to them needs their consent first. Once your list names the person, the UK GDPR applies as well.2

Google requires everyone who sends to personal Gmail accounts to authenticate with SPF or DKIM and to keep the spam rate reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%.3

Sources

  1. Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business, August 2023, edited January 2024. Read 28 October 2026.
  2. Information Commissioner's Office, Business-to-business marketing, dated 22 May 2025. Read 28 October 2026.
  3. Google, Email sender guidelines, Gmail Help, requirements in force since 1 February 2024. Read 28 October 2026.

Last updated: October 2026

Catch-all email

A catch-all email is an address on a domain whose mail server accepts messages for any address, real or not. Because the server says yes to everything, a verifier cannot tell whether the mailbox exists, and a message to it may still bounce later.

Updated

CRM (customer relationship management)

A CRM (customer relationship management system) is the software a company uses to keep one shared record of its customers and prospects: who they are, every conversation with them and every deal, so the whole team works from the same history.

Updated

CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act is the US federal law on commercial email, and it covers cold email between businesses too. Each message needs an honest sender and subject line, a statement that it is an ad, a postal address and a way to opt out that is honored within 10 business days.

Updated