Cold email length and structure, from years of selling to stores

Where the method comes from

Before LaunchPal, we sold products to stores ourselves, by email, by phone and in person. The way our outreach emails are built comes from that: what owners answered, what they ignored, and what made them reply "send me a sample".

Every email we write follows the same shape. The words change for every store (see personalised emails); the structure does not.

Short enough to read at the counter

A store owner reads email between customers, on a phone. If the whole message fits on the screen without scrolling, it gets read. If it does not, it gets saved for later, and later rarely comes.

So we keep emails short. A few short paragraphs, often only a handful of sentences. Anything that does not help the owner decide to reply comes out.

The structure

1. 1A reason it is themOne line that shows you know the store: what it stocks, where it is, what kind of place it is.
2. 2What you makeOne or two sentences on the product, in plain words, with the detail that matters to this store.
3. 3Why it works for themThe margin, how it sells, or how it fits what they already do. One reason, not five.
4. 4One easy askUsually: reply and we will send a sample. Nothing that needs a call, a login or a form.
5. 5A real sign-offA person's name, the brand and a way to reach you.

Plain text on purpose

Designed emails with logos and banners look like marketing, and both owners and spam filters treat them that way. A plain text email looks like a note from one person to another, which is what it is.

For the same reason the first email has no attachments and no images, and keeps links to a minimum. The price list and line sheet come after the reply. See why there are no attachments in the first email.

One ask, not three

The commonest mistake we see in brands' own emails is too many calls to action: call us, visit our site, book a tasting, see our portal. Each extra step loses people. A hospitality manager will not ring a stranger during service. They will tap reply.

The ask stays the same through the follow-ups, so the owner always knows what you want.

Why it works

Our clients average a 10-15% reply rate. Short, specific, plain emails with one ask are a big part of that, along with sending to stores that fit and following up.

Want to see the shape in action for a particular kind of shop? Our guide to getting your product into cafés walks through it for café owners.

Subject lines

The subject line has one job: get the email opened by someone who has never heard of you. Short and plain works best. Something that names their store or what you make reads like a real message. Anything that sounds like a sale, with capitals, exclamation marks or discount language, reads like an advert and gets skipped.

The follow-ups are shorter still

Each follow-up keeps the same shape and gets shorter. It adds one new thing, such as a serving idea, a nearby stockist or a small trial offer, and repeats the same easy ask. The owner should be able to read it in a few seconds and know exactly what you want.

Most replies come on the second or third email, so these short notes matter as much as the first.