Those emails where there is no relationship as such with the sender, and you are introducing yourself for the first time. Cold emails are still to this day, the most effective way for businesses to increase their lead generation.

But, and there is a but, these emails need to get through the numerous security filters and settings that businesses now operate.

Sometimes, you can have the world’s best content inside those emails, but ultimately it comes down to deliverability which will determine whether your email will be a success or failure.

But, in this chapter we will explore some of the tried and tested tips which can increase your chances of making this cold email a more successful one.

Starting with, make it personal. Most marketers and content writers will emphasise this in all sales approaches; however, to reiterate the point, for a cold email to be successful you must tailor your messaging to your recipient.

Of course, this is harder than usual as you have no relationship with this person or feedback, etc, but it can be done. Research them, check out their LinkedIn profile, what interests them, what news is the following, what articles have they posted themselves, what is it that they want, how do they see the sector in which they work and the specific niche that they are specialised in?

You need to show them that you have put the work in. Make them feel special and not part of a cold emailing campaign where everyone has received the same message. Tell them why you are emailing them as opposed to anyone else, where do they fit in with your thinking etc.

Tell them about yourself. No boasting here, but you need to show them that you’re credible and that they can trust you. Do you have any direct connections or mutual friends, similar groups that you are part of, etc.? The aim here is to make it so you don’t feel like a stranger to them – remember we’re told from a very young age not to talk to strangers, so you need something compelling to change this.

Identify their pain points and give them something they want. Why should they care about your email? What are their pain points, make them appropriate and relevant to your content and the offer that you are providing them.

Keep emails to the point and actionable. Research has shown that short emails are much more likely to be read than long ones and those that request clear, specific action will also receive a higher response rate.

If you have a point in the email, get to it. And if you want the recipient to do something, tell them what that is, try to avoid getting them to choose as this involves thinking and processing, which consumes too much time.

Say thank you. Being appreciative as well as showing a little bit of vulnerability provides recipients with the feeling that they’re a good person if they help. Of course, it also gives them power and status too.

Finally, don’t use templates and write the email as if you were giving a speech. If the email when read aloud doesn’t flow smoothly then change it.

1b. The most important do’s and don’ts for cold emailing

For your email to be perfect 100% of the time, there are a few do’s and don’ts to take into consideration when constructing your approach.

Do

Content is what sells people, products, places, services and more. It’s what we use to engage audiences with and get them to follow through on what we want them to do. This section looks at some top tips when it comes to creating such compelling content.

Mentioned earlier in this guide, is the point that within cold emails you need to communicate that you understand their pain points, you know what problems they/ there sector is facing, and what you’re going to tell them will help alleviate this.

Reminding them about the problems compels readers to read on, as they find common ground with someone who knows and shares their pain.

In some instances, research on cold email content has shown if you agitate these pain points a little further and then swoop in with a solution, it is much more likely to result in a positive outcome and follow-up call to action.

However, make it their decision. Make sure that they know that they are in charge. For example, “if you would rather not, I fully understand and thank you f

or taking the time to read this email so far” – this type of psychology doubles the chances that they’ll say yes!

Content creation is about telling a story with a successful outcome at the end. You want to grab their attention, engage their interest, build a desire for your products and services – telling them about your big ideas, the proof points you have, the facts, hooking them with a strong Call to Action where you ask them for a direct response.

You will find that the most successful cold emails are fact-packed ones, those that are concise, specific, contain few adjectives and overall spark curiosity.

In a switched-on digital world, no one has time anymore, so you need to make sure you get to the point.

We’re not re-inventing the wheel, but instead using combinations of tried and tested formulas within our business contexts.

2. Cold emailing deliverability

Writing compelling content for an email to be read is one thing. Making sure it is delivered into the intended recipient's inbox is quite another.

With email security higher than ever, how can you ensure your emails are delivered correctly?

Firstly, and one which not many people are aware of it, don’t send the very first cold email using your primary domain. Make sure to purchase a few domains that relate to your primary address, for cold email campaigns, so your primary domain doesn’t become a bigger target for spam filters.

It’s also recommended that you avoid using .com where possible as these are also email addresses that are more likely to be checked by security software.

Secondly, check your email list. When 6-8% of the emails you send, start bouncing, it will affect your overall email deliverability, with email providers assuming that you are a spammer, soon blacklisting you across different platforms (see why we recommended buying alternative domains at the very beginning).

Check the details you have and the data you house, as well as monitor the bounce back rate when you start receiving emails in return.

Thirdly, you can check your deliverability using services such as mail-tester.com, working with the results you are then sent and taking on board their recommendations to improve your deliverability chances.

3. Red Flag

So, what constitutes a red flag when it comes to cold emails? What factors do they raise and how can we overcome them?

3.a. Need to show them you’re human!

This is important, as spam filters and email security software can be so tight that if there is any doubt that your email could be spam, it is trapped in spam filters never to reach its intended destination.

A red flag in this area is when emails are all sent at the same time, without the time lag in between this can show you as a spamming machine rather than a human being.

Make sure to pace your emails with 20-30 seconds between each send. Tools such as Mixmax, Yesware, and Mailshake can all automate sending cold emails, providing recommendations where needed, on how to increase chances of deliverability. (These platforms can also generate sending out emails through your Gmail accounts too).

3b. Avoid similar content

All content within your emails should be unique; however we are prone to hijack funny marketing quotes or commonly used words and phrases in the industries we operate. If you are sending out cold emails similar to content that is already out there or indeed like the content you have already sent (think about your follow up emails), this will be red flagged and end up in spam folders or deleted altogether before even being read.

The key is not to repeat yourself, create unique and compelling content.

3c. Spam filters pay attention to things out of the ordinary

Things like additional links in the text or hidden in pictures. They also raise a red flag to link shortening links.

In this case, it’s important to write links in your email without making them a clickable link, or indeed disable link tracking systems, helping to avoid phishing attacks, so will pass through spam filters much easier.

3d. No groups only individuals

Make sure when checking your email lists there are no group email addresses mixed up in there. Things such as finance@, sales@, etc as emailing these will again raise red flags and report your domain address as spam for any future communications.

4. Spam emails

With reports suggesting that over 281 billion emails were sent in 2018 and approximately 333 billion potentially will be sent in 2022, email plays a big part in society as well as business.

Knowing how email work is ultimately how we develop our understanding of spam emails as well as being aware of potential threats and IT attacks.

Email is ingrained in how we communicate, sell, inform, develop. Offering us the opportunity to communicate with anyone, anywhere at any time. They are simple in nature, so everyone who encounters them understands how to use them.

However, messages and information are openly exposed to others and just because we can’t physically see it doesn’t mean this exposure isn’t happening.

For example, emails can be intercepted, read, edited or even have viruses and malware placed within them, before being passed on to their final recipient.

For example, public Networks mean just that!

Sending mail via public networks means that an email is visible to anyone. It travels through other people’s servers to get to its destination, and these organisations operating these servers can quickly stop it, do anything with it, and then send it on its merry way.

This is the temptation for hackers; the temptation of knowing what is sent in an email is too much and placing something untoward in the email causing problems to the recipient and potentially the entire business is too inviting.

5. Your ultimate mail security guide

There is a growing threat of hackers, viruses, spam emails, phishing attempts and identity thefts as the number of people online and using email has increased dramatically.

So, how can you secure your business and keep your information safe?

Email security

When it comes to email security software and systems, this is often multi-layered, with several types of security technology now available.

Using things like spam filters, software that can scan email attachments (9 out of 10 viruses that infect a computer and network come from attachments) as well as relying on resources such as; Microsoft exchange server hosted encryption, Sophos PureMessage for Microsoft Exchange (helps to scan all mail), Symantec Mail Security, SonicWall and Websense, to name a few, can all help to increase email security.

Good network security systems

Private network security systems within the business, increase email security as well as check for spam and phishing emails coming in through a secure server.

It’s important to consider introducing instant messaging protection, email spyware protection, personal firewall tools (some of which will come with operating systems and then with add on security suites), as well as identity protection and content blocking, which scans emails and ultimately helps to protect users’ desktops from malicious content and viruses getting into the network systems.

6. Technical attacks – Viruses

Viruses come in many forms and from several different sources, affecting computers and systems in different ways. Viruses are a way to install malware or malicious software onto your computer to delete information, steal data and information, even hold information and you hostage!

Time-consuming and annoying, viruses can take a painstaking process for them to be entirely removed from your machines and networks.

The best way to counteract viruses is to include anti-virus filters, filters which remove infected and potentially infected emails from the system before an employee even has a chance to open it, let alone click any links or attachments.

6b. Phishing attacks

Phishing attacks are a way for hackers and spammers to target users to try and get them to hand over and enter personal details. Usually entered onto a fraudulent site, phishing emails are much more sophisticated now than a couple of years ago, looking authentic in appearance and with many passing through email security and anti-virus settings.

It’s important to look at your email filtering services as well as train employees on what to look out for in a phishing email and how to spot a potential phishing attack.

Protecting customers, employees and your business from the latest phishing attacks out there is vital to protecting your personal and company data.

6c. Denial of service

This is independent of human error and designed to overload the company’s mail server with incoming mail and attachments. A DoS attack is both time consuming and an inconvenience, however, if it does happen, it’s important that you base your email security over several resilient data centres.

7. Email Encryption

Email encryption is used to protect sensitive information sent in emails. Encryptions services can help protect both the sender and the recipient and depending on the type of encryption used, it can act as a military guard key coding system, as it is so difficult to break.

7a. Benefits of email encryption

Mitigates risk

Human error is inevitable. Sharing information publicly when it’s a private document, forwarding the wrong email to the wrong person, sharing attachments that shouldn’t be shared – are all damaging in one way or another to your business.

Using encryption software helps to mitigate these risks and problems, as it allows you to control information much more carefully.

Controlling information contained within emails by being able to set time limits before emails automatically expire, having recall functions if emails are sent by mistake, disabling forward options so that emails can’t be passed around, etc.

Controls access

You can control access at each stage of the journey of your email, tracking messaging, showing who has accessed your content, has it been forwarded on and if so who to, etc.

Ultimately you are in control, and you can always remain in control.

Don’t always have to remember

Integrating email encryption into your IT solutions can make sure that employees don’t have to continually remember how to encrypt sensitive information or protect email attachments, as this will automatically be done for them as part of their operating system, helping to protect against a variety of security and compliance risks.

Cyber threat reports, like the ones carried out by SonicWall online, have recently shown a staggeringly high increase in ransomware attacks in particular.

Reports show that in the first six months of 2018, 5.99 billion malware attacks were carried out, equating to a whopping 102% increase compared to the same six months in 2017.

Two big-named threats

Ransomware such as WannaCrypt (also known as WannaCry) and variances of this malicious software have added to this increase with this particular ransomware first striking systems in 2017 and playing havoc with networks ever since.

The basis of this ransomware is where the malware encrypts user data and then hides it for ransom until the victim pays.

Unfortunately, threats like this are very real and especially linked with the encryption of data – nothing can be considered safe anymore.

To help counteract such attacks from getting through operating systems in the first place, installing firewall devices, and SonicWall security will help to provide an automatic barrier, filtering out what is “good” and “bad.” Your firewall should act as your first line of defence in setting up any networks and new devices.

One of the biggest online security threats also hitting the headlines has been the emergence of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities which have impacted multiple CPU vendors.

Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities ultimately allowed side-channel attacks that abused operating systems memory to steal user information and confidential files.

SonicWall’s Real Time Deep Memory Inspection technology has been designed to protect businesses and individuals against these Spectre attacks. Looking at what these attacks are trying to achieve, how they are accessing systems and providing the highest level of security within a device from stopping these features getting into your operating systems.

Changing with the times

Online attacks, like everything, change with the times. They follow the latest trends and where people are spending or using money, and these attackers jump on the bandwagon.

An example of this has been the rise in stealing cryptocurrencies. Using stolen information as leverage or hacking into operating systems to build upon this growing trend.

At SonicWall we monitor trends, and we ensure that the SonicWall firewalls also stand up against any new and unusual threats, offering you complete peace of mind that you don’t need a new firewall device every time a new threat is introduced.

It’s also important to be aware that there has been a rise in fake ransomware attacks, where demand is made but no files are encrypted or any data etc. stolen and used.

Fake ransomware means just that; they’re fake. However because not everyone is aware what is fake and what is not and things to look out for to spot a fraud (check out our posts and guides on how to spot a fake) we often don’t realise that if you are a victim of fake ransomware, then your files can be restored. But and there is a but, because most users will likely consider their data to be gone, i.e., they have believed the fake ransomware has encrypted their systems, users will perform a full reinstall, losing everything.

For all fake ransomware attacks have been unsuccessful the threat is still there, and in some cases, the harm is still done if people carry out a full reinstall of their systems.

A different way

A note for organisations is that online threats are also now trying to find a different way in. What we mean by this is that they’re now using non-standard ports which maybe don’t have the same level of security as others, as they are not necessarily thought to carry the same level of risk.

However, over 19% of malware attacks last year came through non-standard ports, so we advise all companies and their IT departments to apply the same level of diligence to these as you do the standard ports in operation.

In 2018 attacks on IoT devices stood at 32.7 million and SonicWall security wants to play its part in bringing these extremely high figures down or at least providing the defence to stop attacks from impacting on people and businesses in the first place.

Thousands of people buy SonicWall firewalls and security devices because of the features and benefits they can provide, the enhanced security they offer and the trusted service they receive from our teams.

At SonicWall Sales we see these increases on public infrastructures, in the cloud, every day, posing numerous threats and costly fixes!

However, when it comes to offering security solutions for the cloud, there is still a lot of work to do.

Work in understanding its infrastructure, understanding how it works with the mobile era, and how we can zone in on these understandings to create the best security software available.

Why is this level of understanding important?

Well, IDC has recently reported that approximately 83% of projects are now virtual and a further 60% of bigger enterprises now use the cloud in some form.

In addition to these statistics, with continuous changes to the cloud, keeping projects and workloads secure has become more challenging than ever before.

But SonicWall firewalls are ready.

Continuously developing security software, SonicWall has recently extended security to the public cloud (enhancing and taking it one step further from the private cloud), providing start to finish security for multiple cloud deployments - all through the SonicWall Network Security virtual (NSv) firewall series.

The benefits of cloud technology are widely known, offering users scalability, greater flexibility and agility, infrastructure consistency and improved business efficiency. And now, with SonicWall NSv, Microsoft Azure and AWS (Amazon Web Services) are to be included in the public cloud environments.

An industry-leading firewall series

The SonicWall NSv series offers users:

• Application control and intelligence
• Monitoring in real-time
• IPS
• Inspection and decryption
• Advanced cyber-attack protection
• Network segmentation and VPN capabilities

All designed and developed to protect Azure and AWS environments.

The NSv is the next generation to the SonicWall hardware firewall, which includes the features that customers like and admire most. Such as the innovative technology - Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (which is patented), and the Capture Advanced Threat Protection sandbox which provided real-time. Deep Memory Inspection, both designed to stop cyber threats and attacks in their tracks.

If you’re looking to control traffic and get complete transparency across all of your virtual networks and private clouds, then NSv is for you. Providing you with seamless security, enhanced management capabilities, increased performance, reduced operating costs, a drive in innovation, quick placement, and more - NSv makes a move to the cloud safer and more straightforward.

Solutions to cloud security needs

Cloud security is of the utmost importance, and NSv in all of its many models is on hand to address the issues surrounding public cloud data and applications.

Benefits to protecting your public resources and cloud infrastructure include gaining clarity into the virtual world of threat prevention, you can implement security zoning and appropriate policies, and you can be in a stronger position to protect against everyday hackers and threats.

You can also stop service disruptions from happening and maintain the highest levels of security, remaining compliant and risk-free, all without having a negative impact on performance.

SonicWall firewall VPN can be used in VPN deployment, secure connectivity, as well as used to tighten remote access and more.

Make SonicWall NSv THE security choice when it comes to the public cloud.

With patented technologies, the best in the business technological innovation to support the latest developments, and powerful security now extending to the

public cloud, for the best security systems in the market, SonicWall provide it with all.

Note: The date for AWS availability is pending; however, SonicWall NSv is available for Azure public cloud environments now.

At SonicWall Sales, we provide the latest in security software and hardware systems, and we’re always on hand to answer your questions.

How do firewalls work?

Firewalls are software programs that prevent someone from accessing your computer. It identifies inbound threats and isolates them so that they don’t have a chance to wreak havoc with your system.

They’re not just good at keeping viruses, malware, and so on out, though. They can also be used to prevent the transmission of sensitive data out of your system. So, if you have an employee who is trying to transmit protected files, the firewall can prevent that.

Finally, a firewall might also be programmed to block what it deems malicious sites or sites that are considered a no-no. If you’re running a business and would prefer that your staff do not access social media while at work, the software can be programmed to block access to those sites.

Essentially, a firewall works by following a set of parameters that your IT professional puts in place. If it comes across a request, incoming or outgoing, that falls outside of those parameters, it will block that request.

By blocking any requests that do not fit the preset parameters, it ensures that your entire system is safe.

About SonicWall Firewall

There are different firewall types out there. Some are relatively simple and focus on just keeping malware off your system. Others, like those provided by SonicWall firewall, can do much more. It is one of the reasons that many businesses choose SonicWall firewall for internet security.