How to start low-effort email tests

In 2023, I side-hustled my way to find the best cold email structure for early-stage SaaS companies. I started by using templates created by people like Vin Matano Guillermo Blanco 💜 Will Allred and the 30 Minutes to President's Club. Took a handful of different angles and tests. But one framework started to stick out like a sore thumb for most niches and offers. Note: Trying out different angles, offers, lead magnets, and such is worth your time - these will eventually outperform this. But if you need a solid cold email framework without putting too much effort into it, this is what I've found to work best: 0️⃣ Subject: 1 to 5 words: Either 'quick question about {{topic}}' or '{{topic}} question' 1️⃣ Line 1: The companies I've worked with needed to get their name out to their markets quickly and with quality. 1 observational sentence (personalized). So the best way to send volume is by showing your prospects that you sorta know them. This is done with a simple AI-written observation. BTW, we're not actually writing these lines. GPTforSheets (GPT for Work) is, and we're double-checking them to make sure they don't look robotic, which about 5-10% do even with a killer prompt. Or you can still manually write these simple observations about their company. ie 'Hey {{first_name}}, noticed that your team does residential mortgages and had even funded over $6.3 billion in loans in 2019.' 2️⃣ Line 2: Poke the Bear Question (Josh Braun). Relate the question to the subject line. 1 sentence (non-personalized). Know your customers deeply and come up with a few neutral questions to get your prospects to think differently about their current solution. Test 3-5 different questions and see what gets the most positive replies. Do this by listening to every word they say in your meeting recording tools (like Gong Otter.ai Fireflies.ai) and getting help from ChatGPT for brevity. ie Quick q - how do you know if you're missing out on {{ideal overall outcome}} because {{pain}}? 3️⃣ Line 3: Show how you help. 1-2 sentences (non-personalized). ie Asking because we help {{niche/industry}} {{achieve outcome}} without {{common objection}}. 4️⃣ Line 4: Snappy social proof (non-personalized, but mentioning a relevant case study). 1 sentence (non-personalized). PS – if you don't have permission to share a relevant case study's company name, still mention relevant info but not the company's name. ie 'Most recently, {{case study}} went from {{before #/%}} to {{after #/%}} within {{timeframe days/months}} of implementing {{your product name}}.' OR ie ''Most recently, {{case study}} started using {{your product name}} and was able to achieve {{result #/%}} in {{timeframe days/months}}. 5️⃣ Line 5: The CTA. Short and soft. 1 sentence. (non-personalized) ie "Worth a chat?" or "Any interest in learning more?" Try it out, Spencer P

I see a lot of misconception about A/B testing in outbound. The problem I see most? People jumping straight into copy variations. When you do this, you don't even have an understanding which core message resonates with your audience. This creates a foundation of sand where every subsequent test builds on potentially flawed assumptions. Here's how we do it at OutboundLeads. Phase 1: Angle Testing (The Foundation) Before writing a single email, use ChatGPT or Anthropic to help identify 3-4 distinct angles based on different pain points your product or service solves. Each angle should represent a fundamentally different value proposition, not just different ways of saying the same thing. For a sales automation tool, your angles might focus on: → Time efficiency ("Save 15 hours/week on manual tasks") → Revenue growth ("Companies using automation see 23% more deals") → Team scalability ("Scale your sales team without hiring") → Competitive advantage ("While competitors do manual work...") The key to proper angle testing is maintaining consistency across all other variables. Same subject lines, same CTA structure, identical sending schedules, same personalization level. The only variable should be the core value proposition and pain point being addressed. You need minimum 200 contacts per angle for statistical significance. Run tests for 2-3 weeks minimum to account for different response patterns. Measure reply rates, positive reply rates, meeting booking rates, and response quality/intent level. Phase 2: Copy Optimization (The Polish) Once you've identified your winning angle through systematic testing, then optimize copy elements within that proven framework. THIS is where most teams want to start, but doing it prematurely WASTES time and resources. Within your winning angle, test email length, personalization depth, social proof placement, CTA formats, and tone variations. The critical rule: test only one element at a time. Change both email length and CTA format simultaneously? You'll never know which change drove the performance difference. Phase 3: Scaling and Documentation When you've identified both winning angles and optimal variations of copy, scale confidently. You don't need to keep trying to reinvent the wheel. You've already done it. Document learnings for future campaigns. Angle testing insights often reveal broader market positioning opportunities beyond email. The compound effect is powerful. Get angle testing right first, and every subsequent optimization builds on solid foundation. Our campaigns typically see 300-400% improvement over initial versions using this methodology.

"We tried Cold Email, but didn't see results." Has to be one of the most common challenges I hear. Let me explain. Over the course of 2024, I’ve spoken with many B2B SaaS Founders, Marketing Directors, Sales Directors, and GTM Leaders. They all share one problem in common: They’ve tried Cold Outreach, but they don’t get any results. So naturally, I start asking questions and offer to have a look at what they’re doing. When I review their campaigns, one thing becomes crystal clear: They understand how to build prospect lists, but there's little to no split testing happening. Here’s the reality: If you’re only sending 100-200 emails without testing different angles, you’re gambling on the success of your campaign, and in most cases, that gamble doesn’t pay off. Let’s break this down. There are two types of companies: 1️⃣ The 1% that doesn’t need to split test (they already know their ICP and what works for them). 2️⃣ The 99% that absolutely MUST split test to find what works best. If you’re part of the 99% (and most of us are), here’s how to do it effectively: Step 1: Test Pain Points Start by identifying the key problems your target audience is facing. Let’s say you’re an agency targeting e-commerce brands. You could test angles like: → High customer acquisition costs → Low lifetime value → Low return on ad spend Each email script stays consistent, only the pain point changes. 💡 Example: If you’re targeting a Sales Director, one angle might focus on the challenge of getting unqualified leads filling up their pipeline, while another might highlight how their team spends too much time on lead nurturing rather than closing. Allocate a set number of leads to each angle (e.g., 1,000 leads per angle) and track results. Step 2: Analyze & Scale Winners Once you’ve sent out the emails, review your data. Ask yourself: → Which angle is getting the most positive replies? → Are certain pain points resonating more than others? If one angle shows promise, double down. If another flops, drop it. Step 3: Test Offers After narrowing down the best angles, shift your focus to your offer. Split test variations of your offer to see which drives the most engagement and demo bookings. Forget vanity metrics like open rates (for now). Instead, track the ratio of PRRs. Many B2B companies: ❌ Send a small volume of Cold Emails (100-200) and expect big results. ❌ Focus too much on minor variables like subject lines before testing major factors like pain points or offers. ❌ Don’t analyze campaign performance enough to refine their approach. 💡 Pro tip in the PDF below👇 💬 Drop a comment below, or DM me for a free campaign audit.

Cold email doesn't work cause you don't know how to test. Save this post, here's the framework that 3X'd our response rates and got us meetings with CTOs at Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce: Most companies screw this up completely. They create 50+ variations. They tweak signature formats. They A/B test subject lines endlessly. But they're optimizing the wrong things. Here's the framework we use to crack outbound for our clients in under 30 days: 1. TESTING vs. OPTIMIZING Testing = the big stuff that actually matters - Value proposition - Pain points addressed - Target persona - Core offer Optimizing = minor tweaks that only matter AFTER you have a winning message - Subject line variations - CTA placement - Signature style - Send time 2. THE TESTING SEQUENCE THAT WORKS: Step 1: Start with ONE core message - Focus on a single, clear value proposition - Target ONE specific pain point - Keep it under 150 words Step 2: Test different OFFERS with the same message - Not getting responses? Don't rewrite the entire email - Change what you're offering at the end - Demo → Case study → Quick call → Coffee chat Step 3: Once an offer converts, create 3-5 VARIATIONS - Same core value prop and offer - Different opening hooks - Different proof points - Test with a small sample (100-200 sends each) Step 4: Scale the winner & start optimizing - ONLY now should you tweak subject lines - ONLY now should you test send times - ONLY now should you add personalization This approach cut our testing cycle from 3 months to 3 weeks. Most teams waste months on microscopic changes when they haven't even validated their core message. The best part? Tools like Smartlead make this systematic testing simple. Once you've got your winner, then you can go wild with personalization using Clay. But not before. Cymate 🛠️♠️

We send ~ 33,000 cold emails per day across our clients. But we do this one thing before scaling our sending volume. And that’s sending out small cold email campaigns (1,000 - 2,000 leads) to test:  - Resonance of the script angle.  - Resonance of the pain point we highlight.  - Resonance with the leads we’re sending to. That’s right - we *never* blast large-scale campaigns from day one. Not only is that bad practice, it could run your domain’s credibility & health. Which’d lead to your email landing in the spam box. Copy the exact process we follow to scale our campaigns: Let’s say we want to test a new cold email script Maybe it’s a new angle or it targets a different pain point. We’ll run an interview with our current clients to pull out recent pain points. Then we’ll rank those pain points based on what we think is most resonant. We’ll take the highest ranking pain points & spin up different script variations. At this point, we don’t “really” know what’s going to work & what isn’t going to. Hence why for each pain point, we write up a bunch of different scripts. We’ll then create small lead lists of ~2,000 leads each. Then we’ll run campaigns of around 50 emails per day, per domain. Then we’ll assess results based on:  - Positive replies.  - No. of meetings booked. With the new data, we just scale up the campaigns that got the best results. This is how we turn “testing campaigns” into full-scale “sending campaigns”. Nothing crazy, we just follow the data. We do this for our clients too & it led to 1,000s of qualified bookings in 2024. It’s simple. But it works like a charm. On that note - shoot me a DM if you’re planning to ramp up your outbound in 2025. Got a few strategies I think could help some of you hit the ground running.