Beyond Personalization - What Actually Makes Cold Emails Work
This is one of the best-personalized cold emails I've received this week.
The email I received
The sender clearly did their homework - referenced my recent LinkedIn post, called out specific pain points in my workflow, and showed they understood what I'm building.
I read every word.
But it landed in spam. And what they offered wasn't top of mind right now.
This is the reality check we all need:
Personalization gets attention. But it doesn't close deals on its own.
The 3 Pillars That Need to Work Together:
1. Infrastructure That Actually Delivers
Your perfect pitch means nothing if it never reaches the inbox.
This means:
Properly configured domains and mailboxes
Gradual warm-up processes
Volume management that respects sending limits
Monitoring deliverability metrics obsessively
The irony? This sender was an AI SDR company offering email infrastructure as a service. Their pitch landed in spam.
And I’m saying this knowing very well that some of my emails also land in spam occasionally, because there’s no proven technique to avoid spam 100% of the time.
2. List Building That Targets Actual Fit
You can write a doctor the most personalized message in the world - but if you're selling veterinary equipment, you're wasting everyone's time.
This requires:
Clear ICP definition backed by data
Lead scoring that validates fit before outreach
Filtering out companies that aren't ready or able to buy
Using enrichment tools to validate signals beyond surface-level data
3. Messaging That's Actually Relevant
Here's the thing: they personalized. They showed they knew my content. They referenced my tools.
But they missed the relevance test.
Personalization ≠ Relevance
Personalization = "I read your post about Clay workflows"
Relevance = "Here's how we help people like you prevent leads from stalling mid-funnel"
You need both. But if you have to choose, relevance wins every time.
The Takeaway
This isn't email shaming - this sender did 70% of the work right. The personalization was genuinely impressive.
But success in cold outbound isn't about mastering one dimension. It's about not failing at any of the three:
✅ Infrastructure - They receive it ✅ List Building - They're the right person ✅ Relevant Messaging - They care about what you're saying
When you nail personalization but miss relevance, you get replies like "interesting, but not for us."
When you nail relevance but miss infrastructure, you get silence (because it's in spam).
When you nail both but target the wrong list, you get "fuck off" replies.
All three have to work.
Question for the comments: What's the best cold email you received this week? What made it stand out - and more importantly, what made it relevant to you?
Remember: Choose Vibes instead of stress, and watch your Sales grow!
Until next time,
Santiago 😎
