Email marketing is still a very effective method of lead generation, even though other methods like social engagement, content marketing through thought leadership and group dialoguing on networking sites are rapidly gaining momentum. The tried-and-true solution of email is still about as personal as you can get for a first-time touch. But this is not “spray and pray”…one template will not work for everyone! Not everyone likes pizza, so make sure you also have a hamburger or grilled cheese handy.

When developing a cold email template, keep in mind that you are often going to create a set of them—to be used for various audiences or approaches—in order to add some custom touches and answer important questions. Most marketing automation platforms and solutions these days have emailing tools that allow you to segment your mailing list and deliver different versions of your email marketing template(s) based on audience type. Here are 5 tips, in the form of questions that your recipient might ask themselves (and that you should anticipate!) when you create your cold email template(s):

* Are you talking to me?

Hang on, this is not Robert De Niro threatening you. No need to start fearing taxi drivers. What this question implies is that the recipient of your email might begin to read your email and wonder who you are talking to. Are you talking in third person, in a general “scripted” sort of way (like a generic, operational-type sales pitch), or are you actually speaking to your target reader in a personal and connected way? The best emails come across as conversational. Speak in first person, refer to yourself in a way that emphasizes your humanness, and talk about what needs or solutions might be personal to your audience. You can do this in a cold email template by personalizing the speech, using your marketing automation platform to insert the recipient’s name and job title, and customizing the email content to the recipient’s industry. One template won’t cover all titles in all industries; if you segment your mailing list by job title or industry, you can craft a handful of templates that will customize to your audience much more effectively.

* Why should I care?

The only reason someone would open your email is if the subject line speaks to their interest, and the only reason they would respond to the call-to-action (CTA) or engagement promoted in it is if they see it as a solution that provides them some sort of business value. Even if you offer a value pitch that may benefit recipients at some point in the future, the fact that you are in their mailbox means that they are currently looking at you from within an immediate and categorical reference point. People scan emails and always have their finger on the delete button. You have to speak powerfully, and you have to speak to the “right now.” You might have the best BAND-AIDs in the world that are waterproof up to 300 meters deep and will adhere even during a gorilla attack…but I have little use for them unless I have a cut at that exact moment. Yes, people do look for valuable products and services that they think they might need down the line, but at best they’ll make a note of items that come across their radar for later research when the need arises. If your cold email template does not speak to them right now, you lose the lion’s share of its potential power and urgency and often find yourself in the trash folder.

* Am I taking a risk here?

Okay, let’s say you got them to open and now they are actually reading your email. Bravo!