Is cold email legal under GDPR and CAN-SPAM?

Yes, if done correctly. For B2B in the EU, you can use 'legitimate interest' as legal basis—your outreach must serve a genuine business purpose, be relevant to their role, and include an opt-out. In the US, CAN-SPAM requires a physical address, clear opt-out, and honest subject lines. Both require you to honor unsubscribe requests promptly.

What's a good cold email conversion rate for SaaS?

Good cold email conversion rates range from 2-5%, with personalized campaigns hitting 5% or higher. Average is 0.7-1.7%. For SaaS specifically, expect ~38% open rates, ~3-4% reply rates, and ~1% of total sends converting to booked demos. If you're below 1% conversion, your targeting or messaging needs work.

Which cold email tool should I use as a bootstrapped founder?

Start with Hunter.io ($49/month) for email finding and basic campaigns, or Apollo.io's free tier (275M contacts, limited sends). Once you're sending 500+ emails monthly and seeing traction, upgrade to Saleshandy, Instantly, or Lemlist for better deliverability and automation. Avoid expensive tools until cold email proves as a channel for you.

The Technical Founder's Guide to Cold Email That Actually Converts

Most technical founders hate cold email. It feels pushy and incompatible with the "build it and they will come" ethos.

Here's the truth: cold email works. Well-executed outreach converts at 2-5%, making it one of the highest-ROI acquisition channels for B2B SaaS. Analysis of 5,000+ cold emails shows 8% generated meaningful responses—and those 8% followed specific, repeatable patterns.

This guide covers exactly how to find prospects, write emails that convert, follow up effectively, and stay compliant—with data-backed templates and tools under $50/month.

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Cold email fails when you email everyone. It succeeds when you email the right 100 people.

Firmographic filters: Industry, company size (10-50, 50-200 employees), revenue range, geography, growth stage.

Technographic filters: Tech stack (find via BuiltWith, Datanyze), tools you replace, signals of need (funding, job postings).

Example ICP: B2B SaaS companies, 50-200 employees, Series A or profitable, 10+ engineers, React/Node stack, funded in last 18 months.

Emailing 50 perfect-fit prospects beats 500 random companies.

Step 2: Find the Right Prospects

Hunter.io ($49/month): Email finding with 90-98% deliverability.

Apollo.io (free tier): 275M contacts, filter by tech stack, company size, funding.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($99/month): Advanced B2B filters for finding decision-makers.

Workflow: Define target companies → Find decision-makers (VP Engineering, CTO, Head of Product) → Extract emails → Enrich with context (funding, job postings) → Store in spreadsheet.

Aim for 50-100 high-quality prospects weekly. Quality beats volume.

Step 3: Write Emails That Get Responses

Structure: Personalized subject (10-50 chars) → 1-2 sentences personalization → 1-2 sentences problem/solution → Clear CTA.

AIDA Framework: Attention (personalization) → Interest (their problem) → Desire (quick value) → Action (low-friction CTA).

5 Tested Templates with Response Rates

Template 1: Problem-First (4.2% response rate)

Subject: Quick question about [their product/company]

Hi [Name],

Noticed [Company] is using [Tool X] for [use case]. Most teams we work with hit scaling issues around [specific metric/threshold].

We built [Your Product] to solve exactly that—[one-sentence value prop]. [Social proof: "Company Y cut their [metric] by 40%"]

Worth a 15-min call to see if it's relevant for [Company]?

[Your Name]
[Title] at [Company]
[One-sentence description]

Template 2: Competitor Angle (3.8% response rate)

Subject: Alternative to [Competitor]

[Name],

Saw you're using [Competitor Tool]. We're helping companies like [Similar Company] switch to [Your Product] because [specific advantage: "it's 3x faster" or "cuts costs by 50%"].

Curious if [specific problem Competitor has] is an issue for your team?

If so, I can show you how we solve it in under 10 minutes.

[Your Name]

Template 3: Funding/News Hook (5.1% response rate—highest when timely)

Subject: Congrats on the Series A

Hi [Name],

Just saw the announcement about [Company]'s Series A. Congrats!

Most companies we work with start scaling [specific function] around this stage. We help teams like [Similar Company] [specific outcome] without adding headcount.

Worth a quick chat about how [Company] is approaching [problem area]?

[Your Name]

Template 4: Mutual Connection (6.3% response rate when genuine)

Subject: [Mutual Connection] suggested I reach out

[Name],

[Mutual Connection] mentioned you're dealing with [specific challenge] at [Company]. We just helped [their company/similar company] solve exactly that.

Would it be useful to see how? Happy to share a quick demo.

[Your Name]

Template 5: Value-First (No Ask) (2.9% response rate but builds pipeline)

Subject: Thought this might be useful

Hi [Name],

Came across your post about [specific topic]. Thought you might find this helpful: [link to valuable resource: guide, tool, analysis].

We built [Your Product] to solve [related problem]—[Company A] and [Company B] are using it for [use case].

Let me know if you'd like to see how it works.

[Your Name]

Avoid: Generic filler, long paragraphs, multiple CTAs, desperate language.

Step 4: The Follow-Up Sequence

80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups, but 44% of salespeople give up after one. The fortune is in the follow-up.

The 4-Email Sequence (Over 2 Weeks)

Email 1 (Day 0): Initial outreach using templates above.

Email 2 (Day 3): Bump with additional value.

Subject: Re: [Original Subject]

[Name],

Realized I should have included this in my first email: [case study link / demo video / relevant blog post].

[Company X] saw [specific result] in [timeframe] using this approach.

Still interested in seeing if it's relevant for [their company]?

Email 3 (Day 7): Ask a question or provide new angle.

Subject: Re: [Original Subject]

Quick question: is [problem area] something [Company] is actively working on, or not a priority right now?

If it's not the right time, totally understand. Just want to avoid being a pest.

Email 4 (Day 14): Breakup email (often gets highest response).

Subject: Closing the loop

[Name],

Haven't heard back, so I'll assume this isn't a priority right now.

If things change down the line, feel free to reach out. Here's a link to our demo: [link]

Best of luck with [Company]!

[Your Name]

Breakup emails work because they signal you're moving on, which removes pressure and often triggers a response ("Sorry for the delay, actually yes let's chat").

Step 5: Tools and Automation

Saleshandy ($25-99/month): Best value, unlimited sending, strong deliverability.

Instantly.ai ($37/month): Volume-focused, unlimited email accounts, warmup included.

Lemlist ($59/month): Advanced personalization (video, images).

For bootstrapped founders: Start with Hunter or Apollo free tier. Upgrade at 500+ monthly emails.

Deliverability: Warm up domains (2-3 weeks gradual increase), verify emails before sending, personalize every message, avoid spam triggers ("free," "guarantee"), monitor metrics (30%+ opens, under 5% bounces).

Step 6: Legal Compliance (GDPR & CAN-SPAM)

GDPR (EU): Use "legitimate interest" legal basis—your outreach must be relevant to their business role, include opt-out, explain why you're contacting them, and minimize data collection.

CAN-SPAM (US): Include physical address in footer, clear unsubscribe link, honest subject lines, honor opt-outs within 10 days, accurate sender info.

Compliance checklist: Physical address in footer, unsubscribe link, only email relevant prospects, maintain suppression list, never buy lists.

Metrics That Matter

Open rate: 30-40% (below 25% = deliverability issue) Reply rate: 3-5% Positive reply rate: 2-3% Meeting booked: 1-2% Demo-to-customer: 20-30%

ROI example: 500 emails → 35% open → 3% reply → 1% meeting booked (5 demos) → 20% convert (1 customer). At $2K average customer value, that's $2K/month from $49 tools + 5 hours.

Common Mistakes

Wrong person: Email decision-makers (VP Engineering, CTO), not CEOs of large companies.

Features not outcomes: "Cut debug time 40%" beats "AI-powered analytics."

No personalization: Reference specific details (blog post, funding, product launch), not just first name.

Too long: 5 sentences max. Executives skim.

Weak CTA: "Worth a 15-min call?" beats "Let me know if interested."

Giving up too soon: Send 4 emails over 2 weeks. Most responses come from follow-ups.

The Bottom Line

Cold email is the fastest path from "we need customers" to "we have revenue" for B2B SaaS. The difference between what works and what gets ignored: relevance and empathy.

Start small: 50 perfect-fit prospects, personalized emails, consistent follow-ups, track results. Once converting at 2%+, scale by hiring for prospecting while you close deals.

The founders who succeed ship 50 emails this week instead of spending another month "perfecting" strategy.

Start now. Send your first 10 emails tomorrow.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cold emails should I send per day to avoid being flagged as spam?

Start with 20-30 emails daily for the first 2 weeks from a new domain/email account, then scale to 50-80 daily. Never exceed 200/day from a single account—that triggers spam filters regardless of content quality. If sending higher volume, use multiple email accounts (each sending below 80/day) and rotate them through your outreach tool. Most importantly, warm up your domain first—use tools like Instantly or Saleshandy to gradually build sender reputation over 14 days before sending cold emails.

Should I use my personal email or create a separate cold outreach domain?

Create a separate domain specifically for cold outreach (e.g., if your main domain is company.com, use trycompany.com or getcompany.com). This protects your primary domain's reputation if deliverability issues arise. Use your main domain email only for inbound replies and warm leads. Many founders use their-name@outreach-domain.com to keep it personal while isolating risk. Cost is minimal (domain + Google Workspace = ~$15/month) and the protection is worth it.

What should I do if someone replies negatively or asks to be removed?

Respond politely within 24 hours: "Understood—removing you from our list. Apologies for the interruption." Then immediately remove them from your email list and mark them as "do not contact" in your CRM. Never argue or try to "overcome the objection" in cold email—that burns bridges and damages your reputation. Some of your best customers will initially reply with "not interested" but come back 6 months later when timing is better. Graceful exits leave doors open.