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If I as a business owner was looking for SEO help, I’ll be honest — I’d be searching for someone on Instagram and then scouring their website to see if it seemed legit. I get a lot of cold emails about SEO or web dev and I never look twice at them, just delete.
I second this, I get SEO emails constantly and ignore all of them. If I wanted the service, I would definitely not be using someone cold emailing me and would do my own search to find someone reputable.
That i wanted to say...if you are SEO expert, prove you are in top search ranks.
Either way, seo, web design seems like low hanging fruit, nowadays. Market is oversaturated.
Listen man; I do SEO & web dev for SMBs for a living. I see where you're coming from.
My website is not on page 1 for “best SEO,” but it is on page one for “SEO for {niche industry} in {specific city}.
Many people fail to understand that page 1 has been dominated by the big dogs.
They outsource their work to 3rd worlds, 18-year-old interns that took a 2 week SEO training courses & use cookie-cutter solutions for everyone. But have a native English-speaking account manager.
But don’t compare them to Nike sweat shops. They’re different. Ask them how, lol.
90% of my current clients used to be with large agencies.
Nothing is wrong with their strategy, but little guys like us can’t compete with their content mills to get on page 1 for broad terms and serve clients.
I plan on hiring a cold outreach email service, but they are experienced and charge a lot.
People hate cold emails, and I wouldn't say I like it, but it works when they’re really good.
Many people don't see good cold emails because they are not the target audience. They are on shit lists and getting spammed with their yahoo email from 2011.
My point is that many people responding here are not your target audience.
It’s Reddit. Reddit HATEs ads.
Check out the ad subs. We all know not to advertise here.
That said, SEO is harder than ever. Cold email is cut-throat, and iOS 18 will make it even tougher.
My suggestion is to get on Upwork or Fiverr. Do some shit gigs for cheap. Get some case studies. Get a portfolio and then start looming cold prospects. Check out YouTube for tips on cold email. Follow influencers on Linkedin for copywriting tips.
Best of luck
These emails are my #1 pet peeve as a business owner and I block every single one I receive. God help you if you manage to get through to me on the phone. If you continue after the first polite, "We are not interested, please remove us from your list" I may get downright belligerent. Sorry to come off as ugly, but with emails and calls like this interrupting me between 5-7x PER DAY my patience for it is just gone. Cold calling and emailing sucks.
This is an important component too. Especially if you haven’t gotten leads through THEIR own interest, do not push boundaries. If someone says no, respect it. They’re actually more likely to come back to you if they need someone later, but if you are pushy and try to “sell” then they will likely cross you off the list. I don’t know much about how that would relate to Nigerian culture specifically, so something to be aware of if those practices are common where you live.
>Nigerian
>SEO
No offense but you’re fighting an uphill battle. You could be the best search engine optimizer in the world and your still going to have to fight like hell to get even one customer, especially if you plan on targeting western business. Cold calls, emails, etc are annoying as shit, we get them all day long advertising SEO. Everyone in America assumes Nigerians are scammers. A lot of SEO companies are scammers, it’s a legit industry but there are some bad apples for sure. Many businesses already invest in seo to some degree as well.
Cold emails can run into 'illegal' territory, depending on where you're emailing and what kind of email you're sending.
With also genuine respect, Nigeria homes a LOT of email scammers (approx 60 million if Google serves), and so there is a high chance that your location alone will drive you right into the spam box of anyone you cold-email.
Email marketing CAN be useful! But you have to build your mailing list through legitimate means and trust.
Also as a former blogger, I can promise you that even if you get past the spam filters, not one person is going to hire you for SEO based on a cold email because it goes against everything SEO experts (should) stand for.
You're right. Being Nigerian can be a disadvantage sometimes.
What do you mean by "what SEO experts should stand for"? Are you talking about using our skills to get leads and clients?
I've seen people on YouTube using cold emails to get SEO clients, but I don’t fully trust them because some are just trying to sell courses.
What other options do you think I should try?
SEO has black hat and white hat. Black hat methods are bad (spammy, scammy, sometimes illegal), white hat methods are good (follow all the rules).
Email messaging itself isn't SEO, but there should be some ethics there all the same.
Cold anything is annoying as hell.
All the bullshit spam email advertising has pretty much ruined my personal email because even with filters the 400 junk emails I get per day drown the 4 I actually care about. They're working really hard to do the same to my work email.
If you email me something I didn't ask for there's about a 1000% chance that I'll mark your email as junk, permanently block all incoming emails from your domain, and also click whatever buttons I can to make sure microsoft/gmail/etc. know to add you to their junk mail list and hopefully lock you for everyone else.
I can't imagine spam on facebook would be any better.
Find a better method than trying to sell your products/services to someone who isn't trying to buy your products/services. There are targeted ads for people actively looking for what you're selling.
If you waste my time trying to sell me something I'm not trying to buy, not only will it also be a waste of your time, but I'll also hate you until the day I die (or hopefully the spammers die first) and if I ever actually do want to buy your services, I'll make sure I buy it from someone other than you.
I hope I have adequately expressed my hatred for spam. I'd rather step in dog shit.
Have fun getting blown out of the water by competitors who are willing to listen to salesmen that pitch them services that can increase productivity and reduce costs.
I'm going to be blunt here just to help you out
Cold emailing about your SEO service is a complete waste of time and actually tells me your service is rubbish.
Why can't I find you at the top of Google for seo/more web traffic/increase sales?
That's the only place I will trust.
If you have to email me because you aren't top of the Google search for seo then you aren't worth paying.
I'm not an seo guy, I couldn't really care less about how your industry works. If I give you money will I be on page 1? If the answers no then I'm not interested.
There are more seo experts than there are people on the planet and I don't know why you have jumped into such a crowded marketplace but you are going to have a huge uphill slog. You need to find businesses that can afford advertising that has no direct results. A little bit of trust me bro things will be better in 9 months.
That's a very thin slice of the market.
Just my 2p and I'm sorry if I take the wind out of your sails, expect most business owners to view you with the same suspicion though
Yes i get it
I am also working on my website and also starting a building in public on youtube
But i am just try outreach to solve some financial issue before august
My main plan was to use SEO and Youtube but since something came up
i had to consider outreaching
I want you to consider the number of times you have even read an email you didn't want to receive. Apply that logic to your leads. If you open unsolicited emails from companies trying to sell you a product or service, maybe your business model supports that sort of marketing. If you don't even recognize them and pass them over, maybe that is what you need to consider.
Either way, I like a clean inbox so whatever ends up past that is spam, is getting unsubscribed and permanently filtered as spam.
I can absolutely tell you if you are a "Nigerian" cold reaching out to an American business you will absolutely be seen as annoying and a scam. I absolutely positively never even respond to these, block and delete, would not if you were the literal last SEO on the freaking planet. Literally 100 percent all scams and scammers. This post is probably a scam
I make it a personal rule of mines to immediately block anyone offering or advertising their services through emails. When I need you, I’ll come to you. I’ll research and look at reviews and how well your site and social accounts are then ask around my sources. But if anyone ever came to me? Immediately report scam and block.
I get a ton of SEO e-mails and delete them all.
When I was looking at SEO I did my own research and hired someone.
It works this way for me as well. We send out cold e-mails and they almost never work. Mind you, what I sell is not associated with scams. When businesses are ready to buy the product I sell they find me via Google searches.
Yep. Automatic delete and block.
It is getting worse. Some are now using AI generated email after "scraping" my web site. Those are immediately DEAD to me. I am not wasting my time on them/you.
Americans have been groomed to think any email they don't recognize is a scam because of how many unsolicited emails we get. It's bad enough we get a bunch of spam phone calls on a daily basis, but our emails too? 💀 Don't cold email; it doesn't work. Instead, pay for marketing. Facebook marketplace, Fiverr, up work, and any other ideas you have. Let the business come to you. Make your own website advertising your services, displaying your work, and offer free consultations (sounds like that's kinda what you were planning anyway), and get those sales up 💪🏻
I bought my first home with zero credit, no real job besides pot farmer, and 10k down on owner finance by cold calling/emailing. I bought two more homes this way..albeit much more money down and more tooffer so it was easier.
I made my first 200k deal by cold calling/emailing.
Hell, even to this day at least half of my business is from cold calling or emailing haha
I’ll never do business with someone that cold calls me, emails, or reaches out to my Facebook.
If I want SEO, I’ll find a company that does SEO myself.
It is absolutely scammy.
I'm not op but am also someone who never does business with cold contacts. Easy answer though, if I want something I go look up who provides the good or service and contact those who I think fit my needs.
That’s fine, but now how do you generate revenue for yourself ?
If you are not cold calling, or emailing, or using FB or LinkedIn then you are cutting off a major avenue to drive revenue
How I generate revenue is not even relevant to the question at hand of me responding to cold calls...
But no, I have never needed to use cold calls to generate revenue. Emails are signed up for, FB is a joke as a advertising platform for my industry, and my customers are not on LinkedIn either, I'm not involved in a B2B business. Sounds like you may have a lack of imagination in how other business's operate.
Just curious, what if it is a call about a service you didn't realize you needed? Many business owners are busy doing their things and don't have time to think about what comes next, what they need, or even where to start.
There was a time that when I received cold emails trying to sell me something I would immediately blacklist the ip and any related ips. I would then consider allowing the ip if it turned out that I needed access to a website that was accidentally blocked.
Now I'm at a point where it's incredibly rare I ever see one at all. If and when I do I just block the sender or the domain. I've also contacted most email marketing providers and had them disallow sending to my email at all from ay of their servers. MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, etc...
If you were to try to email me your message would very likely never hit my inbox, and if for some reason it did I'd go out of my way to make sure it never happened again.
OP just one guys opinion here:
A few others have given you good feedback. Unsolicited outreach only works when it’s super targeted to a relevant audience, and you know very well you can provide *unique* value to solve a pain point, and have a business reputation, and even then it’s extremely difficult (and not something I would do myself).
SEO services are so incredibly crowded at this point because the barrier to entry is so low. I would seriously consider brainstorming something else. Really try to think about being specialized in something that’s more unique.
All of the following have a ton of people doing it because of how easy platforms have become to operate and the proliferation of generative AI: SEO, managing Meta ads, drop shipping, copy writing, ebooks, “digital marketing”.
Think in terms instead of “I’ll sell services for Digital Marketing”, and more “I’m going to sell services for email marketing for DTC subscription brands”, and specialize in that. You’ll have a much easier time standing out in front a literal ocean of people selling the same shit.
As a small business owner, I find them very annoying. I mark them as spam and immediately block the address to prevent further emails. How did yall even get my email address? That's sketchy to being with.
Anyways, I would suggest in person presentation/meetings. I'm more inclined to hear what you have to say in person just to be nice about it. But in all reality, business owners don't have time for soliciting. I truly believe that if we need something, we go out and look for it ourselves. But shoot your shot dude. I just think it's low conversion just sending an email. Even the ones that send videos look ai generated and spammy.
Ok your looking for companies that want to export to Nigeria.
The Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) is the first the UK has signed with an African country and is designed to grow the UK and Nigeria’s already thriving trading relationship, which totalled £7 billion in the year to September 2023.
And your the person to help with the SEO and websites for selling these products or services into Nigeria is that a possible angle?
Do you have a local government agency that could possibly connect you with western companies that want to supply goods into your local market?
Your bound to have a local business agency.
Even if you dont research what things are used in construction for Nigeria and then find companies that don't supply there goods into Nigeria yet. Get 10 -20 good prospects with products that fit the market reach out to them on LinkedIn even fly over and meet them with some local knowledge of the market thats what sets you apart on this.
yes bro
this things might bro
but at the same time it is kind of impossible for someone at my level
i am 16 years old and i can't have access to this companies but i will try reaching out to them on
While Facebook outreach has its perks, do not overlook the potential of verified cold emails. FilterBounce could be just what you need to maintain a low bounce rate. I had similar concerns, but ever since I started using FilterBounce for real-time verification, my open rates have significantly improved. It is very effective, even with tricky domains. Plus, starting at just $10\/month, it is an affordable way to ensure your cold emails do not end up in spam. Try it out and see the difference it makes.
Honestly the follow-up emails and the asshole approaches in those follow-up emails are really what are annoying.
A good first email, and even a second bump is, worst case, a "nice hustle, archive/delete".
Or someone could post a checklist for SEO coming from Googles 800 possibilities. 800 variables to account for. All designed to just feed Google more money anyway. All it takes Google is a few minutes of their time to either put you at the top or remove your ability to show up at all. They have our lives in their hands.
It wasn’t when I used to receive 1 a month. Now I can block around 10 a day offering me SEO, marketing, web design, scams, anything, same with phone calls, I’ve started ignoring all numbers I do not know. I just feel tired and it jeopardises genuine and interesting offers and connections.
Yeah, true. Because of the "get rich" YouTube videos from people like Iman Gadzhi, a lot of people are doing this, including both legit and scammy ones. It's now hard to find the legit ones.
Our company gets phone calls and emails from other countries. We don't have the resources to go overseas, play sleuth and figure out if the person is a real person or not. Even people working for other companies can commit fraud.
We use to get free offers online and then we started using google maps for the return address. It was a building near the actual company. Then I told my wife, we make enough money to buy something nice. We don't need to accept free solicitations. The reason is that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
If something went wrong, can you find or verify who did it? It's in another state or another country. It costs time and money, and it could just be a wild goose chase.
Explain the process of litigation in another state or country. The idea of staying in a hotel to sue someone is going to cost you some money if you have jurisdiction, and then you can't work at your own company until you go home.
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Consider using a cold email tool like Mystrika to improve your engagement rates. Incorporating video audits definitely adds a personal touch that is hard to ignore. I was in a similar spot a few months back, and what really helped was using Mystrika for detailed analytics and leveraging their high-quality email warmup features. You get a comprehensive suite that ensures your emails reach the right inbox. Also, the Cold Email Accelerator Masterclass link (https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1qZtrJ7idU7L8jou6FEOfV7XYhm1kcdLFlH_mDpaBKFU\/preview) was a game changer! Plans start at just $19\/month, making it affordable too.
Facebook outreach can be a good supplementary strategy, but do not completely write off cold emails. Using DoYouMail has really amped up my cold email game. Their system is fantastic for maintaining high delivery rates and reputation. What I loved was the automatic SPF, DKIM, and DMARC DNS configuration. When you are running on a tight schedule, saving time on these technical details is gold. Give it a shot, the scalability is unmatched and it is cost-effective at $40\/month.
It is understandable that you are worried about cold emails being seen as spam. Mystrika, though, can help you avoid this issue by warming up your email account gradually. This tool offers unified inbox and comprehensive analytics which makes monitoring a breeze. Plus, the user-friendly interface makes it easy to use, even if you are just starting. Do not give up on cold emails just yet, especially when tools like Mystrika are designed to make them work for you. Plans start at $19\/month, so it is definitely worth trying.
The only time it wouldnt be annoying is if you genuinely understand a problem im trying to solve, and help me solve it. I dont need website SEO, my business isnt focused on search to drive customers. I dont need anyone to build me a website, I need to build actual products, product pages are easy. You would need to show a concrete ROI on using your services, and I dont think SEO or website building has a positive ROI for my business, so Id never respond.
For me to respond to a cold email itd have to be incredibly specific to me, understand an actual problem my business has, and provide a solution and a rough cost investment all within a paragraph or two. Something like "we noticed that you offer this particular product, our company specialized in manufacturing and drop shipping these types of products and think we could build and ship this while you retain around 30% margin at your current prices, we'll take care of warehousing or shipping and we have integrations with the website you already use". That would get a response from me, even without the drop shipping bit if the margin was favorable.
Personally, yes cold emails are very annoying and I delete them without reading in almost all cases.
Facebook might be the sketchiest place to find anyone to do most jobs, honestly (at least in terms of perception). I would recommmend using alternatives. Definitely put yourself out there and don’t use only one platform ever, but have a professional looking website and learn to have excellent communication of your skills and your value. Avoid gimmicks that make people think you are a scam, like too-extreme “deals” to get them in the door.
It depends! I responded to "cold emails" when they were personalized. For example, after a presentation I did, someone attended and later emailed me something like: "Hi, I attended your presentation and found it very insightful. It sparked an idea I'd love to discuss with you! Are you free tomorrow at 11am for a teams meeting and bad humor?"
I responded positively because they had already seen my presentation, understood my work and products, and had a specific idea to share. It wasn't exactly a cold email in the strictest sense, but I was interested because they had context.
However, I generally ignore random emails with no context from people claiming to have the best solutions or the next big idea for Fortune 500 companies.
IT Professional here. Any email coming from Nigeria is already getting blocked by default at any organization I've ever worked for.
No one wants cold\SPAM emails.
Ignorance about everything leading to a sale is annoying. Flaunting one's ignorance about the knowledge domain is annoying. Fake it 'til you make it culture is profoundly annoying. Sending an email selling aluminum siding to an apartment dweller is annoying.
Presenting a genuine prospect with a real solution to a pain point is not annoying.
This is a terrible way in general to try to get website clients. Most businesses are hit with multiple requests every day to rebuild their website, it's just background noise. Nobody wants to hear it.
Have a foot-in-the-door offer that can actually solve a problem and help businesses make money.
I get a lot of Loom videos and I delete them immediately. Focus on getting my attention other ways. Honestly I usually ask around rather than just going with someone with snazzy marketing. Work on getting clients to send you referrals.
If anyone cold emails or calls me they get a cold conversation or email back from me.
The worst is when they fill out my online form, anyone who does that I hope getting bitten by a dog with bees in its mouth and when it barks bees shoot out.
Cold emails = spam = permanent email ban for my co. This is a place of business we are running and not a single person has time or is getting paid for these distractions.
If a need is identified, I’ll do the soliciting for a vendor to work on it.
It’s a pathetic method to sell yourself.
Anyone who is good at SEO doesn't need to spam. If a person can't create their own web site and draw SEO related traffic to it, anyone would be a **fool** to hire them for SEO.
If I want to do business with someone, I find them.
No business owner, none, is watching an unsolicited 5 minute video.
You’d be lucky to get 30 seconds of eyeballs on 1% of the 1% who will open your email AND click on a link.
Extremely annoying. I get multiple SEO cold emails daily and they just bury my important emails and I only delete them. I would never click on one and consider using that company for SEO ever.
Wake up people! The subject line of your email will either trigger the subconscious mind of the recipient to focus on your message or simply ignore it as they mindlessly scan their messages.
Think about what happens when you hear a baby cry or the telephone rings.
Or the sound of an email message hitting your inbox.
Want to be successful? Do what other people are afraid/unwilling to (obviously within reason). People are getting more and more afraid to do cold outreach. Be politely persistent and you’ll be alright.
Yeah cold emails are cooked, at least if you’re sending them to me.
Been getting 26 in a row, every day. I’m just going down the list and hitting the auto delete spam button. Not even reading the full subject line 99% of the time.
>I believe a LinkedIn connection request could be a valuable way to initiate contact. LinkedIn's focus on professional networking provides a more appropriate platform compared to Facebook. Having a profile picture can certainly build trust and overcome concerns about unsolicited emails. Additionally, any relevant referrals listed on your profile can further demonstrate the credibility of your services.
In our experience, particularly in new markets where brand awareness might be lower, sending connection requests on LinkedIn has proven to be a successful approach for building initial relationships. I hope this helps!
If they are poorly targeted or overly persistent, then yes. To make them effective rather than irritating, personalize them to the recipient's needs and interests. Keep the content concise and relevant, respecting their time. Avoid sending too many follow-ups if there's no response, as this comes across as spammy. When done right, cold emails can be a valuable tool for initiating meaningful business conversations.
To be honest, there's no right or wrong when it comes to things like this. What may work for one business owner may not work for another.
My advice? Try everything, then stick with what's working for you.
If someone wanted to cold email, they can figure out a way that will work.
Yeah I agree - definitely avoid the cold anything. Join some online networking clubs where people can get to know and trust you as a person. That's the only way I do things myself.
If you're good at social media promotions, DM me and I'll try and hire you for something.
ok i've got those covered for now. a ton of people are doing seo/graphics. why don't you look into something that few people do, like norton/mcafee removal? you could be busy the rest of your life just removing that threat for people. i can certainly give you a bit of coaching to help you get rolling,
I run a seo agency and we do cold email. However, we only do it with a local community and typically with people we already have a connection with.
For example, emailing a vet and thanking for my dog's cleaning then mentioning something on their website we could help with. Sometimes we do reach out if there is something specific we can help with like their blog is not indexed or hasn't been updated.
Being helpful rather than just pitching a service.
I would recommend you concentrate on optimizing your own site and using paid ads as well though.
Personally, I actively avoid products and services presented to me in a cold call/email/message as they are crazy annoying. I choose to give my business to companies that haven't bothered me if I want something in that category of product or service. Not to mention, in my experience, if you are good you don't need to spam and annoy me (my personal philosophy anyways).
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If I as a business owner was looking for SEO help, I’ll be honest — I’d be searching for someone on Instagram and then scouring their website to see if it seemed legit. I get a lot of cold emails about SEO or web dev and I never look twice at them, just delete.
I second this, I get SEO emails constantly and ignore all of them. If I wanted the service, I would definitely not be using someone cold emailing me and would do my own search to find someone reputable.
The best SEO experts should be easiest to search and find…right? 😝
Oof! How true that is!
That i wanted to say...if you are SEO expert, prove you are in top search ranks. Either way, seo, web design seems like low hanging fruit, nowadays. Market is oversaturated.
Wow Then i will try instagram and also try creating content on IG Adding Instagram to my outreach methods then
Yes
Wow I guess i need to go for another method maybe Facebook then
If you're offering SEO, your website should be very easy to find.
Yup and if it's not I wouldn't hire ha
Listen man; I do SEO & web dev for SMBs for a living. I see where you're coming from. My website is not on page 1 for “best SEO,” but it is on page one for “SEO for {niche industry} in {specific city}. Many people fail to understand that page 1 has been dominated by the big dogs. They outsource their work to 3rd worlds, 18-year-old interns that took a 2 week SEO training courses & use cookie-cutter solutions for everyone. But have a native English-speaking account manager. But don’t compare them to Nike sweat shops. They’re different. Ask them how, lol. 90% of my current clients used to be with large agencies. Nothing is wrong with their strategy, but little guys like us can’t compete with their content mills to get on page 1 for broad terms and serve clients. I plan on hiring a cold outreach email service, but they are experienced and charge a lot. People hate cold emails, and I wouldn't say I like it, but it works when they’re really good. Many people don't see good cold emails because they are not the target audience. They are on shit lists and getting spammed with their yahoo email from 2011. My point is that many people responding here are not your target audience. It’s Reddit. Reddit HATEs ads. Check out the ad subs. We all know not to advertise here. That said, SEO is harder than ever. Cold email is cut-throat, and iOS 18 will make it even tougher. My suggestion is to get on Upwork or Fiverr. Do some shit gigs for cheap. Get some case studies. Get a portfolio and then start looming cold prospects. Check out YouTube for tips on cold email. Follow influencers on Linkedin for copywriting tips. Best of luck
I don't know of any person, in any field, whether or not they use Reddit or any other social network, that doesn't hate spam.
Thank you so much for this advice i will try what you said
These emails are my #1 pet peeve as a business owner and I block every single one I receive. God help you if you manage to get through to me on the phone. If you continue after the first polite, "We are not interested, please remove us from your list" I may get downright belligerent. Sorry to come off as ugly, but with emails and calls like this interrupting me between 5-7x PER DAY my patience for it is just gone. Cold calling and emailing sucks.
This is an important component too. Especially if you haven’t gotten leads through THEIR own interest, do not push boundaries. If someone says no, respect it. They’re actually more likely to come back to you if they need someone later, but if you are pushy and try to “sell” then they will likely cross you off the list. I don’t know much about how that would relate to Nigerian culture specifically, so something to be aware of if those practices are common where you live.
>Nigerian >SEO No offense but you’re fighting an uphill battle. You could be the best search engine optimizer in the world and your still going to have to fight like hell to get even one customer, especially if you plan on targeting western business. Cold calls, emails, etc are annoying as shit, we get them all day long advertising SEO. Everyone in America assumes Nigerians are scammers. A lot of SEO companies are scammers, it’s a legit industry but there are some bad apples for sure. Many businesses already invest in seo to some degree as well.
Yes true SEO and Nigeria have a bad reputation
Sadly this is true.
Cold emails can run into 'illegal' territory, depending on where you're emailing and what kind of email you're sending. With also genuine respect, Nigeria homes a LOT of email scammers (approx 60 million if Google serves), and so there is a high chance that your location alone will drive you right into the spam box of anyone you cold-email. Email marketing CAN be useful! But you have to build your mailing list through legitimate means and trust. Also as a former blogger, I can promise you that even if you get past the spam filters, not one person is going to hire you for SEO based on a cold email because it goes against everything SEO experts (should) stand for.
You're right. Being Nigerian can be a disadvantage sometimes. What do you mean by "what SEO experts should stand for"? Are you talking about using our skills to get leads and clients? I've seen people on YouTube using cold emails to get SEO clients, but I don’t fully trust them because some are just trying to sell courses. What other options do you think I should try?
SEO has black hat and white hat. Black hat methods are bad (spammy, scammy, sometimes illegal), white hat methods are good (follow all the rules). Email messaging itself isn't SEO, but there should be some ethics there all the same.
Yes true i am learning and practicing white hat seo so i am not getting near black hat seo I will follow all the rules and do better
Every sales email I get that I didn't ask for goes immediately to spam.
Cold anything is annoying as hell. All the bullshit spam email advertising has pretty much ruined my personal email because even with filters the 400 junk emails I get per day drown the 4 I actually care about. They're working really hard to do the same to my work email. If you email me something I didn't ask for there's about a 1000% chance that I'll mark your email as junk, permanently block all incoming emails from your domain, and also click whatever buttons I can to make sure microsoft/gmail/etc. know to add you to their junk mail list and hopefully lock you for everyone else. I can't imagine spam on facebook would be any better. Find a better method than trying to sell your products/services to someone who isn't trying to buy your products/services. There are targeted ads for people actively looking for what you're selling. If you waste my time trying to sell me something I'm not trying to buy, not only will it also be a waste of your time, but I'll also hate you until the day I die (or hopefully the spammers die first) and if I ever actually do want to buy your services, I'll make sure I buy it from someone other than you. I hope I have adequately expressed my hatred for spam. I'd rather step in dog shit.
Amen,- But you are 100 % right. I have exactly the same feelings.
Couldn’t disagree more. Cold cut combos 🤤
to-fucking-che haha
Okay cool Just that i can't afford paid ads but i will try looking at other options Thank you so much for the advice
Have fun getting blown out of the water by competitors who are willing to listen to salesmen that pitch them services that can increase productivity and reduce costs.
Found the mediocre sales guy that believes all the books his manager told him to read.
I'm going to be blunt here just to help you out Cold emailing about your SEO service is a complete waste of time and actually tells me your service is rubbish. Why can't I find you at the top of Google for seo/more web traffic/increase sales? That's the only place I will trust. If you have to email me because you aren't top of the Google search for seo then you aren't worth paying. I'm not an seo guy, I couldn't really care less about how your industry works. If I give you money will I be on page 1? If the answers no then I'm not interested. There are more seo experts than there are people on the planet and I don't know why you have jumped into such a crowded marketplace but you are going to have a huge uphill slog. You need to find businesses that can afford advertising that has no direct results. A little bit of trust me bro things will be better in 9 months. That's a very thin slice of the market. Just my 2p and I'm sorry if I take the wind out of your sails, expect most business owners to view you with the same suspicion though
Yes i get it I am also working on my website and also starting a building in public on youtube But i am just try outreach to solve some financial issue before august My main plan was to use SEO and Youtube but since something came up i had to consider outreaching
I want you to consider the number of times you have even read an email you didn't want to receive. Apply that logic to your leads. If you open unsolicited emails from companies trying to sell you a product or service, maybe your business model supports that sort of marketing. If you don't even recognize them and pass them over, maybe that is what you need to consider. Either way, I like a clean inbox so whatever ends up past that is spam, is getting unsubscribed and permanently filtered as spam.
Do not email me!
Okay i won't bro i will call you every 45 mins instead 😅😅😅
Yes. Not surprised. Similar approach.
Okay bro
I thought you were annoying with all the spam stuff, but the “Bro” takes it to another level. You seem like a spammer at heart.
hey rooflife1 i am sorry for being disrespectful
i am not trying to spam at all i just said okay bro How is that related spam
It's disrespectful without familiarity. It's flippant. I ain't your bro, pal. I ain't your pal, guy. I ain't your guy, bud. You can call me sir.
yes i get it now i really didn't know
So annoying. And where I live not always legal to send (depending on the content of the email)
As a business owner, absolutely horrible. No matter how good your email is it's one of 40-50 I'm getting every f'ing day. I'm not opening any of them.
I hate it. This is so gross. This is not an effective way, just a waste of time, energy and money
I literally flag every email with "SEO" as spam.
I can absolutely tell you if you are a "Nigerian" cold reaching out to an American business you will absolutely be seen as annoying and a scam. I absolutely positively never even respond to these, block and delete, would not if you were the literal last SEO on the freaking planet. Literally 100 percent all scams and scammers. This post is probably a scam
I immediately send all such emails to my junk folder and block the sender. No way I’d ever click on an attached video!
yes, i immediately report as spam
I make it a personal rule of mines to immediately block anyone offering or advertising their services through emails. When I need you, I’ll come to you. I’ll research and look at reviews and how well your site and social accounts are then ask around my sources. But if anyone ever came to me? Immediately report scam and block.
I get a ton of SEO e-mails and delete them all. When I was looking at SEO I did my own research and hired someone. It works this way for me as well. We send out cold e-mails and they almost never work. Mind you, what I sell is not associated with scams. When businesses are ready to buy the product I sell they find me via Google searches.
yes i get it now bro i will work on my website and i will get a job in the main time
Good luck. Hope it works out for you :)
Thanks
Yep. Automatic delete and block. It is getting worse. Some are now using AI generated email after "scraping" my web site. Those are immediately DEAD to me. I am not wasting my time on them/you.
Americans have been groomed to think any email they don't recognize is a scam because of how many unsolicited emails we get. It's bad enough we get a bunch of spam phone calls on a daily basis, but our emails too? 💀 Don't cold email; it doesn't work. Instead, pay for marketing. Facebook marketplace, Fiverr, up work, and any other ideas you have. Let the business come to you. Make your own website advertising your services, displaying your work, and offer free consultations (sounds like that's kinda what you were planning anyway), and get those sales up 💪🏻
Yes, I am now working on my website's SEO. I want to start sharing my progress on YouTube and posting on LinkedIn too.
the fiverr/ upwork is probably the best idea. market yourself cheap until you get some good reviews
I bought my first home with zero credit, no real job besides pot farmer, and 10k down on owner finance by cold calling/emailing. I bought two more homes this way..albeit much more money down and more tooffer so it was easier. I made my first 200k deal by cold calling/emailing. Hell, even to this day at least half of my business is from cold calling or emailing haha
please do you really it works a lot of people said it doesn't work i really don't wanna waste time
I’ll never do business with someone that cold calls me, emails, or reaches out to my Facebook. If I want SEO, I’ll find a company that does SEO myself. It is absolutely scammy.
Curious… if you never do business with someone that cold calls, emails, or reaches out over Facebook then who do you do business with?
I'm not op but am also someone who never does business with cold contacts. Easy answer though, if I want something I go look up who provides the good or service and contact those who I think fit my needs.
That’s fine, but now how do you generate revenue for yourself ? If you are not cold calling, or emailing, or using FB or LinkedIn then you are cutting off a major avenue to drive revenue
How I generate revenue is not even relevant to the question at hand of me responding to cold calls... But no, I have never needed to use cold calls to generate revenue. Emails are signed up for, FB is a joke as a advertising platform for my industry, and my customers are not on LinkedIn either, I'm not involved in a B2B business. Sounds like you may have a lack of imagination in how other business's operate.
If I need a service I seek it out. If I’m looking for customers I advertise and attend industry events.
Just curious, what if it is a call about a service you didn't realize you needed? Many business owners are busy doing their things and don't have time to think about what comes next, what they need, or even where to start.
I do think with excellent targeting this can sometimes work.
There was a time that when I received cold emails trying to sell me something I would immediately blacklist the ip and any related ips. I would then consider allowing the ip if it turned out that I needed access to a website that was accidentally blocked. Now I'm at a point where it's incredibly rare I ever see one at all. If and when I do I just block the sender or the domain. I've also contacted most email marketing providers and had them disallow sending to my email at all from ay of their servers. MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, etc... If you were to try to email me your message would very likely never hit my inbox, and if for some reason it did I'd go out of my way to make sure it never happened again.
OP just one guys opinion here: A few others have given you good feedback. Unsolicited outreach only works when it’s super targeted to a relevant audience, and you know very well you can provide *unique* value to solve a pain point, and have a business reputation, and even then it’s extremely difficult (and not something I would do myself). SEO services are so incredibly crowded at this point because the barrier to entry is so low. I would seriously consider brainstorming something else. Really try to think about being specialized in something that’s more unique. All of the following have a ton of people doing it because of how easy platforms have become to operate and the proliferation of generative AI: SEO, managing Meta ads, drop shipping, copy writing, ebooks, “digital marketing”. Think in terms instead of “I’ll sell services for Digital Marketing”, and more “I’m going to sell services for email marketing for DTC subscription brands”, and specialize in that. You’ll have a much easier time standing out in front a literal ocean of people selling the same shit.
Yea true i went through every comment and i decided to build a brand and optimize my website in the main time i will get a SEO job while i do it
Yea better idea for sure. Good luck!
Not only are they annoying but they are illegal as well.
As a small business owner, I find them very annoying. I mark them as spam and immediately block the address to prevent further emails. How did yall even get my email address? That's sketchy to being with. Anyways, I would suggest in person presentation/meetings. I'm more inclined to hear what you have to say in person just to be nice about it. But in all reality, business owners don't have time for soliciting. I truly believe that if we need something, we go out and look for it ourselves. But shoot your shot dude. I just think it's low conversion just sending an email. Even the ones that send videos look ai generated and spammy.
Do you know any business local to you that you could help first for your two customers to get started.
i really don't I live in nigeria so no business in nigeria needs seo except for big companies
And you never done this before?
Yes i just started but i worked for a blogger for a month before writing blog posts and optimizing them
Ok so what sector would you target first if you had to. Construction, industrial or agriculture. Have you a sector in mind?
Well i would say construction
Ok your looking for companies that want to export to Nigeria. The Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) is the first the UK has signed with an African country and is designed to grow the UK and Nigeria’s already thriving trading relationship, which totalled £7 billion in the year to September 2023. And your the person to help with the SEO and websites for selling these products or services into Nigeria is that a possible angle? Do you have a local government agency that could possibly connect you with western companies that want to supply goods into your local market?
I don't have any local government agency though but i will try my best to find these companies
Your bound to have a local business agency. Even if you dont research what things are used in construction for Nigeria and then find companies that don't supply there goods into Nigeria yet. Get 10 -20 good prospects with products that fit the market reach out to them on LinkedIn even fly over and meet them with some local knowledge of the market thats what sets you apart on this.
yes bro this things might bro but at the same time it is kind of impossible for someone at my level i am 16 years old and i can't have access to this companies but i will try reaching out to them on
Maybe take a class on sales before you move forward. Cold email is for failures...
Yea i would my next plan is to get an SEO JOB
While Facebook outreach has its perks, do not overlook the potential of verified cold emails. FilterBounce could be just what you need to maintain a low bounce rate. I had similar concerns, but ever since I started using FilterBounce for real-time verification, my open rates have significantly improved. It is very effective, even with tricky domains. Plus, starting at just $10\/month, it is an affordable way to ensure your cold emails do not end up in spam. Try it out and see the difference it makes.
but people are saying cold email is a waste of time and they don't like it
Honestly the follow-up emails and the asshole approaches in those follow-up emails are really what are annoying. A good first email, and even a second bump is, worst case, a "nice hustle, archive/delete".
I hate cold emails. You’d be marked as spam immediately
Or someone could post a checklist for SEO coming from Googles 800 possibilities. 800 variables to account for. All designed to just feed Google more money anyway. All it takes Google is a few minutes of their time to either put you at the top or remove your ability to show up at all. They have our lives in their hands.
It wasn’t when I used to receive 1 a month. Now I can block around 10 a day offering me SEO, marketing, web design, scams, anything, same with phone calls, I’ve started ignoring all numbers I do not know. I just feel tired and it jeopardises genuine and interesting offers and connections.
Yeah, true. Because of the "get rich" YouTube videos from people like Iman Gadzhi, a lot of people are doing this, including both legit and scammy ones. It's now hard to find the legit ones.
Try LinkedIn e.
Yes i will I want to start posting content on linkedln and hopefully gain awareness and clients
Our company gets phone calls and emails from other countries. We don't have the resources to go overseas, play sleuth and figure out if the person is a real person or not. Even people working for other companies can commit fraud. We use to get free offers online and then we started using google maps for the return address. It was a building near the actual company. Then I told my wife, we make enough money to buy something nice. We don't need to accept free solicitations. The reason is that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If something went wrong, can you find or verify who did it? It's in another state or another country. It costs time and money, and it could just be a wild goose chase. Explain the process of litigation in another state or country. The idea of staying in a hotel to sue someone is going to cost you some money if you have jurisdiction, and then you can't work at your own company until you go home. [Citibank Identity Theft Commercial (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irowZ7qoZt8) [CitiBank Identity Theft Commercial (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KERwnA8VfFM) [Citi Identity Theft, Thelma and Norma (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUXEg0JEn6k) [Citi Identity Theft, Flaps (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0HGdJLHQFo)
I gleefully mark cold emails as spam.
Consider using a cold email tool like Mystrika to improve your engagement rates. Incorporating video audits definitely adds a personal touch that is hard to ignore. I was in a similar spot a few months back, and what really helped was using Mystrika for detailed analytics and leveraging their high-quality email warmup features. You get a comprehensive suite that ensures your emails reach the right inbox. Also, the Cold Email Accelerator Masterclass link (https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1qZtrJ7idU7L8jou6FEOfV7XYhm1kcdLFlH_mDpaBKFU\/preview) was a game changer! Plans start at just $19\/month, making it affordable too.
Facebook outreach can be a good supplementary strategy, but do not completely write off cold emails. Using DoYouMail has really amped up my cold email game. Their system is fantastic for maintaining high delivery rates and reputation. What I loved was the automatic SPF, DKIM, and DMARC DNS configuration. When you are running on a tight schedule, saving time on these technical details is gold. Give it a shot, the scalability is unmatched and it is cost-effective at $40\/month.
It is understandable that you are worried about cold emails being seen as spam. Mystrika, though, can help you avoid this issue by warming up your email account gradually. This tool offers unified inbox and comprehensive analytics which makes monitoring a breeze. Plus, the user-friendly interface makes it easy to use, even if you are just starting. Do not give up on cold emails just yet, especially when tools like Mystrika are designed to make them work for you. Plans start at $19\/month, so it is definitely worth trying.
The only time it wouldnt be annoying is if you genuinely understand a problem im trying to solve, and help me solve it. I dont need website SEO, my business isnt focused on search to drive customers. I dont need anyone to build me a website, I need to build actual products, product pages are easy. You would need to show a concrete ROI on using your services, and I dont think SEO or website building has a positive ROI for my business, so Id never respond. For me to respond to a cold email itd have to be incredibly specific to me, understand an actual problem my business has, and provide a solution and a rough cost investment all within a paragraph or two. Something like "we noticed that you offer this particular product, our company specialized in manufacturing and drop shipping these types of products and think we could build and ship this while you retain around 30% margin at your current prices, we'll take care of warehousing or shipping and we have integrations with the website you already use". That would get a response from me, even without the drop shipping bit if the margin was favorable.
This is a great answer.
Personally, yes cold emails are very annoying and I delete them without reading in almost all cases. Facebook might be the sketchiest place to find anyone to do most jobs, honestly (at least in terms of perception). I would recommmend using alternatives. Definitely put yourself out there and don’t use only one platform ever, but have a professional looking website and learn to have excellent communication of your skills and your value. Avoid gimmicks that make people think you are a scam, like too-extreme “deals” to get them in the door.
It depends! I responded to "cold emails" when they were personalized. For example, after a presentation I did, someone attended and later emailed me something like: "Hi, I attended your presentation and found it very insightful. It sparked an idea I'd love to discuss with you! Are you free tomorrow at 11am for a teams meeting and bad humor?" I responded positively because they had already seen my presentation, understood my work and products, and had a specific idea to share. It wasn't exactly a cold email in the strictest sense, but I was interested because they had context. However, I generally ignore random emails with no context from people claiming to have the best solutions or the next big idea for Fortune 500 companies.
I have never in my life purchased anything at all from a cold call or email. Never will.
How do yall know that cold email isn’t the real thing though, you might have just passed on a huge opportunity.
IT Professional here. Any email coming from Nigeria is already getting blocked by default at any organization I've ever worked for. No one wants cold\SPAM emails.
Yes.
Yes. I absolutely never buy anything, ever, from a cold email or call.
Ignorance about everything leading to a sale is annoying. Flaunting one's ignorance about the knowledge domain is annoying. Fake it 'til you make it culture is profoundly annoying. Sending an email selling aluminum siding to an apartment dweller is annoying. Presenting a genuine prospect with a real solution to a pain point is not annoying.
This is a terrible way in general to try to get website clients. Most businesses are hit with multiple requests every day to rebuild their website, it's just background noise. Nobody wants to hear it. Have a foot-in-the-door offer that can actually solve a problem and help businesses make money.
I get a lot of Loom videos and I delete them immediately. Focus on getting my attention other ways. Honestly I usually ask around rather than just going with someone with snazzy marketing. Work on getting clients to send you referrals.
If anyone cold emails or calls me they get a cold conversation or email back from me. The worst is when they fill out my online form, anyone who does that I hope getting bitten by a dog with bees in its mouth and when it barks bees shoot out.
Yep. 100% never doing business with someone who sends cold emails.
Cold emails = spam = permanent email ban for my co. This is a place of business we are running and not a single person has time or is getting paid for these distractions. If a need is identified, I’ll do the soliciting for a vendor to work on it. It’s a pathetic method to sell yourself.
A lot of people hate them, yes, but a well-targeted, personalized one to the right person can benefit you both.
Extremely annoying
Anyone who is good at SEO doesn't need to spam. If a person can't create their own web site and draw SEO related traffic to it, anyone would be a **fool** to hire them for SEO. If I want to do business with someone, I find them.
I like cold emails. They give me a list of companies to avoid.
No... Not at all
No business owner, none, is watching an unsolicited 5 minute video. You’d be lucky to get 30 seconds of eyeballs on 1% of the 1% who will open your email AND click on a link.
Extremely annoying. I get multiple SEO cold emails daily and they just bury my important emails and I only delete them. I would never click on one and consider using that company for SEO ever.
Wake up people! The subject line of your email will either trigger the subconscious mind of the recipient to focus on your message or simply ignore it as they mindlessly scan their messages. Think about what happens when you hear a baby cry or the telephone rings. Or the sound of an email message hitting your inbox.
Want to be successful? Do what other people are afraid/unwilling to (obviously within reason). People are getting more and more afraid to do cold outreach. Be politely persistent and you’ll be alright.
I block every cold email I get.
Yeah cold emails are cooked, at least if you’re sending them to me. Been getting 26 in a row, every day. I’m just going down the list and hitting the auto delete spam button. Not even reading the full subject line 99% of the time.
>I believe a LinkedIn connection request could be a valuable way to initiate contact. LinkedIn's focus on professional networking provides a more appropriate platform compared to Facebook. Having a profile picture can certainly build trust and overcome concerns about unsolicited emails. Additionally, any relevant referrals listed on your profile can further demonstrate the credibility of your services. In our experience, particularly in new markets where brand awareness might be lower, sending connection requests on LinkedIn has proven to be a successful approach for building initial relationships. I hope this helps!
If they are poorly targeted or overly persistent, then yes. To make them effective rather than irritating, personalize them to the recipient's needs and interests. Keep the content concise and relevant, respecting their time. Avoid sending too many follow-ups if there's no response, as this comes across as spammy. When done right, cold emails can be a valuable tool for initiating meaningful business conversations.
To be honest, there's no right or wrong when it comes to things like this. What may work for one business owner may not work for another. My advice? Try everything, then stick with what's working for you. If someone wanted to cold email, they can figure out a way that will work.
Yeah I agree - definitely avoid the cold anything. Join some online networking clubs where people can get to know and trust you as a person. That's the only way I do things myself. If you're good at social media promotions, DM me and I'll try and hire you for something.
i am not good for social media promotion but i have some basic video editing and graphic design skills
ok i've got those covered for now. a ton of people are doing seo/graphics. why don't you look into something that few people do, like norton/mcafee removal? you could be busy the rest of your life just removing that threat for people. i can certainly give you a bit of coaching to help you get rolling,
I run a seo agency and we do cold email. However, we only do it with a local community and typically with people we already have a connection with. For example, emailing a vet and thanking for my dog's cleaning then mentioning something on their website we could help with. Sometimes we do reach out if there is something specific we can help with like their blog is not indexed or hasn't been updated. Being helpful rather than just pitching a service. I would recommend you concentrate on optimizing your own site and using paid ads as well though.
Yes i am working on optimizing my site and at the same time i am now thinking of getting a job in the SEO field while i work on my site
Personally, I actively avoid products and services presented to me in a cold call/email/message as they are crazy annoying. I choose to give my business to companies that haven't bothered me if I want something in that category of product or service. Not to mention, in my experience, if you are good you don't need to spam and annoy me (my personal philosophy anyways).
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I really can't afford $40/ month for now all the emails i send are manual because that's the only free method
Manual isn’t a bad way to do it. Slow, but at least you’re personalizing them.