MILLION DOLLAR

E M A I L T E M P L A T E S
 Million Dollar Email Templates

Who (what) runs the world? Emails

At Sumo and AppSumo, we receive tens of thousands of emails every month from partners,
customers, and random people who want to invite the Chief Sumo for tacos.
We also send hundreds of emails each day internally and to others outside the company for
biz-dev, marketing partnerships, customer support, and more.
That said, we’ve come across all kinds of emails: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
In this book, we compiled some of the best emails we’ve sent and received in the past decade,
so you can craft and send the perfect email every time.

There are 30 email templates you can use for all kinds of situations:

Reaching out
Building Getting press
for marketing
relationships to promote
partnerships,
with partners your new
such as
and clients product
guest posts

Saying NO to
Dealing with
requests you
customers
don’t think are
(both good
worth your
and bad ones)
time

Writing and sending a perfect email is a SUPERPOWER

Unfortunately, no one is born with it.

The good news: with the right resources and determination, anyone can master it.
We’ve done all the hard work to save you the time and effort.
If you’re a marketer or entrepreneur who’s ready to level up your email game, this book is
exactly what you need.
Ready? Let’s dive right in!
 Million Dollar Email Templates

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. How to introduce yourself to a common acquaintance 1

2. How to ask for an introduction to people you want to know 2
3. How to introduce two people to connect with each other 4
4. How to email someone you met at an event 5
5. How to reach out for coffee/lunch meeting 6
6. How to cold email a prospect lead/customer 8
7. How to follow up when you haven’t received a response (cold email) 9
8. How to get a contract back ASAP 10
9. How to reply when your offer/deal has been accepted 11
10. How to respond when your offer has been turned down 12
11. How to get a biz-dev deal 13
12. How to reach out to fans on Facebook 15
13. How to get on TechCrunch 16
14. How to get on Lifehacker 18
15. How to get a connection to tweet for you 19
16. How to reach out about guest posting: Example 1 20
17. How to reach out about guest posting: Example 2 21
18. How to reach out about guest posting: Example 3 23
19. How to keep in touch with existing customers 24
20. How to negotiate rates that are lower than what you want 25
21. How to inform your customers of a price raise 26
22. How to ask for a referral from a customer 27
23. How to get feedback from unhappy customers 28
24. How to ask your customers for a testimonial 29
25. How to get money from past clients 31
26. How to recruit for a position through Linkedin 32
27. How to hunt for prospects on Linkedin 33
28. How to reject a phone call or meeting 34
29. How to get someone to stop writing long emails 35
30. How to say NO to giving your opinion 37
 Million Dollar Email Templates

1. HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO A COMMON

ACQUAINTANCE

Email Template

Subject Line: Referred by Steven Douglass

Hi Robert,
Steven recommended that I reach out to you.
Your firm's push into clean-tech solutions is really impressive.
Our team here at AppSumo.com would love to promote your clean-tech solution for free
to over 750,000+ professionals.
Love to chat with you about it.
How about a 9 minute call this Thursday (10/1/12) at 4pm?
Be amazing,
Noah Kagan
510 xxx xxxx
Skype: crxxxx

Key Takeaways:
Use this template to cold email someone who's a friend of a contact.
It’s critical to drop the name of the person you’re using as a referral right in the subject line.
This gets attention and builds immediate trust with the recipient.
Specifying a time for the next step is essential as it reduces hesitation for the recipient to
make a decision. We suggest odd times (e.g. 9 minutes) because they’re funny,
memorable, and unique.
If you want to do a phone call, consider explaining why a call even makes sense instead of
continuing to email. Suggest a short period of time to chat if you’re doing a phone call – it
seems much more digestible than a full 30-60 minute conversation. Include a time-zone if
you’re not sure where they’re based.
Try to use actionable email closes instead of open-ended questions. For example, “Let's
chat at { Time }” vs “How do you feel about talking soon?”

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

2. HOW TO ASK FOR AN INTRODUCTION TO

PEOPLE YOU WANT TO KNOW

Email Template

Subject Line: Intro to Chad?

Hey Charles,
I saw that you knew Chad from DesignGems via LinkedIn.
We’re working on a new game that will help his business grow.
I’d love it if you could forward the below email to him.
Thanks,
Noah

Hey Chad,
Please meet my friend Noah who runs Burrito, Inc. (CC’d)
He’s a person you should definitely know.
His company is growing really fast using some techniques he wanted to share with you.
I’ll let you two take it from here!
Sincerely,
Charles

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Key Takeaways:
The best way to get to someone is through a referral. There’s a night and day difference
in response rate. So it’s critical to:
a. Find the person who knows you want to meet
b. Make it a no-brainer for them to introduce you
In introduction emails, we’ve found it very useful to encourage the action you want two
people to take.

From Noah:
I was shocked to discover that if I let people know I was looking for a certain type of client in my
business, they’d eventually start introducing me to them. The easiest way to do this is:
• Tell people what you want
• Treat your relationships really well (they’re easy to neglect, so always keep in touch)
• Kick a ton of ass at what you do, so people WANT to refer you

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

3. HOW TO INTRODUCE TWO PEOPLE TO CONNECT

WITH EACH OTHER

Email Template

Subject Line: John <> Stephen

Hey John,
Hope things are well.
I really want you to meet Steven.
Steven is one of the best graphic designers on the planet. He helped a LOT with
AppSumo.
He's looking for work and I remember you saying that you were on the lookout for a
good designer.

Steven,
John is a long-time friend of mine from Boy Scouts.
He runs HappyJot, which is a hugely successful online games website.
He's looking for a designer, so I thought it made sense for you two to meet.

Steven,
John is a long-time friend of mine from Boy Scouts.
He runs HappyJot, which is a hugely successful online games website.
He's looking for a designer, so I thought it made sense for you two to meet.

Key Takeaways:
Provide a clear reason as to why it makes sense for the two people to meet. Depending
on your relationships, you may want to check with both parties to ensure that the
introduction makes sense ahead of time.
Close the email with a suggested action for these two people (meeting, coffee, email,
etc.).

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

4. HOW TO EMAIL SOMEONE YOU

MET AT AN EVENT

Email Template

Subject Line: Noah from the DrinkUp

Chad,
I really enjoyed eating tacos and talking to you tonight.
Here's that article we discussed about how doing less makes you more money:
{ Link }The Disciplined Pursuit of Less{ Link }
Love to keep in touch.
Noah

Key Takeaways:
Here’s how to stand out from 99% of people after events so that you always get a
response: it’s called the “first date trick.”
When you meet someone you really want to impress or keep in touch with, ALWAYS find
something of value to discuss in your follow-up.
Just handing out a business card means nothing (and you know it).
Also, make sure to email them that night. It’s what winners do.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

5. HOW TO REACH OUT FOR COFFEE

/LUNCH MEETING

Email Template

Subject Line: Hey Noah - yes another taco-related email

Hey Noah,
I wasn’t sure which Tacodeli was closest to you, so I guessed Central. They’ve got a gift
card waiting for you behind the counter, in your name.
Love to take you out to your favorite lunch to discuss making AppSumo better.
How’s next Friday at 11:30pm at La Condessa?
Be amazing,
Joey

Bonus Template:
I am a HUGE fan of AppSumo.
Bought the Sumo Business Blueprint and Piktochart.
Do you mind if I ask you 1 quick question?
Be well,
{Your Name}

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Key Takeaways:
There’s no solution to crafting a perfect coffee/lunch meeting email. If there were, then
you wouldn’t need a template. We’ve sent and received hundreds of these meeting emails
to varying degrees of success.
The key factors are to be relevant and offer a major benefit to the recipient.

From Noah:
Check out this email I got:
“I may soon take another trip and I would like to pass through Austin if you are willing to meet
for lunch. At this point I'm not sure if I'll be going through Texas...when I start my drive...if my
timing is convenient for you. Can you meet at your convenience? A personal meeting. I'm
thinking we can try Taco Deli and I'll let you know how it compares with my fave - Chronic Taco,
a SoCal Baja Mexican food chain with amazing burritos.”
What do you think my response was? Hint: it’s in the “how to reject these emails” template.
Before you hit “send” on coffee/lunch meeting email drafts, ALWAYS ask yourself, “What’s in it
for them?” Because that’s definitely what your recipient will be asking themselves.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

6. HOW TO COLD EMAIL A PROSPECT

LEAD/CUSTOMER

Email Template

Subject Line: • Oh no, a cold email for Steven

• Increasing AppSumo's revenue by 50%

Hey { First Name },

I saw you on Yelp and was impressed by your 4-star rating for home care.
We help home care businesses increase revenue by 50%.
Love to send you our top 10 ways to do that.
Is this the best mailing address for you?
522 e. 6th Street
2nd Floor
Austin, TX 78701
Sincerely,
{Your Name}

Key Takeaways:
The KEY focus when you’re sending a cold email is to ensure that your subject line
relates immediately to the specific thing you’ll do to help their business.
It’s okay to keep the subject line generic instead of overpromising something that may
seem too far-fetched. Try both out and see what works better for you. Personally, we've
found that saying something more actionable/tangible nets a higher response rate.
Make your proposal something quantifiable and relevant. A generic message will
decrease your response rate.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

7. HOW TO FOLLOW UP WHEN YOU HAVEN’T

RECEIVED A RESPONSE (COLD EMAIL)

Email Template

Subject Line: Checking in :)

Hey mate,
Hope you had an amazing weekend.
Wanted to see what your team thought of my suggestions...
Be awesome.
Noah

Bonus Email Template:

Leslie,
Definitely excited to help you grow your business.
Love to help close things out by Friday if possible.
Noah

Key Takeaways:
The highest response rates we’ve gotten happen when we’re NOT super annoying and
we make it easy for someone to respond.
Short and sweet, along with persistent checking in, will help you more than a long
diatribe. This is a great time to be using FollowUp.cc to ensure that you don't forget to
follow up.
It’s important to try and find out why they aren’t responding, what their core problems
actually are (sadly, you may not be helping with that), or why they don’t like you.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

8. HOW TO GET A CONTRACT BACK ASAP

Email Template

Subject Line: Contract attached - action required

Hey Steven,
Really looking forward to working together!
Attached is our agreement.
To keep things moving forward, can you get this back to me by Friday at 3pm?
Looking forward to it!
Noah

Key Takeaways:
Once you send an agreement over, waiting anxiously for a reply isn’t the best feeling.
Before you even think of sending another email, see if you can meet in person to get the
document signed. This works better than any online correspondence.
If that doesn’t work (especially for a time like now), then try DocuSign or Adobe Sign so
you can have the other party sign it electronically and conveniently. Remember, you
want to make things as easy for them as possible.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

9. HOW TO REPLY WHEN YOUR OFFER/DEAL HAS

BEEN ACCEPTED

Email Template

Subject Line: Awesome sauce!

Steven,
That’s great news! You are in good hands.
Let’s set up a meeting in person this Tuesday at 8am.
I’ll bring the paperwork to your office and we can discuss next steps.
Have an amazing day,
Noah

Key Takeaways:
Momentum, momentum, momentum.
It’s depressing to look back at all the times you’ve been on the cusp of closing a deal,
only for something to get in the way.
You want to clearly reinforce that what the other person is doing is a positive action.
As we stated above, we highly recommend meeting in-person with the agreement if it’s
at all possible. If not, consider using DocuSign or Adobe Sign, so they can digitally sign
the agreement as quickly as possible.
Also, try to complete whatever work you’re offering, even at the risk of the agreement
falling through. Having finished work to show the partner helps motivate them to
continue moving forward.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

10. HOW TO RESPOND WHEN YOUR OFFER HAS

BEEN TURNED DOWN

Email Template

Subject Line: Steven, I need your help

Hey Steven,
Thanks for taking the time to respond.
What could I have done to win your business?
I know you’re busy but any guidance will vastly help me improve!
Be amazing,
Noah
Ps. Mind if I touch base in 2 months?

Key Takeaways:
Continued pitches makes your recipient even less likely to respond. Even worse, you
might end up on their Gmail filter, front and center.
The main takeaways with this kind of email are:
• Reconfirm a time you can follow up
• Try to really understand the recipient’s highest priorities, not just what you’re pitching
• Acknowledge and show genuine appreciation if they email you back
• If you ask, most people will gladly help you help them – if you phrase it politely
Expect around a 40% response rate from this email.

From Noah:
BIG RED FLAG: Do NOT just keep selling. I've had companies add me to their mailing list and
continue to keep pitching – trust me, it doesn’t work.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

11. HOW TO GET A BIZ-DEV DEAL

Email Template

Subject Line: Pimping Backblaze to 730,000+ entrepreneurs

Hey Gleb,
Been hearing killer things about Backblaze recently and I had to reach out :-)
AppSumo is always on the hunt for the best tools to promote to our huge list of
Sumo-lings, and Backblaze looks boss.
Here is some more info on our reach, our customers, and who we've worked with in the
past: http://www.appsumo.com/partners/
Would love to chat about how we can make something exciting happen. What do you
think?
Cheers,
Anton

Bonus Email Template:

Hey Andrew,
Been hearing killer things about Safari Books Online lately and I just had to reach out :-)
AppSumo is hand selecting a few stellar products to feature in October and we would
love to showcase Safari Books Online to over 730,000+ potential new customers.
When we asked our customers if they'd be interested in a product like yours, we got a
huge resounding "yes!" I think they would make for great lifetime Safari Books Online
customers.
Here is some more info on our reach, our customers, and who we've worked with in the
past: http://www.appsumo.com/partners/
Please email me by the 30th and we'll make it happen.
Cheers,
Anton

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Key Takeaways:
The key thing to ask yourself is, “How do I make my email a no-brainer?”
The subject line must be appealing and completely beneficial to your reader. In this
example, there’s a clear and relevant proposition that the people at BackBlaze want.
Legitimacy is huge. Anyone who’s popular gets contacted frequently, so social proof is
necessary to show you’re a real "player."
Most companies love their customers. If you can tie in how your customers are salivating
and talking about them, you’ll have a much easier conversation. Bonus points for
specificity. Companies have a HUGE list of priorities that they’re committed to. Trying to
insert yourself in that list is tough with a random email. Some things to keep in mind:
1. You need to understand the other business’ priorities before you try to biz-dev/sell
/partner with them. Consider that you might make the WRONG assumption about
what their priorities are. If you get rejected, try to focus on what’s important to THEM,
not just what you want to offer.
2. You must focus on the relationship, even if the partnership isn't as immediate. When
Noah tried to get a deal with Zynga, he spent over a year nurturing that relationship.
Ditch your instant gratification impulses.
3. You MUST show proof that you’re worth their time and demonstrate value before your
reader even considers chatting with you.
Last thing: Add a ticking clock. We've seen at least a 15% increase in response rates just by
adding a time-sensitive call to action at the end, like "Email me back by…."

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

12. HOW TO REACH OUT TO FANS ON FACEBOOK

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a Facebook message.)

Hey Gloria,
I see that you're a fan of Patagonia – me, too!
We're creating a new activewear line with climbers like you in mind. We’d love to send you
one of our first products – free of charge.
Please check out our page with pictures here: { Your product / fan-page URL }
Let me know if you're interested in becoming an early adopter!
Keep trailblazing!

Key Takeaways:
If you need to find new customers or get validation on a new idea, this is a very effective
type of Facebook message. You can send it to anyone and it tends to get a really great
response.
The KEY things to include:
• Provide a benefit or perk for the person to check out your link. Hint: people like free
stuff (who knew?)
• Don't send the same message over and over; otherwise you'll go to “the other inbox”
(Facebook's way of preventing spam)
• Be personal. Reference one unique thing about the person.
• Asking for broad feedback gets you broad results. Be specific with what you want
when you ask for suggestions. (e.g. “I wanted to see if you liked our colors” or “I
wanted to get your thoughts on how the product fits.”)

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

13. HOW TO GET ON TECHCRUNCH

Email Template

Subject Line: Exclusive for TC: Launching Padpressed — make any blog
feel like a native iPad app

Hey Mike,
Launching PadPressed tomorrow at noon EST and TC gets free reign on an exclusive
before then.
PadPressed makes any blog look and behave like a native iPad app for Free.
We’re talking accelerometer aware column resizing, swipe to advance articles, touch
navigation, home screen icon support, and more.
We’ve built some pretty cool tech to make this happen smoothly, and it works with your
existing layout (iPad layout only activated when the blog is accessed from an iPad).
Video Demo: {Vimeo URL}
Live demo site (if you’re on an iPad): {Demo URL}
Feature overviews: {Feature page URL}
Jason L Baptiste
772 XXX XXXX
P.S. Would also be happy to do giveaways to TC readers.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Key Takeaways:
Jason Baptiste of Onswipe.com is a master of promotion and this is what
he used to get on Techcrunch. DO NOT copy this verbatim but use this
as a guideline for you.
A few lessons here:
• Use bolding (sparingly) to help highlight key selling points
• Email a few flattery emails to writers before you ask for coverage.
Plant those seeds, so you can reap the rewards later!
• Connect with writers who have actually written about a competitor or
relevant industry.
• Think of the writer. How can you make THEM look good? More page
views, social channel shares, etc.
Jason gets on Techcrunch a lot – here’s a result.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

14. HOW TO GET ON LIFEHACKER

Email Template

Subject Line: Lifehacker Exclusive

Hey Whitson,
So true about the thing when people stop reading your site.
We are launching a productivity bundle that I think you/the LH community would dig.
Would love your take if you have 1.4 minutes. Let me know...
Cheers,
Noah
510 xxx xxxx
aim: noahxxxxxx
skype: crxxxxx

Key Takeaways:
Noah originally messaged this writer via Facebook Messenger since he figured they’d be
more likely to read that than an email.
It’s critical to research Lifehacker to find the specific writer who wrote about topics related
to you. Don’t be lazy, or you’ll get a lazy response (aka crickets).
Be sure to provide all your contact info to make it easy to get a hold of you. You’ll be
surprised how many times writers will reach out just because they’ve got your contact info
handy.
Once you build a relationship, it's important to let them know what your sources, channels,
and circles are (e.g. “I’m the go-to startup guy, and I can connect you to people in these
fields…”).
Here’s the result of this email communication.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

15. HOW TO GET A CONNECTION TO

TWEET FOR YOU

Email Template

Subject Line: Tweet about the Lean Startup Bundle

Hey Paul,
We’re launching this awesome contest next week: { Contest URL }
Could you please tweet this out on Tuesday (10/30) at 9am?
Here’s a lazy link that does all the work for you: { Click to Tweet URL }
Noah

Key Takeaways:
These tweet requests are for people you know and have relationships with. Sending this
cold to a stranger tends to yield cold results.
You really have to make this as LITTLE work as possible for your recipient to encourage
action on their part.

From Noah:
I’d highly recommend you to attach a calendar invite, so that it auto-reminds your connection.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

16. HOW TO REACH OUT ABOUT GUEST POSTING:

EXAMPLE 1

Email Template

Subject Line: Guest Post — 10 Ways to End Your Website Shame

Hi Marko,
I'd love to write a guest post on your blog!
The topic would be 10 Ways to End Your Website Shame, spinning off the recent
(extremely popular) webinar I did on the same subject.
I would be addressing both mindset barriers that keep people from having great sites as
well as quick-fix type things that they can do to improve their website today.
Thanks and let me know what you think!
Laura

Key Takeaways:
Laura’s approach is amazing because she keeps the reader from having
to do any thinking.
It’s much easier to say yes/no to her proposal than something abstract
about being ABLE to write for this blog. Lay out a clear plan and reduce
any back-and-forth “brainstorming” sessions.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

17. HOW TO REACH OUT ABOUT GUEST POSTING:

EXAMPLE 2

Email Template

Subject Line: Dean — quick question

Hey Dean,
I’ve been following the Sumo blog for awhile now and I’m loving the actionable, in-depth
content you’ve been putting out. Just finished reading your article on real life lead
magnets and got a ton out of it – awesome stuff.
I’ve put together a couple of content ideas that I think Sumo readers would love, so I
thought I’d throw my hat into the ring.
9 Mindset Shifts That Will Make Your Content Insanely Effective – Lots of writing in the
content marketing space focuses on in-depth, tactical advice. But if you don’t approach
content writing with the right mindset, you’ll never create content that stands out from the
crowd. This article is an exploration of nine mindsets that are critical for top-level content
marketers in 2020, focusing on actionable advice and examples.
11 Proven Content Hacks That Will Make Your Conversions Soar – Watching a new piece
of content go live is one of the most suspenseful moments for any content creator. If your
new content doesn’t attract traffic and subscribers, it’s not just frustrating -- it directly
impacts your bottom line. This article offers 11 data-driven strategies for engineering
high-converting content in 2020.
A little about me: I’m a SaaS and B2B writer based in Virginia. I’ve recently written for { Link
}CoSchedule{ Link }, { Link }Content Marketing Institute{ Link }, and more. You can learn
more about me at my website { Link }here{ Link }.
If either of these ideas sounds promising to you, I’d be happy to send you a full outline, so
you know I can deliver a well-researched article that meets your readers’ expectations.
Keep being awesome,
Chris

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Key Takeaways:
Chris’s approach is similar to Laura’s, but with a few twists:
• He provides an opening to show that he did the research before
reaching out.
• Chris included two guest post ideas in the email instead of one. It
offers options to the person you pitch to.
• Add social proof. The best way to do this is including your past work
on other established blogs.
Here’s the result from this template.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

18. HOW TO REACH OUT ABOUT GUEST POSTING:

EXAMPLE 3

Email Template

Subject Line: Increase SmartBear blog by 1,000 page views

Jason,
HUGE fan of SmartBear.com
I’ve been writing some posts that are getting 1,000/pageviews each.
Here’s some social proof: { Link to your past work }
Love to write a guest post relating to 45 A/B tests that failed, which is very relevant to your
audience.
Mind if I send it over today?
Be amazing,
Noah

Key Takeaways:
1. Focus on blogs that get less traffic. They need the help more than a popular site and
they’re more likely to respond.
2. Prioritize the other person. We’ve said this multiple times, but 99% of people seem to
miss this: you lose the reader’s attention when your pitch focuses on yourself.
3. Tons of people hit up popular blogs for guest posts. Here’s how you can stand out:
• Show you’ve done the homework on who THEIR audience is
• Establish social proof. Bold claims with nothing to back them tend to make you
sound full of it
• Most people want to save time or make money – hone in on that
• Don’t send an open-ended request. Make it easy for them to say yes or no by
having a specific topic ready
• Ideally choose a rising or timely topic. Looking at headlines on CNN, TechCrunch,
or Reddit can give ideas of things to cover
4. Double-check that you’re passing the WIFT test: “What’s in it for them?” Make the
blogger receiving this email an offer they can’t refuse.

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19. HOW TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH

EXISTING CUSTOMERS

Email Template

Subject Line: Thinking of you Donald

Donald,
I truly appreciate your business.
Here’s an article that made me think of you. It’s about doing way more with less:
{Link}The Disciplined Pursuit of Less{Link}
One of our clients also added this badge to their site, and is seeing a 10% revenue
improvement. Might be worth trying out!
Be amazing,
Noah

Key Takeaways:
There’s no right or wrong for this email. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Personalize your message – people don’t appreciate or respond to generic emails
2. Send a relevant article
3. Suggest an action for the other person that has real-world results you can point to

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20. HOW TO NEGOTIATE RATES THAT ARE LOWER

THAN WHAT YOU WANT

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a reply.)

I'm super busy with my new startup and juggling lots of projects. $25/hour — the work will
be good, or you don't have to pay me at all. : )
I can start anytime. Just let me know how to proceed when you're ready.
David

Key Takeaways:
Noah suggested a lower price to David for work he wanted completed.
Here’s the original message to David:
$15/hour and if the work/attitude are good, I will increase it.
How's Friday after lunch to start?
The email template above was David’s response (and yes, he got the wage he wanted).
Be firm, stay cordial, and know your value. While you don’t have to propose not getting
paid at all, you want to guarantee customer satisfaction in some way if you’re asking for a
higher rate.

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21. HOW TO INFORM YOUR CUSTOMERS

OF A PRICE RAISE

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a reply.)

Hi Dean,
I've finished the first draft of the B2B Lead Generation guide - just assigned it to you.
On a separate note, I’ve been thinking about our collaborations at Sumo, and wanted to
send over a quick email to say thank you for the work we’ve done together since August. :)
As a courtesy, I also wanted to let you know my new rate: {Your new rate}
The change won’t take effect until February 2020, but in the meantime, as an expression
of gratitude (you've been awesome to work with!), I want to extend you the current rate till
March 2020.
Will this new rate work for you? Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks so much, Dean!
Priscilla

Key Takeaways:
Priscilla is a content writer for Sumo and AppSumo.
Here’s what makes this email powerful:
• It starts with expressing gratitude as well as a reminder of the work
she’s completed in the past
• It moves straight to the point – in this case, the new rate – with confidence
• It provides ample time for the reader to make adjustments. Instead of
increasing the rate immediately, Priscilla gave an early notice and kept
the original rate for another month.
• Finally, it ends with a direct ask
The result: Priscilla got the new rate she asked for. (But before you go
running off asking for more money, make sure you’re already doing an
amazing job and that your new rate is reasonable.)

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

22. HOW TO ASK FOR A REFERRAL

FROM A CUSTOMER

Email Template

Subject Line: A gift for you

Hi Surya,
I hope you're doing amazing!
It's truly incredible what daily accountability + support + a system to monitor and track our
progress can do, and we're only just getting started! :)
We’re trying to help more people with our tool.
Who do you know that would benefit most from one week of complimentary service?
I'd love to help your friend/family member or co-worker while continuing to assist you!
Thanks for the support,
Adam
P.S. Feel free to forward this email if you feel more comfortable having that person contact
me directly.

Key Takeaways:
Your BEST salespeople are your current customers. Help mobilize them to promote your
service by giving them an email they can forward to other potential customers (...assuming
you don’t suck).
The key thing to recognize is what this email could do for their reputation. The more badass
your message makes them look, the higher chance you have of them forwarding it.
Your reader doesn’t want to think too much – make it easy for them by suggesting the
person or category of people you want them to forward the email to.
To keep things in perspective, ask yourself what you’d do if you received that email.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

23. HOW TO GET FEEDBACK FROM

UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a reply.)

Hey,
I saw that you bought { Product name and URL } from us.
It’s currently our worst rated product...ever :(
But good news: I am personally going to fix it for you! :)
Could you reply to this email and let me know what you were expecting (vs. what you
got)?
How can I make this product invaluable for you?
Sincerely,
Noah Kagan
Chief Sumo

Key Takeaways:
The key thing to consider when emailing for feedback is: what is your objective?
So many times the emails we receive are vague or unclear, because the sender has no
direction.
This email about one of our products got a 30%+ response rate thanks to its upfront
mission: receive reader feedback in order to improve the product.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

24. HOW TO ASK YOUR CUSTOMERS

FOR A TESTIMONIAL

Email Template

Subject Line: John, I need your help

Hey John,
I am extremely happy that you got so much value from my course!
If you have further questions about it, don’t hesitate to ask me anytime.
I also have a small request for you:
Could I get a short testimonial from you about my course? It'd be extremely helpful.
Your testimonial could look something like this (I based it on your feedback):
"The course is really well made, clear, and understandable. Thanks to the course I can now
manage my own building without the fear of doing a terrible job. I learned a lot from the
practical examples, such as how to divide costs, call for a meeting with other owners, and
the required votes when making decisions. I recommend the course to anyone who wants
to manage his own building because it’s practical and not expensive compared to the
alternatives. " — John
Let me know if this looks good, or feel free to adapt it to better fit your experience.
Thanks in advance!
Yours truly,
Jessie

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Key Takeaways:
With this technique, we had a 100% hit rate for receiving quality
testimonials.
Never ask for testimonials right out of the gate. First off, you never know
exactly how a customer feels about your product.
Plus, if you initiate by asking for a testimonial and leave the request
open-ended, you run the risk of getting extremely general feedback (e.g.
“This was a great product! I really love it!”). The problem with those
testimonials is that they’re ineffective and don’t convince other
prospects.
Instead, use this three-step process:
1. Send an email asking for specific feedback on the product. (Your
questions might include: Was my product interesting for you? If so,
how has it helped you? If not, how can we do better?) Of course, you
can skip right to step two if you receive an unprompted email praising
your product or service.
2. Once you receive an email with positive feedback, go ahead and
construct a testimonial using the customer’s wording.
3. Then, send an email (using the template above) asking your customer
if you can get a testimonial. Include the testimonial you constructed
using their words. The main thing is to reduce the work on their part
by writing a testimonial that’s true to what they would say and helpful
to your business.
These emails tend to run longer than usual, but at the end of the day,
they work!
This email was contributed by Jessie Dedecker.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

25. HOW TO GET MONEY FROM PAST CLIENTS

Email Template

Subject Line: Quick note on payments

Hi John,
A quick note to say that I am really disappointed that you still haven’t paid me the $100
that I'm owed for the work I did for you.
In the grand scheme of things, it's not a lot of money, but actually I think that this is more
a matter of respect.
I have always been there at the drop of a hat to sort out any problems you might have. I
love working with you and have always viewed our relationship as more than just
client/supplier. But if I can't rely on you paying promptly or it takes several attempts and
reminders to get my money, that's not good business.
I'm not saying that I don't want to work with you – I do. But if I don't receive what I am owed
within the next couple of days, I will have to think twice about helping you in the future.
Kind regards,
Andy Clarke

Key Takeaways:
This proved to be the most effective debt-collecting email I have ever written. Every client
settled their account within two days, while two called to apologize within minutes of
receiving my email.
I chose to abandon the stiff business approach and instead write one very human email,
carefully worded to express how I personally felt. After all, business may be business, but
people work with people.
This exercise taught me that even the trickiest situations can be handled better and
resolved faster by plain, honest communication.
This email was contributed by Andy Clarke.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

26. HOW TO RECRUIT FOR A POSITION

THROUGH LINKEDIN

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a LinkedIn message.)

Hey Chris,
Dig your background and interest in clean tech.
Really great case studies on your blog.
We are hiring for a partner manager and your background is awesome.
You open to hearing more about it?
Be well!
Noah

Key Takeaways:
LinkedIn is a recruiter’s utopia, but top candidates tend to be hounded by numerous
recruiters at once. So how do you recruit someone highly sought after on LinkedIn, and
rise above the noise?
A few key things that have consistently worked:
• Refer to their name in your message to them
• Compliment them on a specific accomplishment in their profile. Bonus points if you’ve
done research beyond their LinkedIn. This shows that you’ve invested the time in them
and aren’t just spraying and praying.
• Be upfront, but don’t put all your cards on the table when it comes to what you want.
Pique their curiosity. You want to play a bit hard to get, so the candidate has an
incentive to respond to you.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

27. HOW TO HUNT FOR PROSPECTS ON LINKEDIN

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a LinkedIn message.)

Hey Marc,
We’re both members of the LinkedIn group “B2B Marketing”.
I saw your message in the group and ended up on your website.
Really love how the website communicates its benefits and addresses possible objections
from customers.
I do see some huge opportunities to improve conversion rates though. It would double
your leads without any increase to your advertising budget.
If you want, I can send you a free report with some of my insights on how you can further
improve based on work I did for AT&T and Verizon.
Let me know if you’re interested!
Kinds regards,
Jessie

Key Takeaways:
LinkedIn Groups are probably the most underutilized tools in your arsenal
to hunt for prospects in a B2B context.
Find out which LinkedIn Groups your prospects and customers hang out
in (you can view these in their profiles) and join the same groups.
What most people don’t know is that once you’re a member of the same
group, you can send messages to a potential prospect without being
directly connected. Just go to the member list of the group and click
“Send message.” Simple as that.
This email was contributed by Jessie Dedecker.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

28. HOW TO REJECT A PHONE CALL OR MEETING

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a reply.)

Hey Jim,
Thanks for the email!
I’ll pass on doing a call; I’m phone-phobic.
Happy to chat briefly via short emails.
Be well,
Noah

Key Takeaways:
Dharmesh Shah, founder and CTO of HubSpot, taught this to Noah.
There’s no need to feel guilty rejecting people for coffee or phone calls,
especially when you don’t think you’ll get much value out of speaking
with them. In most cases, email is sufficient for your conversation.
This is a friendly, non-offensive way to keep future conversations brief
and confined to email.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

29. HOW TO GET SOMEONE TO STOP WRITING

LONG EMAILS

Email Template

Subject Line: Your emails – make them short and actionable

David,
Here is the normal length of an email I love to receive and read:
___start____
|||||||||
||||||||||||
___end____
Here's what you send:
___start____
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||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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___end____
People are busy, have no time to read every niggling detail, and frankly… it's annoying to
get long emails like this.
To improve your communication, please make your emails short and concise!
Thank you :-)
No reply needed.
Neville Medhora

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Key Takeaways:
Ever get one of those War and Peace-length emails that you just roll your eyes at?
This was an epic email that Neville from Kopywriting Kourse started sending to people
who wrote way too much.
It was funny and useful for him, but might be a bit too offensive for your brand.
Here’s another template you can use:
Thanks for the email! In the future, I’d really appreciate it if you could condense your
messages a bit, so we could get down to business even faster!

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

30. HOW TO SAY NO TO GIVING YOUR OPINION

Email Template

Subject Line: (None. This is a reply.)

Thanks for asking, James.

To be honest, I stopped providing my feedback because no one was doing anything with
it and it wasn’t a great use of my time.
Your best bet is to reach out to your ideal customers and get their input instead.
Be awesome!
Noah

Key Takeaways:
We bet you get asked pretty frequently for opinions/feedback on projects, you popular
so-and-so.
This section is not to say that you should always reject feedback requests, but it is
important to protect your time from the people who won’t appreciate it.
We find that being polite, but firm works best. Don’t leave much room for debate.
If they still respond and provide a reasonable, compelling case, then feel free to help out.
But we've found that this approach weeds out about 75% of these requests if you’re
feeling especially swamped.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Chief Sumo's Favorite Inbox Hacks

That’s a wrap!
Now you have the email templates, and more importantly, the knowledge to craft and send a
perfect email to partners, prospects, customers, and anyone in the world.
Of course, these email templates aren’t a one-size-fits-all deal – you should adjust them as you
see fit according to your brand voice. However, they’ve proven pretty effective for us
throughout the years. (Not to brag, but we know our way around an inbox.)
We’re not done yet.
Before we sign off, we’re going to let you on ONE last secret.
Over thousands of emails sent and received, our Chief Sumo, Noah Kagan has been curating his
own list of email hacks based on what he’s learned. He was reluctant to share them at first, but
we finally convinced him to do it. (Let’s just say it took us more than a few trips to Tacodeli.)
Enjoy this list of Noah Kagan’s favorite email tricks!

Inbox Hack #1: Include a Calendar Invite

If you’re reaching out to someone to set up a meeting, always include a calendar invite. For most
recipients, the meeting invite automatically goes into their calendar.
Now they’re thinking of you and you’ve already got one foot in the door.

Inbox Hack #2: Use Re: or Fwd: in the Subject Line

This simple hack triggers recipients to pay closer attention to your email (AKA higher open and
response rates).
This has worked amazingly for Noah, but do NOT abuse this hack (with great power comes
great responsibility).

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

Inbox Hack #3: Reduce Your Email Lag

This is helpful for getting contracts completed or any other requests you have locked down.
Everyone hates endless back-and-forth emails.
To avoid that, propose the time, location, and date when you want to set up a meeting. The less
the recipient has to think, the easier it is for them to make a decision.
Consider including the phrase “no response needed” in your emails (that is, if applicable).

Inbox Hack #4: The Quad-Bomb!

Here’s a trick Noah used to get a 95% guaranteed response rate from people he reached out to.
He call it “The Quad-Bomb” and here’s how it works:
1. Email the person (you can use one of the templates above based on your objectives)
2. Send a LinkedIn connection request with a message.
3. Reach out via Facebook Messenger. The message should specifically state you’re reaching
out since sometimes your email goes to spam and you want to confirm that it got through.
4. Direct message the person via Twitter.
It’s easy to see why this hack works well: no one goes to that level of determination to connect
with a person unless they’ve got something important to say. And through that effort, you’ll
almost always get a response.

Inbox Hack #5: Make Your Email Easy to Skim

Single space and single-sentence your emails. No one wants to read a wall of text (see also:
email template #29). When you write sentence after sentence in a single paragraph, your
message tends to get lost in the noise. Simplify. Cut to the chase. Here’s how your email should
read:
This is a short sentence.
Here’s a request I’d like to make to you.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

And so forth….
Got it?
It’s much easier to skim and you’re more likely to get a response.
Do consider your email content when using this tip – it isn’t always applicable and some emails
do require more length. But they’re rare. Most of the time, a direct, skimmable email that gets to
the point is an email that gets responses.
That’s all for now, folks. Email can be a tricky world to navigate, even though it’s by no means a
new medium. We hope these templates can teach you to dot your i’s, cross your t’s, and hit
“Send” with confidence every time.
Now go forth and craft those million-dollar emails.

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 Million Dollar Email Templates

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