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How to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT to write the perfect cold email

How to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT to write the perfect cold email

4
min read

Welcome to the world of AI writing assistants!

If you're in sales, marketing, fundraising, or any other email-based job, you know the struggles of writing effective cold outreach emails. They can be difficult to write, and it can be even harder to write them in a way that captures your lead’s attention. 

That's where OpenAI's ChatGPT comes in.

<a href="#what-openai" class="anchor-link">What is OpenAI?</a>
<a href="#how-chatgpt-works" class="anchor-link">How does ChatGPT work?</a>
<a href="#benefits-limitations" class="anchor-link">What are the benefits and limitations of ChatGPT?</a>
<a href="#writing-perfect-email" class="anchor-link">Writing a perfect email with an AI text generator</a>

  • <a href="#try-chatgpt" class="anchor-link">Try OpenAI’s ChatGPT writing assistant to scale your cold email outreach</a>

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What is OpenAI?

OpenAI is a research institute that focuses on developing artificial intelligence in a way that is safe and beneficial for humanity. Their AI writing assistant, ChatGPT, uses a type of AI called natural language processing (NLP) to generate text that sounds like it was written by a human.

<div class="anchor-wrapper"><div id="how-chatgpt-works" class="anchor-target"></div></div>

How does ChatGPT work?

So, what exactly will you get by using ChatGPT? 

According to OpenAI, Chat GPT “interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer followup [sic] questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.”

With a simple prompt, ChatGPT will generate writing suggestions, complete sentences, and even entire emails for you. And it doesn't stop there – ChatGPT can even come up with a subject line for your email and suggest calls to action.

<div class="anchor-wrapper"><div id="benefits-limitations" class="anchor-target"></div></div>

What are the benefits and limitations of ChatGPT?

There are many benefits of using ChatGPT to write your cold emails. 

For starters, it can save you a ton of time. Instead of spending hours crafting the perfect email, you can let ChatGPT do the heavy lifting for you. Since ChatGPT is trained on a vast amount of text written by humans, it can come up with creative and engaging emails that you might not have thought of on your own.

Of course, there are some limitations and risks to using ChatGPT.

It's important to remember that, while ChatGPT can generate text that sounds human, it's still just a machine. That means it's up to you, the human, to review the emails it generates and make sure they make sense and are appropriate for your audience. 

It's also important to remember that ChatGPT is only as good as the prompts you give it, so be specific and clear when providing input.

<div class="anchor-wrapper"><div id="writing-perfect-email" class="anchor-target"></div></div>

Writing a perfect email with an AI text generator

Now that you know the basics of ChatGPT, let's go over how to use it to write the perfect cold email.

Write a prompt

Start by prompting ChatGPT to write a cold outbound email to a prospective customer.

Describe the type of product you are selling and who your ideal customers might be. For example, you could say something like, "I am selling a new type of CRM software and my ideal customers are small business owners."

A screenshot of a prompt in ChatGPT to write a cold outbound email to a prospective customer

Find similar customer personas

Ask ChatGPT to generate other similar customer personas and industries. This will help you come up with a diverse range of potential customers to target with your cold email outreach.

A screenshot of the content generated after asking ChatGPT to generate other similar customer personas and industries

Add placeholders for personalization

Tell ChatGPT to include placeholders where the email can be customized per recipient. This will allow you to easily personalize your emails for each individual recipient.

A screenshot of the content generated after telling ChatGPT to include placeholders where the email can be customized per recipient

Add CTAs

Ask ChatGPT to add any calls to action, such as inviting the recipient to schedule a call or demo using a tool like Streak's mail merge feature.

A screenshot of the content generated after asking ChatGPT to add any calls to action, such as inviting the recipient to schedule a call or demo

Hone in on your voice and tone

Specify the tone you want the email to have.

Do you want it to be informal and friendly, or more sales-oriented? ChatGPT can generate text in a variety of tones, so make sure to let it know what you're looking for.

A screenshot of the content generated after prompting ChatGPT to write in a certain tone, in this example, writing in an informal tone

Optimize your email for conversion

Tell ChatGPT that you want to optimize the email for conversion. This will help it come up with language that is designed to persuade the recipient to take the desired action.

A screenshot of the content generated after asking ChatGPT to optimize the email for conversion

Generate a great subject line for your email

Ask ChatGPT to generate a subject line for your email. This is an important step, as a good subject line can make the difference between your email being opened or ignored.

Make your email shorter or longer

Ask ChatGPT to lengthen or shorten the email based on your preferences. 

If you want a longer email with more details and persuasive language, ChatGPT can accommodate that. On the other hand, if you prefer a shorter, more concise email, ChatGPT can generate that as well.

Create variations for different customer segments

Finally, ask ChatGPT to generate alternative emails for the different target customers it identified. This will give you a range of options to choose from, so you can pick the one that feels most appropriate for each individual recipient.

A screenshot of the content generated after asking ChatGPT to create email variations for different customer segments

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Try OpenAI’s ChatGPT writing assistant to scale your cold email outreach

Using ChatGPT to write your cold emails is a great way to save time and improve the effectiveness of your outreach. By providing specific and clear prompts, you can let ChatGPT do the heavy lifting and focus on the parts of the email that only a human can do well, like personalizing it for each recipient and making final edits.

So why not give ChatGPT a try? You might be surprised by how well it can help you write the perfect cold email. And with Streak's mail merge feature, you can easily customize and send your emails to multiple recipients in just a few clicks. 

Happy emailing!

This blog post was written with OpenAI’s ChatGPT! We minimally edited the post to include headers, slightly adjust the formatting, and add images. 

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