Cold outreach is a grind. You spend hours finding prospects, crafting emails, and waiting for crickets—or, if you’re lucky, a polite “not interested.” If you’re tired of guessing what works, you’re not alone. This guide is for salespeople, founders, and marketers who want their outreach to actually get replies, not just take up space in someone’s inbox.
The good news: you don’t need a PhD or a 10-tool tech stack. You just need to use your data—especially the insights you can pull from Skrapp—to tweak, test, and steadily improve.
Let’s get into the nuts and bolts.
Step 1: Get Clean, Targeted Data—Don’t Just Blast a List
Before you even think about writing emails, start with the right data. Skrapp’s main draw is its ability to find business emails and enrich leads. But here’s the reality: most people just grab big lists and hope for the best. That’s a mistake.
What actually works:
- Define your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): Be specific—industry, company size, job titles, geography. Don’t just say “decision makers.”
- Use Skrapp filters: Don’t export the whole batch. Narrow it down:
- Industry
- Company size
- Location
- Seniority or department
- Double-check your list: Even Skrapp’s data isn’t perfect. Spot-check emails for accuracy and relevance. A smaller, cleaner list beats a giant, messy one every time.
What to ignore:
Don’t fall for “spray and pray.” Sending 2,000 untargeted emails gets you spam complaints, not sales.
Step 2: Use Skrapp Insights to Segment and Personalize
Most cold emails get trashed because they’re obviously generic. Skrapp gives you more than just email addresses. The “insights” part—like company size, industry, and tech used—lets you slice your list into smaller, more relevant buckets.
How to do it:
- Segment by company size: SMBs care about saving money. Enterprises care about compliance, integrations, or scale. Don’t send the same pitch to both.
- Segment by industry: Use Skrapp’s filters to break out industries. Reference something industry-specific in your email.
- Segment by role: Skrapp shows job titles. Tailor your message for a founder vs. a head of operations.
Pro tip:
You don’t need to write 20 different emails. Three or four segments with tailored openers or value props is enough to see a big jump in replies.
Step 3: Analyze Deliverability Before You Hit Send
Nothing kills a campaign faster than landing in spam. Skrapp doesn’t just give you emails; it also shows “verified” status. Don’t ignore this—bouncing off invalid emails can ruin your sender reputation.
What works:
- Only use “verified” emails: If Skrapp says “unverified,” skip it or find another source.
- Spot-check with another tool: If you’re serious, run your list through a second verifier (like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce). Paranoid? Maybe. But it beats a blacklisted domain.
- Warm up your sending domain: This isn’t Skrapp-specific, but it’s crucial. If you’re sending from a new domain, start slow—maybe 20-30 emails a day.
What to ignore:
Don’t trust any tool (Skrapp included) that claims 100% deliverability. That’s wishful thinking.
Step 4: Write Emails That Don’t Suck (and Track What Resonates)
The best data in the world can’t save a bad email. Luckily, Skrapp’s insights help you write something people might actually read.
How to use Skrapp data to write better emails:
- Reference specifics: “Saw you’re in the [INDUSTRY] space at [COMPANY]—curious how you handle [RELEVANT PROBLEM].”
- Keep it short: No one reads long intros from strangers. 3-4 sentences is enough.
- Use a real name: Always send from an actual person, not “The XYZ Team.”
- Have a clear ask: Don’t make them “hop on a quick call” right away. Offer a resource, ask a question, or make it easy to say yes.
Track replies and adjust:
- Use unique subject lines or snippets for each segment so you can see what gets opened or replied to.
- Don’t obsess over open rates—replies matter more.
What to ignore:
Don’t copy templates you find online. Everyone else is using them. If your email starts with “I know you’re busy, but…”—rewrite it.
Step 5: Use Skrapp’s Export Data to Measure and Iterate
Once you’ve run a few campaigns, don’t just move on. Real improvement comes from tracking what worked and what didn’t—then tweaking.
How to do it with Skrapp:
- Export your outreach lists: Skrapp lets you export with all the fields you selected—industry, company size, job title, etc.
- Cross-reference with your replies: Track which segments gave you the most positive responses.
- Look for patterns: Maybe you thought fintech was your market, but your best replies came from healthcare. Adjust your next list.
Pro tip:
If you’re using a CRM or a cold email tool, tag your contacts by Skrapp segment (e.g., “Skrapp-SMB,” “Skrapp-Enterprise”). This makes follow-up and analysis way easier.
Step 6: Don’t Over-Automate—Keep It Human
Skrapp integrates with a bunch of outreach tools. That can be handy, but don’t let automation turn you into a robot. Personal touches still matter, especially as inboxes get flooded with AI-written junk.
What works:
- Personalize at least the first line, even if you batch the rest.
- Follow up—once or twice. More than that and you’re just being annoying.
- Use Skrapp’s LinkedIn data to mention something recent if you can.
What to ignore:
Don’t automate 5-step sequences to “circle back” or “just checking in” every 3 days. People hate that. If it didn’t work the first time, try something different or move on.
Step 7: Stay Compliant and Respectful
Just because you have someone’s email doesn’t mean you should use it. Skrapp isn’t a magic ticket to spam people.
- Always include an easy opt-out in your emails.
- Don’t email people in countries where it’s not allowed (looking at you, GDPR).
- If someone asks you to stop, actually stop.
Pro tip:
Reputation is hard to fix once you wreck it. One angry recipient can get your domain blacklisted.
Keep It Simple: Test, Learn, Repeat
Cold outreach is never “set it and forget it.” Even with all the insights Skrapp gives you, there’s no silver bullet. The folks who win are the ones who test small changes, look at their data, and keep tweaking.
Don’t get lost in features or try to automate empathy. Use Skrapp to build targeted, clean lists, segment smartly, personalize where it counts, and always look for what’s actually getting replies.
Keep it simple, stay curious, and you’ll get better—one campaign at a time.