How often does a cold email get a reply, let alone land a sale? Studies suggest that decent cold outreach campaigns typically have a reply rate of between 1% and 5%. Some of the best campaigns can have reply rates as high as 8.5% or more.
With numbers like this, simply getting a reply to your cold email feels like a win. But, in truth, replies are still a long way from landing a sale. Your foot is in the door, but you still have work to do. Your prospects need time to trust you, understand your value, and feel confident about their choice.
And that’s precisely what a lead nurturing email campaign helps you achieve. It’s a series of touchpoints designed to build rapport, address concerns, and guide your prospect organically toward a decision.
To help inspire yours, this article briefly looks at several examples of lead nurturing emails that turn lukewarm prospects into eager buyers through strategic relationship-building.
What is a Lead Nurturing Email?
A lead nurturing email is any message sent after initial contact to build trust and move prospects closer to a purchase decision. These emails work because they meet prospects where they are in their buying journey. Instead of pushing for an immediate sale, you guide them through their decision-making process with helpful content, social proof, and timely offers.
Most email senders associate a “nurturing” email with a follow-up email. While that statement holds some truth, it’s not the entire picture. A nurturing email isn’t just a reminder you send to stay top-of-mind. It provides value, addresses objections, and nudges prospects toward a positive reply.
Examples of Great Lead Nurturing Emails
Lead nurturing emails come in many forms. The common thread between them is that they encourage your prospects toward a favorable action. To help you create a lead nurturing campaign that gets replies, here’s a look at some great examples to get you started:
Welcome Emails
Welcome emails have one of the highest open rates amongst all forms of email marketing, with a 91.4% average open rate. Since it’s almost guaranteed that prospects open them, you have to make them count. Here’s an example from Brightlocal:
After signing up for a free trial, Brightlocal sends a Welcome email. But they don’t just send a thank you note for trying out their product. They set you up for the full experience and encourage you to schedule a personalized demo with their team.
Arguably, the best part of this nurturing welcome email is how Brightlocal shows you the value you’re getting from their service and frames it as your choice: “You’re here because you want to enhance your local search presence and attract more customers.”
Testimonials
Testimonials give your prospects context of how you’ve helped similar businesses. Sadly, this is where many senders miss the mark. You need to be intentional with the examples you send when nurturing leads through testimonials. You can’t send the same one to all your leads.
Even if your leads are all in the same industry, chances are, they’re in different stages of the buying process. Some may be starting to scale while others are still in their infancy.
So, before launching this campaign type, it’s important to segment your lead lists and tailor testimonials to specific groups. Take this email from an AI Product Management Leadership Course as an example:
Instead of generic praise, the email features testimonials that speak directly to different types of prospects:
- One highlights a Senior PM without FAANG connections who joined the course for the networking and access to AI leaders.
- Another testimonial focuses on AI’s technical depth and practical applications, which would resonate with hands-on PMs looking to strengthen their implementation skills.
- The third emphasizes community and ongoing collaboration, appealing to ambitious product leaders seeking long-term career growth and peer support.
Each testimonial feels personal, relevant, and aligned with a specific lead persona. And that’s why the email works. When you’re strategic about which testimonial you share and who you share it with, you’re helping the lead see themselves in the story, which moves them closer to converting.
Case Studies
B2B prospects invest a great deal of time and effort in their research process. They want to know, without a doubt, that your solution works for their specific use cases.
So, there’s a good chance that they’ll want answers from companies in the same boat they are. In these instances, sending case studies as part of a nurturing campaign proves highly effective.
Instead of spending hours researching, they’ll have what they’re looking for right in front of them. You can either send a detailed case study or an outline of your B2B sales process (and if prospects want to learn more, they can schedule a call). Your choice depends on the audience.
Some might prefer to solve their issues DIY, while others might want solutions ASAP. Either way, your case studies, testimonials, and expertise will provide value. You can even gate case studies in exchange for prospects joining an event, where you can nurture them further.
Event Invitation Emails
Events are a great way to learn, network, and find solutions to problems. Inviting prospects to an event can create a sense of exclusivity and, most importantly, FOMO. Prospects are more incentivized to join if the events are free (webinars, AMAs, workshops, etc.).
Event invitations also work well when paired with cold email marketing. Instead of a typical cold email asking for a one-on-one discovery call, you invite prospects to an event where you show value and expertise. Plus, there’s already social proof since others will also be joining.
Here’s an example of an invitation email template you can use:
Subject line: What top AI PMs aren’t sharing on LinkedIn (Join the AMA)
Hey {{first name}},
We’re hosting a live AMA with AI product leaders from Meta, Amazon, and Salesforce. And you’re invited! We’ll be unpacking what top AI PMs are doing beyond the polished LinkedIn posts.
You’ll get first-hand insights on:
How they’re building and scaling AI products
What’s working (and what’s not)
The leadership skills they rely on when managing complex AI projects
This event is free and curated specifically for companies like {{prospect’s company}} looking to achieve {{relevant goal}}. PMs from Google, LinkedIn, and Stripe have joined past sessions. I promise you’ll be in great company.
{{CTA Link}}
Hope to see you there,
{{your name}}
Immediate Value
Not everyone has the time or patience to sit through a long webinar or dig through case studies. That’s why giving prospects something useful immediately can go a long way. So, rather than follow up for the sake of it, you show up with something new that’s worth their time.
Let’s say your first cold email didn’t get a response. Instead of sending a generic follow-up like:
“Just checking in on the email I sent last week…” You could send something more valuable and relevant. For example:
Hey {{first name}},
Saw a post about {{pain point}} trending in a few PM communities and thought of your team. Here’s a quick breakdown we did showing how {{solution}} helped cut {{metric}} by {{result}}. Might spark a few ideas for your roadmap, too.”
Newsletters
Newsletters are the poster child of nurturing emails. Done right, they give you consistent, low-pressure touchpoints with leads who aren’t ready to buy yet. You’re not pushing a hard pitch. You’re showing up regularly with helpful content that positions you as a go-to resource.
One great example is Semrush’s newsletter. It doesn’t rely on flashy design or long-winded explanations. You don’t have to write overly long emails for your message to be valuable.
Instead, it’s quick to scan and tightly structured around value. It opens with links to trending tools and features, then follows up with bite-sized insights like product updates, SEO experiments, and even a quirky “Lesson of the Day” on how robots.txt works.
Every section is actionable. Readers can immediately click through to try a tool, learn something relevant to their work, or dig into a guide if they’re curious. There’s variety, but it all feels cohesive with a responsive email design.
Drip Campaign Nurturing Email Sequence
Even the best emails fall flat if sent at the wrong time or in the wrong order. That’s where a well-planned drip campaign comes in. Instead of guessing when to follow up, you create a sequence that delivers the right message at the right moment, based on where your prospect is in the buyer’s journey.
Drip campaigns work because they build momentum. Each email adds context, addresses objections, or introduces new value without overwhelming the prospect. It’s not about sending more emails. It’s about sending the right ones in a natural cadence. Here’s an example of a drip campaign nurture sequence you can adapt:
Email 1: Cold Outreach (Initial Touchpoint)
Subject line: A simple way to improve {{pain point}}
Hi {{first name}},
If {{pain point}} is still a challenge, here’s something worth exploring. We’ve helped teams in {{industry}} reduce {{specific pain or inefficiency}} and improve {{relevant metric or result}} without needing to revamp their entire system. The approach is simple, repeatable, and works even if you’re experimenting with {{related topic or tool}}.
Happy to share the framework if you’re interested.
Best regards,
{{your name}}
Email 2: Nurture Follow-up (Immediate Value)
Subject line: Here’s that {{framework/guide/tool}} I mentioned
Hey {{first name}},
As promised, here’s a quick breakdown of the {{framework/tool/strategy}} we’ve seen work well for {{pain point}}:
Problem it solves: {{short line about the core challenge}}
How it works: {{quick overview}}
What teams see: {{quantifiable outcome or qualitative win}}
If you’re curious about tailoring this to {{prospect's company}}, I’m happy to talk it through. Hoping to hear from you soon.
Best regards,
{{your name}}
Email 3: Nurture Follow-up (Social Proof or Invite)
Subject line: How other {{job titles}} are approaching {{pain point}}
Hi {{first name}},
Thought you might find this useful. We recently helped {{client or similar company}} improve {{result}} by applying that same {{framework/tool}}, and they were facing similar challenges around {{pain point}}.
We’re also running a short AMA with a few operators already implementing this strategy. Let me know if you want to join or get the session summary.
Best regards,
{{your name}}
Making Lead Nurturing Emails Work at Scale With Instantly.ai
Building effective lead-nurturing email sequences takes time, testing, and constant optimization. If you’re running multiple campaigns or targeting different segments, managing all these moving parts can become overwhelming fast.
Instantly.ai was built for this exact reason. Our campaign sequences feature lets you set up sophisticated cold emails, drip campaigns, and welcome series, as the case may be, with built-in personalization and timing controls.
Plus, the template library includes proven sequences for different industries and use cases, so you don't have to start from scratch.
With Instantly’s suite of cold email campaign services, you're covered from setup to scale. Try it for free today.
Key Takeaways
Lead nurturing emails ensure that your outreach campaigns have the highest chance of getting positive replies. The good news is that there are several ways to nurture prospects through email marketing. To recap, here are seven of the best lead-nurturing strategies you can try:
- Welcome emails
- Testimonials
- Case studies
- Event invitations
- Immediate value emails
- Newsletters
- Drip campaign nurturing
No matter what lead-nurturing campaign you’re running, success depends on having the right tool for automation, personalization, and scale. Instantly gives you all three. Start your free trial today.
