{"id":14347,"date":"2021-01-11T18:32:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T23:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=14347"},"modified":"2025-10-10T12:01:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T16:01:49","slug":"write-effective-cold-email-musician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/write-effective-cold-email-musician\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write an effective cold email as a musician"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Illustration:<\/strong> Benedikt Rugar<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sending out pitch emails to strangers is a special kind of hell.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you’re an artist promoting your work, it can feel like you\u2019re laying your heart out on display and then encouraging people to slowly stab it, over and over again. But for those who don\u2019t have a publicist, a label, or a team advocating for your work, it’s sometimes a necessary act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps it\u2019s a good exercise in humility? I don\u2019t know, to be perfectly honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been on both sides of the cold email exchange. I self-released an album in 2019<\/a> and set about doing my own publicity for it. I sent out so many pitch emails in the process, and sometimes I succeeded. For me, cold emails have led to press in major international outlets, useful label contacts, and exciting performance opportunities. It does work sometimes, and that\u2019s why we as artists keep doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a journalist, I also receive many pitch emails. A lot of them are bad. Most of them shouldn\u2019t have been sent to me at all, indicating that the sender didn\u2019t do their research, as I don\u2019t write music reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, I break down how to write and send an effective cold email, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to maximize your likelihood of cold email success. When it’s done right, cold emailing can be a wonderful thing \u2013 a special moment of connection. The person you email could be a future friend or the results could be mutually fruitful. It just takes a bit of effort for cold emailing to have those types of results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are components I\u2019ve identified to writing a good cold email that\u2019s likely to elicit positive results, without making you feel as though you\u2019re subjecting yourself to a medieval torture device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Make a plan and set boundaries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to send successful cold emails, begin by defining what success looks like for you. Obviously, we\u2019d all love to have everyone we email glowingly respond to our request, but that\u2019s not very realistic. If you set out with that as your goal, you\u2019ll likely be disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve found that a 10 – 15% response rate is reasonable to expect if you\u2019re taking the time to write good emails and send them to appropriate people. With that response rate in mind, what\u2019s the total number of hours you\u2019re willing to put toward sending pitch emails?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come up with a plan and set time limits for yourself before you begin. Create a finite window during which you\u2019ll be cold emailing. Plan specific dates and times to check in with yourself throughout the process to make sure it\u2019s not wearing too heavily on your soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Include taking good care of yourself as part of your definition of success<\/a> (not just for cold emailing, but always).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of cold emailing like fishing. When you go fishing, you cast lines out in hopes that something will bite, but you understand that you won\u2019t bring home a fish every time. You find ways to appreciate the process whether or not you catch a fish \u2013 the calmness of nature, the feeling of the breeze, and the birds flying overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sending out cold emails isn’t as pleasant as drifting along in a dinghy with a fishing pole, but there are some things to enjoy about the process nonetheless. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about your field, improve your written communication skills, and even deepen your understanding of your own work by figuring out how to frame and present it to a wide range of people. Once you have a sense of what you\u2019d like to get out of the process of cold emailing, even if you don\u2019t catch a big fish, then you\u2019re ready to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Do your research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This should be a given, but make sure you\u2019re sending your email to the right person. If you\u2019re pitching to the music press, don\u2019t blindly send emails to all of the Rolling Stone<\/em> email addresses you can find. It\u2019s a waste of everyone\u2019s time, including yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, be strategic about who you email. Take a moment to brainstorm artists who sound like you in some way or have a similar energy. Who is writing about them? Within that group, who\u2019s doing thoughtful and engaged writing about those artists? Look them up on social media. Are they still at that same job, writing for that same publication? These are the people you want to approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research stage is a little different when you\u2019re reaching out to someone you want to have a more enduring partnership with, like a label, publicist, or booking agent. Be even more strategic and discerning about who you approach. Familiarize yourself with not only the artists they work with, but also their general tone and online presence. Do they seem kind? Do they seem engaged with the sort of music scenes that you operate within?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you personally know any artists on their roster? If so, talk to them about their experience. Get as much background information as possible. Then, if after all of that you\u2019ve determined that they\u2019re a good potential match, don\u2019t email them yet. See if you can find someone who knows them who\u2019d be willing to email them on your behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For press stuff, I don\u2019t think this step is necessary, but for long-term partnerships, having a personal connection make an introduction is extremely helpful. A lurky tip is to check out their social media friends \/ followers and see who you have in common. If there\u2019s someone on there who you know personally (particularly someone who has an established interest in your music) and they seem like they might be this person\u2019s friend in real life, reach out to them and ask them to make an intro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Do more research and some guesswork<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve decided yes, this is the right person for me to email, and there isn\u2019t anyone else who can email them on my behalf, then you\u2019re ready to enter research phase two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to tailor your cold email to your recipient. The same language and tone that\u2019ll resonate for a 22-year-old writer at Paper<\/em> won\u2019t be effective for a 48-year-old editor at the New York Times<\/em>. It\u2019s critical that you thoughtfully consider the person you\u2019re writing to as you begin to draft an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One successful cold email I sent was 95% composed of gifs from a music video of mine, interspersed with very short bits of text. This was based on my (accurate) perception that this particular editor was compelled by strong and bold visuals, and therefore, that would be the way to pique his interest. Sending an email full of gifs isn\u2019t going to work for most people, but it did for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Draft your email with the specific interests of the recipient in mind and demonstrate in your email that it\u2019s specifically being sent to them. It\u2019s so easy to tell when you\u2019re receiving a generic email that\u2019s been sent to a bunch of people. A lot of people don\u2019t even bother to fix obvious copy \/ paste incongruities with font, text size, and text color. Add personal details to the email to show that you\u2019ve engaged with the person\u2019s work, and don\u2019t be afraid to flatter them or name-drop when appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another part of research is finding the person\u2019s email address. Lots of people don\u2019t have their email address readily available online. When you need to reach that person, you may have to get a little creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a rule, don\u2019t send emails to people\u2019s personal email addresses unless they make it publicly available and explicitly encourage being contacted that way, say on their Twitter bio. If you have trouble finding their professional email address, try finding the email address of anyone at their organization, and deduce what the email format is ( i.e. lastname.firstinitial@companyname.com). You can also try googling the person\u2019s name and the word \u201ccontact\u201d or \u201cemail.\u201d Maybe these tips are obvious, but finding the right email address to reach someone at is, of course, an essential part of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Write a compelling subject line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting the recipient to actually open your email is a major hurdle. Since your email is coming from an unknown address, it\u2019s a good idea to have an intriguing subject line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t write your subject line in the style that a publicist would. Publicists often write subject lines like \u201cX Artist Releases New Single off Forthcoming Record YZ,\u201d which albeit factual, is very dry. It clearly lays out what the email contains so the recipient already has a fair idea of what\u2019s to come if they open it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those sorts of subject lines work for publicists because they maintain ongoing relationships with press outlets. There\u2019s often a baseline level of email address recognition. But you aren\u2019t a publicist \u2013 you\u2019re an artist. You\u2019re looking to forge a real, human connection with this cold email recipient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find that a subject line that\u2019s a touch mysterious is ideal for getting people to read the email. Your goal is to set yourself apart from the sea of emails this person is receiving. Can you inject personality into the subject line? Can you make it playful, but not too familiar? This person is a stranger and an email that pretends you know the person will come across as disingenuous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some examples of cold email subject lines I\u2019ve sent that were successful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n