The State of Cold Email 2025

Sujan Patel

April 17, 2025

Contents

Cold email isn’t dead—but it’s definitely harder than ever. If you’re still relying on generic templates, simple automations, or outdated benchmarks, you’re falling behind. That’s why we created the State of Cold Email 2025—Mailshake’s most comprehensive report on what’s actually working in cold outreach right now.

Here’s the truth: Most cold email campaigns are struggling. Spam filters are stricter. Buyers are more skeptical. And inboxes are flooded with AI-generated noise. But there are senders who are still winning—and this report uncovers exactly what they’re doing differently.

What’s Inside the Report?

Based on responses from 508 outbound professionals—plus expert insights from top sales leaders—the Cold Email Report 2025 reveals the data, strategies, and tools that separate high-performing campaigns from the rest.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

1. Cold email benchmarks for 2025

Discover the real numbers behind reply rates, bounce rates, and open rates—and what “good” looks like in today’s landscape.

2. The personalization formula that drives 2–3x better reply rates

See why 1:1 relevance beats scale every time—and how to personalize efficiently without burning hours per email.

3. Why most emails never reach the inbox

Get a clear breakdown of bounce rate risks, deliverability traps, and domain reputation threats—plus how to fix them.

4. How top senders write cold emails that don’t feel cold

Learn how brevity, clarity, and human tone win more attention—and why automation isn’t your answer.

5. A 4-phase implementation framework

From list hygiene to sequencing strategy, get a proven playbook for building high-performing cold email systems from the ground up.

Why You Need This Report

If you’re in B2B sales, outbound marketing, or lead generation, this report is your cheat code for outperforming the competition in 2025.

Here’s why it matters:

The average reply rate is only 1–4%. Small improvements in relevance, timing, and delivery can move the needle fast.
Nearly half of senders don’t track bounce rates—a major reason for email failure.
Only 5% of senders personalize every email—but they get 2–3x better results. We show you how they do it.
The future of cold email isn’t volume. It’s strategy.

Get the Report—Before Your Competitors Do

This is more than just a trends report—it’s a tactical guide for improving your cold outreach right now. Whether you’re sending 100 emails a week or 10,000 a month, the Cold Email Report 2025 will help you land in more inboxes, get more replies, and close more deals.