Blog Templates 8 min read
Cold email template for agencies: a 3-step sequence
By Wade, Duckrow's research duck. Updated .
The short answer
An agency cold email sequence can be three short emails over about ten days: a first email built on one real detail from the prospect's website, a follow-up in the same thread with a small useful offer, and a short close. Use merge fields, stop on any reply, and include your business name, address and an unsubscribe line.
What does the sequence look like?
Three emails and two waits. Every step stops for a lead the moment they reply.
| Step | When | Its job | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email 1 | Day 1 | Show you looked at their business and name what you do | Under 100 words |
| Wait | 3 business days | ||
| Email 2 | About day 4, same thread | Offer one small, useful thing | Under 60 words |
| Wait | 4 business days | ||
| Email 3 | About day 10, same thread | Close politely and leave the door open | Under 40 words |
The lengths and waits are our suggestions; no provider sets them. Fields in double braces, like {{First Name}}, come from each lead's row. Text in square brackets is yours to fill in once for the whole campaign.
What goes in email 1?
One real detail, what you do, and a small ask. Subject line options: "{{Company Name}} and [your service]", "a thought on {{Company Name}}'s site" or "[your service] for {{Company Name}}".
- Hi {{First Name}},
- {{Opening Line}}
- I run [Agency Name], a [type] agency in [City]. We help [kind of client] with [the outcome you deliver], most recently [one specific, true result for a client].
- If {{Likely Need}} is on your list this quarter, would a 15-minute call next week be useful?
- [Your name]
- [Agency Name], [mailing address]
The opening line does the most work, and it follows one rule: name a specific, true detail from the prospect's own website and connect it warmly to the part of their week your agency helps with. Keep it under 28 words, without praise or questions. Three examples for made-up businesses:
- Web design agency: "With three locations on your site now, from Kensington to Okotoks, keeping hours and booking links current on every page likely takes more time than it should."
- Paid search agency: "Opening a second clinic in Red Deer this spring means two neighbourhoods to reach at once, and getting found by new patients in both takes steady work."
- Recruiting agency: "Hiring six site supervisors at once, as your careers page lists, is a lot of interviewing on top of running the jobs those supervisors will lead."
If a prospect's site has no real detail beyond generic claims, skip the opening line and start at "I run".
What goes in emails 2 and 3?
Email 2 goes in the same thread, so it needs no new subject. It offers one small piece of work, free and specific:
- Hi {{First Name}},
- One more thought for {{Company Name}}: [the first thing you would check or fix, in one sentence]. I'm happy to send a short note on what we'd look at first, at no cost.
- Would that help?
- [Your name]
Email 3 closes the loop, also in the same thread:
- Hi {{First Name}},
- I'll stop here so I'm not crowding your inbox. If {{Likely Need}} comes up later this year, reply to this email and I'll pick it up from there.
- [Your name]
Which fields does your lead table need?
| Field | Where it comes from | If it's empty |
|---|---|---|
| {{First Name}} | The lead's row | Use a fallback: {{First Name|there}} |
| {{Company Name}} | The lead's row | Leave the lead out until it's filled |
| {{Opening Line}} | An AI column that reads the prospect's website and writes one line in the style above | Send the version without it (see below) |
| {{Likely Need}} | An AI column or your own words, such as "more booked appointments" or "a faster site" | Use a fallback in plain words |
In Duckrow, an email with an empty field never sends; the lead pauses until you fill the field or add a fallback. For the opening line, add a condition step before email 1 that checks whether {{Opening Line}} has a value, with one email for leads that have it and one for leads that don't.
What must every email include?
- An honest subject line. Google's sender guidelines say not to start subjects with Re: or Fwd: unless the message is a real reply or forward.
- A From name that is you or your agency, without subject text or the recipient's name (Google, checked October 21, 2026).
- Your agency's name and a mailing address, plus a phone number, email or website. CASL requires these in every commercial email to Canadians, valid for 60 days after sending.
- A visible way to unsubscribe, honoured quickly: Gmail recommends within 48 hours, Yahoo requires 2 days, and CASL allows at most 10 business days.
- For Canadian prospects, a consent basis before the first email. For cold B2B email, that usually means the person's address is published on their business's website, with nothing saying they don't want unsolicited messages, and your email relates to their role.
This post is general information as of October 21, 2026, and it is not legal advice. For your own program, speak to a lawyer in each country you email into.
How do you set this up in Duckrow?
- Build the lead table with First Name, Company Name and the website, then add AI columns for Opening Line and Likely Need.
- Push the rows to a campaign and build the steps: Email, Wait 3 days with Business days only on, Email, Wait 4 days with Business days only on, Email.
- Add your signature with your agency name and mailing address. Duckrow adds one-click unsubscribe headers and an unsubscribe line to every email.
- Open Live preview and step through a few leads to check each field fills the way you expect.
- Launch. Follow-ups go from the same mailbox in the same thread, and a reply by email, LinkedIn or text ends that lead's sequence.
Wade, Duckrow's research duck
Wade is the pen name of Duckrow's research desk. Every post is researched by the team, checked against its sources and dated, and updated when the facts change.
