The Best Paid Cold Email Software for Link Building Outreach

Intro

Cold emails are a key way to get high-quality backlinks for your website. But without the right strategy and tools, your email will likely end up in the 91.5% of cold emails that don’t get a response. High-value websites get dozens, even hundreds, of link requests every week, so standing out and reaching your target is harder than ever.

There is also the risk of landing in the spam folder, which can hurt your sender reputation and damage your domain. It also lowers email deliverability, which is key to running successful campaigns.

This is where cold email software comes in.

In this article, we share a roundup of the best paid cold email software, plus a few best practices to boost your link-building efforts.

How Does Cold Email Work for Link Building Outreach

Cold emailing is a simple way to build backlinks. You reach out to website owners, bloggers, or influencers with a personalized pitch. The goal? Get a link, a guest post, or start a collaboration to help build backlinks. This approach is all about building relationships that benefit both sides.

Cold emailing might seem tough, but if done right, it can help you earn organic backlinks, boost your site’s authority and improve search rankings.

Email outreach is one of the most effective ways to build links. It’s reliable and helps you plan your outreach strategically. Plus, with the right tools, you can speed up the process and get better results.

5 Best Paid Cold Email Software for Link Building Outreach

1. Instantly

Instantly is a platform that makes cold email outreach simple. It helps you find leads, create campaigns, and automate workflows with AI. Plus, it ensures your emails land where they’re supposed to with high deliverability rates.

What makes Instantly stand out is the ability to add unlimited email accounts. This makes it perfect for agencies that want to run high-volume campaigns without overspending.

Top cold emailing features:

• A simple, clean interface that's easy for anyone to use, even beginners.
• Exclusive features like generative AI, email warm-up & ramp-up, and centralized reply management (Unibox).
• An intuitive email sequence builder to create, schedule, and optimize personalized cold email campaigns with A/B testing.
• Access to a B2B sales leads database with 160 million contacts.
• A Done-For-You service that handles email account setup.

Pricing

Instantly starts at just $37/month and includes a 14-day free trial.

2. MailShake

MailShake helps you master email outreach with advanced features like their AI email writer, called SHAKEspeare, unlimited email warm-up, and automated sequences. You can set your own sending schedule to improve response rates and easily transfer leads to your CRM with built-in integrations.

MailShake also offers a lead database, but it’s not as strong as its competitors'. The interface can be a bit clunky, and some users complain that customizing emails isn’t as seamless as it should be.

Top cold emailing features:

• Manages cold emails, calls, and social media outreach all in one place.
• Lead Catcher feature to keep all your leads organized in one place.
• Personalization tokens to create messages tailored to every recipient.
• Seamless integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive.

Pricing

MailShake starts at $29/month and doesn’t include a free trial.

3. Woodpecker

Woodpecker helps you create email sequences, ensures they land in inboxes (not spam), and automates follow-ups. With AI tools, you can quickly write emails, personalize messages, verify prospect addresses, and track campaigns—though the analytics features are fairly basic.

Also, Woodpecker only lets you warm up two email accounts for free. If you need more, it'll cost you $5/month per inbox.

Top cold emailing features:

• Helps improve email deliverability with features like email warm-up, adaptive sending, and inbox rotation.
• Advanced personalization lets you build email sequences based on recipient actions like opens or clicks.
• Unlimited email accounts included in the base plan, avoiding spam filters.
• Easily integrates with HubSpot, Pipedrive, Gmail, and Outlook.

Pricing

Plans start at $29/month and include unlimited team members. Try it free for 7 days.

4. Hunter Campaigns

Hunter is perfect for beginners and experienced users alike. With features like lead searching, email verification, and campaign management, it has everything you need to create and manage successful email campaigns.

It’s missing some key features like email warm-up, A/B testing, and spintax. Hunter also doesn’t include AI or automation tools found in other cold email platforms.

Top cold emailing features:

• Easily integrates with the Hunter.io suite to manage your entire outreach in one place.
• Works seamlessly with HubSpot and connects to Salesforce, Pipedrive, and Zoho.
• No caps on emails sent or the number of active leads you manage.

Pricing

Hunter offers paid plans starting at $49/month. The free plan lets you connect one email address and is limited to 25 email searches and 50 verifications per year.

5. Klenty

Klenty is a sales engagement platform that offers a separate pricing plan for cold emailing. It makes prospecting easy with IQ features like one-click imports from a CRM or LinkedIn and automatic lead routing. Its AI assistant can quickly create email sequences, LinkedIn messages, texts, and call scripts. Plus, Klenty offers detailed analytics to track every step of your outreach.

However, the interface can be confusing, and even starting a new email campaign takes some effort. The deliverability features are basic, offering only volume control and random email-sending intervals.

Top cold emailing features:

• Ability to create multiple sequences tailored to cold, warm, or hot prospects.
• A/B testing on cold email sequences and cloning the best-performing ones.
• Unlimited team members to manage outreach campaigns and unlimited email accounts from the same domain.
• Custom domain tracking to monitor email engagement through your own links.

Pricing

Paid plans start at $60 per user per month and are billed quarterly. There is also a 14-day trial.

Best Practices for Cold Email Outreach for Link Building

Want even better results from cold email outreach? Stick to these simple, proven best practices.

Smart Research and Precise Targeting

Research is key to a great cold email campaign. The more you know your audience, the better you can tailor emails to their needs and grab their attention.

Start by finding people who would benefit from what you offer. Use LinkedIn or company websites to learn about their roles, achievements, or challenges. When you understand their pain points, you can pitch a solution they can’t ignore.

Warm Up Your Domain to Avoid Spam Filters

The key to a successful cold outreach campaign is warming up your email. This builds a positive sender reputation and keeps your emails out of spam folders.

Warming up means using your email like a regular person—sending and receiving messages, subscribing to newsletters, or signing up for websites.

Doing this manually takes time, but automating the process speeds things up and gets your domain ready for outreach faster.

Personalize Your Subject Lines

Nobody likes impersonal emails. Start with “Hello stranger,” and it’ll likely get deleted. Want better results? Use a personalized subject line.

Emails with personalized subjects have a 35.69% open rate, almost double that of generic ones. Using the brand or marketer’s name in your email grabs attention and makes the recipient feel valued.

Pay Attention to Your Email Copy

To make your cold emails stand out, include a strong and clear value proposition that speaks directly to your audience. Highlight how your link-building strategy or guest content benefits the site owner and adds real value.

Personalizing your link-building emails shows website owners you’ve taken the time to understand their site and what they need. It’s a simple way to build trust and show you care about their goals. You can mention shared interests, highlight their recent blog posts, or congratulate them on recent achievements.

Formatting and structure matter, too. A poorly structured email can leave a bad impression on your reader.

Don’t skip greetings or jump straight to the point without context. Keep your message polite, simple, and easy to follow. The clearer it is, the better it connects with your reader.

Send Follow-Ups

For best results, aim to send at least three emails. Sending a first and second follow-up increases your chances of a reply by 21% and 25%, respectively.

But don’t send follow-ups without context. Your prospects are likely drowning in emails, and your first message might be buried. Always remind them who you are and why you’re reaching out.

Use a Cold Email Outreach Tool for Better Results

Writing and sending link-building emails takes time and effort, but using an email outreach tool can make the process faster and more efficient. These tools can automate your emails, schedule follow-ups, and provide advanced analytics to improve decision-making. They also save you from spending hours on repetitive tasks.

Final Thoughts

Cold emailing is one of the best ways to build backlinks, but it’s all about using the right tools. If you’re looking to enhance your link-building strategy, there are plenty of great cold email outreach tools available. Most of the cold email software solutions on our list are paid, but many offer free trials, so you can explore your options and find one that fits your budget. Want even better results? Focus on best practices like targeting, warming up your domain, and personalization.