STARTUP EDUCATION
Email Scripting
Email is a crucial tool for reaching out to potential investors and getting them interested in your company. A well-crafted investor outreach email can help you grab the attention of investors, establish a connection, and secure a meeting or call to discuss your business further. In this course, you will learn the key components of a successful investor outreach email and how to create emails that will get investors interested in your company.
Body:
- A clear and concise subject line: Your subject line is the first thing that investors will see, so it’s important to make it compelling and attention-grabbing. Make sure that your subject line accurately reflects the content of your email and entices investors to open it.
- A professional introduction: Your introduction should be brief, professional, and to the point. Use a personal tone, introduce yourself and your company, and explain why you are reaching out to the investor.
- A compelling reason for investment: Explain why your company is a good investment opportunity and why now is the right time to invest. Highlight your company’s unique selling points, competitive advantages, and growth potential.
- A clear call to action: Include a clear and concise call to action, such as asking for a meeting or a call to discuss your business further. Be specific about what you are hoping to achieve from the email and what the next steps are.
- Supporting materials: If you have any supporting materials, such as a pitch deck or financial projections, include them in the email as attachments or provide links to them.
- A professional signature: Close your email with a professional signature that includes your name, title, company name, and contact information.
By following these key components of a successful investor outreach email, you can create emails that are compelling, professional, and effective at getting investors interested in your company. Remember, your goal is to grab the attention of investors and secure a meeting or call to discuss your business further. Good luck!
Here are a few tips to help you craft effective and persuasive investor outreach emails:
- Know your audience: Before you start writing, take the time to understand who your target audience is and what they’re looking for. This will help you tailor your message and increase the likelihood of a positive response.
- Keep it brief: Investors are busy people, so it’s important to keep your emails concise and to the point. Focus on the most important information and avoid lengthy introductions or tangents.
- Personalize your message: Customizing your emails for each individual recipient can help you build rapport and increase the chances of a positive response. This can include addressing the recipient by name, referencing common interests or past interactions, or mentioning specific aspects of your company that you think will be of particular interest to them.
- Highlight the benefits: Be sure to clearly articulate the benefits of your company and why investing in it is a good opportunity. Investors want to see a strong return on investment, so be sure to highlight the potential for growth and profitability.
- Include a call to action: Make it easy for investors to take the next step by including a clear and specific call to action in your email. This could be a request for a follow-up call or meeting, an invitation to review your pitch deck, or a request for more information.
By following these tips, you can increase the chances of crafting effective and persuasive investor outreach emails that will help you secure funding and build relationships with potential investors. Remember, the goal of your outreach emails is to generate interest and spark a conversation, so be creative, be confident, and above all, be yourself!
Use Case: If you have high value connectors that you can spend extra time on, sending this email spells out the help you want and requires no work from them to answer
Subj: Small ask for my fundraise Hey [Name] – hope all’s well with ____insert personal touch_________
Things are coming along with [COMPANY] and I’m getting prepared for a fundraise in [TIME LAPSE…ex. A few weeks]. As part of that I’d love to get introduced to a few people that you look like you’re connected to.
Would you be comfortable making a quick intro to any of the people below in [TIME LAPSE] when we start our fundraise?
- Bulleted List
If you’re game I’ll send you an email copy to make the process as easy as possible! Thanks a ton in advance and hope to catch up more fully soon. Best, [FOUNDER]
Use Case: Important to note that this format is most important when the person making the introduction can rely on her reputation heavily to push for an intro
Subj: Good catching up, Intro to [Name?]
Body: [Connector] – great catching up. It’s always cool to hear what you’re working on. Also, I really appreciate your offer to connect me with [TARGET]. She’d be a perfect convo bc ________.
In case it helps with the intro, here are a few things worth sharing.
[SHORT Company blurb, or bullet points]. [FOUNDER]
Use Case: Creating a list of target investors that you ask people to review is one of the more scalable ways to collect introductions. After you create a list of target investors in a google sheet, you can email a large list of supporters to ask them to sign up to make intros using this template. Note, if you use mail merge – you can address each supporter with their first name
Subj: Help for [COMPANY] Fundraise
Body: [[Company] Advisors + Investors!
We are deep in preparation for our upcoming fundraise. The plan is to launch a coordinated outreach to a targeted list of investors in [TIME LAPSE]. Before then, we need to figure out our best inroads to these investors.
You may access our unique investor page at [RAZE URL COMPANY LINK] and use the password [INPUT PASSWORD]
**ASK:**
Could you please look at this signup sheet and put your name in any open slot next to an investor or firm you have a good relationship with? [LINK TO SIGNUP SHEET]
**DEADLINE:**
Please plan on reviewing the signup sheet by [DEADLINE] so that we can properly plan. THANK YOU!
*(This is an intense and important time for us so you may get an individual follow-up from me to remind you.)*
Thanks a ton in advance,
[FOUNDER]
Use Case: You can use this email template for advisors that signed up from a signup sheet or for any person that told you they would make an intro. Realize that some of the body copy needs to be adjusted for when and how the person agreed to make the intro.
Subj: Starting outreach with your help!
Body: Hey [Name] – thank you so much again for taking the time to add your name next to investors in our intro sheet. We’re now ready to kick things off now with your help!
Here are [NUMBER] investors you said you could help with intros:
Below are a few examples of copy that might help write those intros. I know this takes time so please let me know if there’s anything else I can do/write for you to make it as easy as possible.
Lastly, if you could please try to reach out to these intros by end of day tomorrow, that would be great. It’s really important we get all these intros out at a similar time. Thanks a ton in advance!
[FOUNDER]
Copy for double opt in check email
Subj: Possible intro?
Body: [TARGET], I don’t know if you ever met [FOUNDER] (linkedin.com/in/FOUNDER) while he was at Greycroft, but see the thread below for some context. Great guy and is now building something really interesting. He’s heading out to fundraise now and specifically asked about you. Are you ok if I connect you two? Hope all’s well!
Copy of intro email for connector to use
Subj: Intro: FOUNDER ([COMPANY]) <> [TARGET] ([FIRM NAME])
Body:
[FOUNDER] – intro’ing you here to [TARGET]. [TARGET] is __________________. I mentioned what you were up to briefly and he was interested in connecting. Feel free to reach out here as he’s expecting this.
[TARGET] – thanks again for connecting with Raze. Catch up soon.
[CONNECTOR SIGNATURE]
Subj: [N/A given you are responding to an email ]
Body: Thanks for the intro, [CONNECTOR NAME]. Upgrading you to bcc now
[INVESTOR] – glad to have a chance to connect here. [CONNECTOR] has great things to say so we’ve been excited to share more about our raise with you.
You may access our unique investor page at [RAZE URL COMPANY LINK] and use the password [INPUT PASSWORD]
Please let me know if you have time in the next week to connect. With multiple holidays approaching, we’re trying our best to keep an organized process so thanks in advance for finding time sooner rather than later.
Of course happy to react to your schedule or engage with someone who manages your calendar, but if it’s helpful, I also have a calendly link here: [CALENDLY]
Best, [FOUNDER]