Best Cold Email Template for Getting Web Design Work Quickly

Cold emails take patience. I didn't have patience. I needed web design work and I needed it fast.

This is typically a horrible combination. But I cold emailed 3 companies using a very simple template and waited.

A couple months later, despite being a total newb, I made $29,000+ from those 3 emails. Even better, I unlocked dream clients.

Here's the exact cold email template I used.

The Template

Subject: [Specific result they want]

Body:

Hi [Name],

[Authentic compliment about their work—something specific you actually like.]

Your company reminds me of [similar client or situation], which probably means you're looking to [specific result they want].

If that sounds right, I'd love to help. Want me to send over a few ideas?

[Your name]

How to Use This Template

The brackets indicate sections you tailor to each recipient. That's where the magic happens. Let's break down each part.

1. Subject Line

Your subject line has one job: get them to open the email.

Make it about them—specifically, something you know they want. For example, if you're emailing about video editing work:

Subject: Helping you edit your Instagram videos to get shared and grow your audience

Pull this directly from their job post, website, or social media. The goal isn't to persuade—it's to pique curiosity and signal that this isn't spam.

The best subject lines are so specific they could only be sent to one person.

2. Introduction

Most freelance emails open with some version of:

"Hi, I'm interested in this job. I'd love to hear more about..."

This is ineffective. Clients don't care about what you want.

Instead, open with something about them:

Your blog is amazing. One of my favorite things about it is how honest you are about personal finance. Love your "buy all the lattes you want" motto.

The key is making an authentic connection quickly. People smell fake compliments instantly. If you can't find something you genuinely like about them, you probably shouldn't be emailing them.

3. Value Proposition

Now the meat of your email. Here's an example continuing the video editing scenario:

Your company reminds me a lot of where my client, Marie Forleo, was when she started her video program—which probably means you want to grow your Instagram audience from ~50,000 to ~500,000 in the next year too.

Notice what's missing: your skills, your experience, your past work. None of that matters here. What matters is the result they'll get.

You don't need fancy clients or impressive metrics. You just need to talk about the outcome.

4. Call to Action

Don't try to close the deal in one email. And never end with "Let me know what you think!"—it's too vague and puts the burden on them.

Instead, make the next step crystal clear and easy:

Want me to send over a few ideas?

or

Worth a quick call this week?

One simple question. That's it.

Why This Works

This template works whether you have tons of experience or none because it focuses entirely on the recipient. Most cold emails are about the sender—their portfolio, their skills, their availability. This one is about what the client wants and how you can help them get it.

Use it, tweak it for your situation, and be patient. The responses will come./