Short and skimmable wins
0–50 words total email length → 39.9% open rate
⚠️ Long copy (100–200 words) → 34.9%
Subject lines with higher open rates
Write at a middle-school/high-school level
Grade 8–10 readability → 38.4% open rate
“Space available for Med Spa in Los Angeles”
Over-simplified (Grade 6–8) → 35.2%
❌ “I have a space open for you”
Tone: keep it casual, not "salesy" or "cute"
Casual → 39.4%
“Quick idea to lift traffic”
Friendly/promo → 35.1%
❌ "Amazing offer to boost your sales today"
Frame around convenience or ROI
Convenience appeal → 38.8%
“Simple fit if you're looking at expansion this year”
ROI hint ("fill vacancies," "drive traffic") → performs
best in replies (see below)
“Drive more daily walk-ins from nearby traffic”
What We Learned
from 5 Million
CRE Cold Emails
Discover what really works in CRE cold outreach, backed by data from over 5 million emails.
Subject lines with higher open rates
Short and skimmable wins
0–50 words total email length → 39.9% open rate
⚠️ Long copy (100–200 words) → 34.9%
Write at a middle-school/high-school level
Grade 8–10 readability → 38.4% open rate
“Space available for Med Spa
in Los Angeles”
Over-simplified (Grade 6–8) → 35.2%
❌ “I have a space open for you”
Tone: keep it casual, not "salesy" or "cute"
Casual → 39.4%
“Quick idea to lift traffic”
Friendly/promo → 35.1%
❌ "Amazing offer to boost your
sales today"
Frame around convenience or ROI
Convenience appeal → 38.8%
“Simple fit if you're looking at
expansion this year”
ROI hint ("fill vacancies," "drive traffic") → performs
best in replies (see below)
“Drive more daily walk-ins
from nearby traffic”
Subject lines with higher open rates
Ask for information requests before meetings
"Send more info" CTA → 1.23% reply rate
"Schedule a meeting" CTA→ 0.82%
Kill the links in first touch
0 links → 1.04% reply rate
1 link → 0.50% (–52%)
Short and sweet
50-100 words → 1.05%
100–200 words → 0.73%
🚫 Anti-Patterns
Multiple CTAs in one email: decision fatigue
Reading below grade 8: hurts both opens and replies
Links in first touch: cut reply rates in half
100–200 word walls of text
"Friendly/cutesy" tone
Email bodies with more replies
39.9%
Keep the whole email very short (0-50 words)
39.4%
Casual tone
39.6%
Steps 1–2 in the sequence performs the best
38.8%
Convenience framing
38.9%
Shopping/retail targets
38.4%
Grade 8–10 reading
How you position yourself matters a lot
Broker/agent
42.9% opens
•
1.85% replies
Other/neutral operator
39% opens
•
1.54% replies
Landlord/owner
30.1% opens
•
0.51% replies
Vendor/service
0.42% replies
Recommendation
Do not lead as "landlord/owner" or "vendor/service", lead as a broker/agent or neutral local operator.
✅ The Winner CRE Email Formula
🔹 Subject: 5–8 words, casual, grade 8–10,
and framed around ROI/convenience.
🔸 Body 50–100 words, casual, moderate personalization, one clear ROI-framed benefit, single CTA (send more info), and no links.
Get Local Business Leads
🔹 Subject examples
“Fill evening vacancies this week"
"Nearby brands boosting foot
traffic in 30 days"
"Quick idea to lift tenant
demand Q4"
“Boost evening traffic in 30 days"
🔸 Body examples
Body template 1
Hi {first_name}, We're working with {nearby_area} operators to lift walk‑in traffic and fill evening vacancies. Results in 30 days look promising for retail centers like {local_example}. Can I send a 60‑second overview to see if this fits {property_or_portfolio}? {Your Signature} Local broker/partner
Body template 2
Hi {first_name}, We're helping centers nearby increase walk-ins by 18% in a month. Can I send a 60-sec overview to see if this fits {property_name}?{Your Signature}Local broker/partner
Takeaways
The winners are short, casual, ROI-framed emails that ask for info, not meetings in step one. Do that, and you'll outperform 90% of CRE campaigns. If you need to connect with local business owners looking to expand or relocate, schedule a demo with our team.
Get Local Business Leads
Subject lines with higher open rates
Short and skimmable wins
0–50 words total email length → 39.9% open rate
⚠️ Long copy (100–200 words) → 34.9%
Write at a middle-school/high-school level
Grade 8–10 readability → 38.4% open rate
“Space available for Med Spa in Los Angeles”
Over-simplified (Grade 6–8) → 35.2%
❌ “I have a space open for you”
Tone: keep it casual, not "salesy" or "cute"
Casual → 39.4%
“Quick idea to lift traffic”
Friendly/promo → 35.1%
❌ "Amazing offer to boost your sales today"
Frame around convenience or ROI
Convenience appeal → 38.8%
“Simple fit if you're looking at expansion this year”
ROI hint ("fill vacancies," "drive traffic") → performs
best in replies (see below)
“Drive more daily walk-ins from nearby traffic”
🚫 Anti-Patterns (Don't Do These)
Multiple CTAs in one email: decision fatigue
Reading below grade 8: hurts both opens and replies
Links in first touch: cut reply rates in half
100–200 word walls of text
"Friendly/cutesy" tone
Open rate drivers
39.9%
Keep the whole email very short (0-50 words)
39.4%
Casual tone
39.6%
Steps 1–2 in the sequence performs the best
38.8%
Convenience framing
38.9%
Shopping/retail targets
38.4%
Grade 8–10 reading
How you position yourself matters a lot
Broker/agent
42.9% opens
•
1.85% replies
Other/neutral operator
39% opens
•
1.54% replies
Landlord/owner
30.1% opens
•
0.51% replies
Vendor/service
0.42% replies
Recommendation
Do not lead as "landlord/owner" or "vendor/service", lead as a broker/agent or neutral local operator.
✅ The Winner CRE Email Formula
🔹 Subject: 5–8 words, casual, grade 8–10,
and framed around ROI/convenience.
🔸 Body 50–100 words, casual, moderate personalization,
one clear ROI-framed benefit, single CTA (send more info),
and no links.
Get Local Business Leads
🔹 Subject examples
“Fill evening vacancies this week"
"Nearby brands boosting foot traffic
in 30 days"
"Quick idea to lift tenant demand Q4"
“Boost evening traffic in 30 days"
🔸 Body examples
Body template 1
Hi {first_name}, We're working with {nearby_area} operators to lift walk‑in traffic and fill evening vacancies. Results in 30 days look promising for retail centers like {local_example}. Can I send a 60‑second overview to see if this fits {property_or_portfolio}? {Your Signature} Local broker/partner
Body template 2
Hi {first_name}, We're helping centers nearby increase walk-ins by 18% in a month. Can I send a 60-sec overview to see if this fits {property_name}?{Your Signature}Local broker/partner
Takeaways
The winners are short, casual, ROI-framed emails that ask for info, not meetings in step one. Do that, and you'll outperform 90% of CRE campaigns. If you need to connect with local business owners looking to expand or relocate, schedule a demo with our team.
Get Local Business Leads