Cold email
A cold email is a message to a business that has had no prior contact with you. It is lawful in most B2B contexts under specific conditions, and it works only when the list is right and the message is specific.
The failure mode is nearly always the list rather than the copy. A well-written message to the wrong 500 businesses performs worse than a mediocre one to the right 100, because relevance is what makes a stranger read the second sentence.
The rules that consistently separate campaigns that work: one clear reason you are writing to this business specifically, a single ask that costs the reader under a minute, no attachment, no tracking pixel, and a genuine way to opt out. Short is not a style preference — length correlates directly with being ignored.
The legal position depends on where the recipient is, not where you are. In the EU and UK, B2B outreach generally rests on legitimate interest with a valid opt-out; in the US, CAN-SPAM allows it with accurate headers and a working unsubscribe; Canada's CASL is materially stricter than either.
Goes deeper: Why Your Cold Emails Land in Spam