Three years after launching a health-focused website, one of our clients decided to try something bold.
The mission was clear: sell guest posts directly, without brokers, without ad spend, without wasting weeks on unqualified leads.
It sounded simple. In reality, finding buyers who were ready to spend money on online publications is a lot harder than it looks.
Until he found a way to target only proven buyers.
Step 1: Finding the Right People
The key was Outreach Email Finder, a tool built to locate business emails for companies that have recently paid for PR articles or guest posts.
These aren’t random prospects — they’re brands that have already invested in visibility, which means they already have a budget for content.
Within minutes, the client filtered the database for health-related companies and exported just under 2,000 fresh, targeted contacts.
Funnel Diagram:
Step 2: Launching the Campaign
He sent his campaign using Sendy + Amazon SES, keeping send costs under USD0.50.
The email was straightforward — a direct invitation to collaborate, plus an unsubscribe button to keep things clean and compliant.
Performance Metrics:
- Emails Sent: 2,000
- Unique Opens: 745 (43.19% open rate)
- Total Opens: 1,373 (1.84x reopens on average)
- Unique Clicks: 441 (25.56% CTR)
- Unsubscribed: 393 (22.78%)
- Bounced: 48 (2.4%)
- Spam Reports: 0%
Step 3: Turning Opens into Sales
Twenty-nine people replied. Seven of them were automated AI support emails — impossible to engage with.
From the 22 real conversations that followed, three turned into paid guest post deals worth USD90 in total.
This wasn’t a life-changing sum, but here’s where it gets interesting:
Cost vs Revenue:
- Cost: 0.50 (sending) + 18 (email export) = USD18.50 total
- Revenue: \USD90
- Profit: \USD71.50
- ROI: 386%
Step 4: What We Learned
Cold email campaigns don’t have to feel like gambling.
When you start with contacts who have already paid for PR in your niche, you’re not throwing darts in the dark — you’re approaching people who already believe in buying visibility.
This also taught us that approach matters.
A direct pitch worked here, but the unsubscribe rate shows that a softer first contact — asking about the business before selling — might have lowered churn and increased conversions over time.
Final Thought
"When your contact list is built from proven buyers, outreach is no longer a cold shot in the dark. It’s a warm handshake — and sometimes, that’s all it takes to turn USD18.50 into USD90."
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