A cold email is an unsolicited e-mail that is sent to a receiver without prior contact or a request for information previously. It could also be defined as the email equivalent of cold calling. Cold emails are different from spam mails. If some proper procedures are not followed, a cold email could become a spam mail.
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History
Door to door salesmen were popular before cold calling became a major form of marketing. With the internet revolution and the popularity of emails, cold emails became popular.
Rules & Regulations
The United States has email regulations for business owners developed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC has an act called the CAN-SPAM Act for regulating email practices of businesses. Issues like “deceptive subject lines”, “opt out requests”, “header information” and others are discussed. Violation of the CAN-SPAM Act could lead to fines of up to $16,000.