About PressLoft
PressLoft is a digital PR platform that connects over 1,500 brands with journalists and media outlets, streamlining the work of getting products featured in publications. Based in London with a lean team of 15–20, it had a strong product with high retention — but new-brand growth had stalled.
The challenge
Sign-ups were almost entirely word-of-mouth and inbound, which made revenue unpredictable month to month. The team wanted a systematic outbound channel that could deliver a steady flow of qualified leads without a large sales team. Earlier cold-outreach attempts had failed — low open rates, almost no replies — because the messaging was generic, the targeting was broad, and there was no follow-up in place.
The approach
I designed and ran a multi-touch cold-email campaign on Lemlist, with personalization powered by prospect research and BuiltWith technology data. Instead of generic pitches, each email referenced the prospect’s current PR tools, recent coverage, and competitive landscape. The sequence ran five touches over three weeks, each follow-up adding new value — a case study, an ROI angle, a free audit. Zapier synced positive replies straight into the CRM, fired Slack alerts for the sales team, and enriched leads automatically. Prospects were split into three tiers by size and PR spend, with messaging and offers tuned to each, and subject lines and hooks A/B tested continuously.
Tool stack
The lesson
Cold email only works when it’s not cold. The lift came from research and relevance — referencing what each brand was actually doing — not from sending more.
The result
Within the first month, outbound became PressLoft’s most efficient acquisition channel.
