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Dear SaaStr: Is It OK To Have a 5% Response Rate in My Personalized Cold Emails?

Jason Lemkin · SaaStr Free Intermediate

This is the exact question our short answer addresses, asked and answered directly by a B2B investor and operator who reads a huge volume of founder outreach. It is a quick, blunt gut check on whether a specific number is fine or a red flag, the reassurance, or wake-up call, a founder staring at their own reply rate actually needs.

• A 5 percent reply rate on genuinely personalized B2B email is treated as reasonable, not alarming.
• Much higher rates usually mean the list is small and hand-picked, not that the copy is unusually good.
• Consistency over many sends matters more than obsessing over any single week's number.