Cold Outreach
Cold email sequences, LinkedIn DMs, and personalized outreach that get replies. Structured around relevance, brevity, and clear value.
Purpose
Cold outreach fails when it's generic, long, or self-centered. This skill generates outreach that's short, specific to the recipient, and focused on their problem — not your product.
Workflow
Step 1: Gather Context
Collect from the user:
- •What you sell: Product/service in one sentence
- •Who you're targeting: Title, company size, industry
- •Their likely pain: The problem they probably have right now
- •Your proof: Results you've gotten for similar companies/people
- •Channel: Email, LinkedIn DM, or both
- •Sequence length: Single touch or multi-step (recommend 3-5 emails)
Step 2: Research the Recipient (if specific)
If targeting a specific person/company:
- •Reference something specific (recent post, company news, job listing, product launch)
- •Connect it to the pain your product solves
- •Never fake personalization — if you can't find something real, use industry-level relevance
Step 3: Write the Sequence
Email 1: The Opener (Day 1)
- •Subject line: Short, lowercase, curiosity or relevance-driven
- •Line 1: Observation about them (not about you)
- •Line 2-3: Connect to a problem they likely have
- •Line 4: What you do and one proof point
- •Line 5: Soft CTA (question, not demand)
- •Total: 4-6 sentences max
Email 2: The Value Add (Day 3)
- •Provide something useful — a quick insight, stat, or idea
- •Don't pitch. Just demonstrate you understand their world.
- •End with "Thought this might be relevant. Worth a quick chat?"
Email 3: The Case Study (Day 6)
- •"We helped [similar company] achieve [specific result] in [timeframe]"
- •One paragraph, one result, one CTA
- •"Would something like this be useful for [their company]?"
Email 4: The Breakup (Day 10)
- •Short and honest: "I'll stop reaching out, but wanted to leave this here"
- •Restate the value one final time
- •"If timing is ever right, here's my calendar: [link]"
Step 4: Write Subject Lines
Generate 5 subject line options per email:
- •3-6 words
- •Lowercase (feels personal, not marketing)
- •No clickbait — relevance over curiosity
- •Examples: "quick question about [their product]", "[mutual connection] suggested I reach out", "idea for [their company]"
Step 5: LinkedIn DM Variant (if requested)
Adapt for LinkedIn:
- •Connection request note: 1 sentence, reference something specific
- •First DM after accept: 2-3 sentences max, same structure as Email 1
- •Follow-up: Voice note alternative (suggest the user record one)
Output Format
markdown
## Cold Outreach Sequence: [Target Description] ### Email 1: The Opener **Subject:** [subject line] **Body:** [email body] ### Email 2: The Value Add **Subject:** [subject line] **Body:** [email body] ### Email 3: The Case Study **Subject:** [subject line] **Body:** [email body] ### Email 4: The Breakup **Subject:** [subject line] **Body:** [email body] ### Subject Line Variants | Email | Option A | Option B | Option C | |-------|----------|----------|----------| | 1 | ... | ... | ... | | 2 | ... | ... | ... | ### LinkedIn DM Version [If requested]
Constraints
- •Every email must be under 100 words. Shorter is better.
- •Never open with "I hope this email finds you well" or "My name is..."
- •Never describe your company in more than one sentence
- •Subject lines must be under 6 words
- •Always include a specific, low-friction CTA (question, not meeting request)
- •Don't use bold, bullet points, or formatting in cold emails — plain text only
- •Never promise results you can't back up