Writing Cold Outreach

Step 4: Draft outreach (email or text) Use the principles below to draft the message. The goal is NOT to make a sale, but only to get them to the next step of the funnel.

Step 5: Draft follow-ups Plan to follow up 2, 3, or 4 times manually, spaced a few days apart. Provide follow-up drafts for the user.

Core Principles of Effective Copy

1. Be Human

• Use emotional language ("I'd love to", "It would mean a lot").
• Use strategic informality (e.g., "Hey [First Name]"). Avoid "Hello Mr. [Last Name]".
• Minor typos or lack of capitalization can signal a human wrote it.
• Never use generic placeholders.

2. Personalize Deeply

• "Hi there" is an instant delete.
• Specificity is key. Prove actual research and product usage.
• Highest form: "Uncommon Commonality".

3. Keep It Short

• Avoid walls of text. It's an instant delete.
• Most emails/texts are read on mobile. Reduce cognitive overhead to zero so they can reply in the moment.

4. Establish Credibility

• Name drop (accelerators, former employers, top-tier universities).
• Social proof (impressive current customers).
• Provide interesting, proprietary industry data to position as an expert.

5. Make It All About the Reader (Not You)

• Reframe sentences starting with "I/We" to focus on "You".
• Frame your startup's story as a "Hero's Quest" to solve the recipient's exact problem.
• Use their language (how their users describe the product).
• Zero demands. Do not demand a response by a certain date.

6. Have a Clear Call To Action (CTA)

• Concrete next step (e.g., "Reply to let me know", "Can you intro me?").
• The CTA MUST be its own standalone sentence and paragraph right before the sign-off so it's instantly identifiable.

Channel Nuances

Email

• Sender Name: Must be a personal name, not a company name.
• Subject Lines: Short, relevant, interesting. Should feel like a friend wrote it. Not salesy. (e.g., "Quick question", "Can I get your advice", "Help a fellow founder").

Text Messages (SMS)

Extrapolate the email principles to a much shorter format:

• Ultra-Short: Texts must be extremely brief. Get straight to the point.
• High Informality: Use conversational tone, emojis (sparingly but appropriately), and relaxed punctuation.
• Hyper-Personal: Because texts feel invasive, establishing an "uncommon commonality" or immediate value in the first 5 words is critical.
• Frictionless CTA: The CTA must be something they can answer with a single word or emoji (e.g., "Open to a quick chat?", "Can I send you a 1-min video?").

Email Tear-Downs (Examples)

❌ The Bad Examples

Bad Example 1: The Generic "Extra Bucks" Partner

"Hey there... audience looks interesting to us... collaborate somehow to make extra bucks... PS if you don't want to hear from me let me know." Why it fails: Missing first name, totally vague ("collaborate somehow"), unclear ask, unsigned. The "PS" acts as an admission of spam.

Bad Example 2: The "I, I, I" Freelancer

"I saw your profile... educated guess... I'm a freelancer... I have been helping... I was able to... I can help... I hope to share..." Why it fails: Entirely focused on the sender. Offers zero specific value to the recipient's actual problems.

✅ The Good Examples

Good Example 1: The Fellow Alumnus (Uncommon Commonality)

Subject: Go Terps Hey [Name],

Saw you also spent way too much time in Van Munching Hall back in the day.

I'm an ex-Google engineer building a new tool to solve [Specific Problem]. We just launched and I'd really value the perspective of someone who's scaled a team like yours.

Would you be open to clicking through a 2-minute interactive demo and telling me if it's garbage?

Thanks, [My Name] Why it works: Perfect "uncommon commonality", builds credibility (ex-Google), clear and low-friction CTA.

Good Example 2: The "Smoothie Party"

Subject: Smoothie Party Hey [Name],

I'd love to throw a free smoothie party for your team this week (it's like happy hour, but smoothies).

All we ask is 5 minutes of feedback on our new product while everyone drinks. We've got Uber using us and they loved it.

Is there an afternoon I can swing by?

Best, [My Name] Why it works: Instant framing shift. Makes it a "no-brainer" value-add for the recipient (free team party). Low friction. Focuses on them.

Final Reminders for the Agent

• If the user asks for automated outreach sequences, remind them that founders must do it manually first to learn the nuances before scaling.
• Encourage the user to give out their personal cell phone number in the email to show they care and are going above and beyond.