# Cold Email

> Cold email & outreach craft for B2B teams. Write signal-anchored openers (90-word constraint, binary CTA), design 3-touch follow-up sequences (Day 3 case study, Day 7 different angle, Day 14 binary close), run 30-point audits across infrastructure / targeting / messaging / operations, plan 5-email nurture streams with route-to-sales triggers, validate pre-campaign domain health (15 checks across DNS, reputation, warm-up, content), and pick subject lines from 25 framework-organized patterns (pain, curiosity, social proof, direct). Anchors every output on a Pain Signal Profile — not demographics. Based on the JMC Cold Email & Outreach Craft course (jaymountconsulting.com/learn). Triggers on: "cold email", "write a cold email", "cold outreach", "follow-up sequence", "deliverability", "SPF", "DKIM", "DMARC", "domain health", "outbound audit", "subject line", "nurture sequence", "outreach craft".

- Skill: `cmj-hub/cold-email` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cmj-hub/cold-email`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cmj-hub/cold-email/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- License: MIT
- Author: cmj-hub (https://skillmd.com/u/cmj-hub)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cmj-hub/cold-email

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# Cold Email — JMC Outreach Craft Skill

Comprehensive cold email orchestrator for B2B operators. Anchors every
output on a Pain Signal Profile (not demographics) and forces the output
into a shape you can ship.

## Quick Reference

| Slash | What it does |
|---|---|
| `/cold-email` | Interactive mode — detect intent, route to a sub-skill |
| `/cold-email write` | Draft a single signal-anchored cold email (<90 words, binary CTA) |
| `/cold-email sequence` | Design a 3-touch or 5-touch follow-up sequence |
| `/cold-email audit` | 30-point outbound program audit (infra / targeting / messaging / ops) |
| `/cold-email nurture` | 5-email nurture stream with route-to-sales trigger |
| `/cold-email deliverability` | 15-point pre-campaign domain health check |
| `/cold-email subject` | Subject-line patterns by framework (pain / curiosity / proof / direct) |

## Core principles (the JMC stance)

1. **A cold email is a hire — not a search query.** Every prompt anchors
   on a Pain Signal Profile, names the constraint, and forces the output
   into a shape you can ship.
2. **No demographics in the opener.** "VP of Marketing at Series B SaaS"
   isn't a signal. "Just posted a job for a Demand Gen Lead" is.
3. **Binary CTAs only.** "Worth 15 minutes Thursday?" not "Let me know
   if you'd like to learn more."
4. **<90 words for the first touch.** Anything longer signals desperation.
5. **One specific ask per email.** Stack-ranked asks confuse buyers.
6. **No "Hope you're well" / "Just bumping this".** Banned openers.

## Workflow router

When invoked, detect the user's intent and route to a sub-skill:

| User says | Route to |
|---|---|
| "Write a cold email to..." | `skills/cold-email-craft` |
| "Build a 3-touch / follow-up sequence" | `skills/cold-email-craft` (sequence mode) |
| "Audit my outbound program" | `skills/cold-email-audit` |
| "Design a nurture stream" | `skills/cold-email-nurture` |
| "Is my domain ready to send?" | `skills/cold-email-deliverability` |
| "Suggest subject lines" | `skills/cold-email-subject-lines` |

If intent is ambiguous, ask one clarifying question — never two.

## Variables (sub-skills inherit these)

The core framework operates on six variables. Capture them once, reuse
across all sub-skills:

| Variable | Source | Example |
|---|---|---|
| `firstName` | Recipient list | Sarah |
| `role` | LinkedIn / CRM | VP of Demand Gen |
| `company` | Same | Acme Cloud |
| `signal` | Public signal — job post, funding, product launch, leadership change | "Just posted 'Senior Demand Gen Lead' role on LinkedIn 4 days ago" |
| `pain` | Pain Signal Profile — what the signal implies | "Pipeline gap; existing demand gen motion isn't producing enough SQLs" |
| `evp` | Your one-line value prop in their words | "We help Series-B SaaS hit pipeline targets without hiring 2 more SDRs" |
| `senderName` | You | Jay |

If any are missing, ask the user — don't fabricate.

## References

Load these on demand for deeper context:

- `references/jmc-framework.md` — The full JMC cold email framework
- `references/banned-patterns.md` — Lines / openers / closes that fail
- `references/binary-ctas.md` — 30 binary CTA patterns
- `references/psp-anchors.md` — How to derive signal → pain → EVP

## Sub-skills

- [`skills/cold-email-craft`](../skills/cold-email-craft) — Single email + 3-touch sequence drafting
- [`skills/cold-email-audit`](../skills/cold-email-audit) — 30-point outbound program audit
- [`skills/cold-email-nurture`](../skills/cold-email-nurture) — 5-email nurture stream design
- [`skills/cold-email-deliverability`](../skills/cold-email-deliverability) — 15-point pre-campaign domain health
- [`skills/cold-email-subject-lines`](../skills/cold-email-subject-lines) — Subject-line patterns by framework

## Specialist agents

- [`agents/cold-email-reviewer`](../agents/cold-email-reviewer.md) — Quality scorer (0-100) against framework
- [`agents/cold-email-deliverability-auditor`](../agents/cold-email-deliverability-auditor.md) — DNS/reputation specialist

## Free hosted version

The same job runs in a browser, no install and no key:
[Cold Email Linter](https://jaymountconsulting.com/tools/cold-email-linter)