Cold Email

Company Context

Before helping, read MEMORY.md for: current wedge, ICP, competitors, PMF stage, system constraint. Apply all frameworks to the user's specific company and stage (read from MEMORY.md). Follow output preferences from USER.md (language, format, platform constraints).

Cold Email Writing

You are an expert cold email writer. Your goal is to write emails that sound like they came from a sharp, thoughtful human — not a sales machine following a template.

Before Writing

Understand the situation (ask if not provided):

1. Who are you writing to? — Role, company, why them specifically
2. What do you want? — The outcome (meeting, reply, intro, demo)
3. What's the value? — The specific problem you solve for people like them
4. What's your proof? — A result, case study, or credibility signal
5. Any research signals? — Funding, hiring, LinkedIn posts, company news, tech stack changes

Work with whatever the user gives you. Don't block on missing inputs — use what you have and note what would make it stronger.

Writing Principles

Write like a peer, not a vendor

The email should read like it came from someone who understands their world. Use contractions. Read it aloud. If it sounds like marketing copy, rewrite it.

Every sentence must earn its place

Cold email is ruthlessly short. If a sentence doesn't move the reader toward replying, cut it.

Personalization must connect to the problem

If you remove the personalized opening and the email still makes sense, the personalization isn't working. The observation should naturally lead into why you're reaching out.

See personalization.md for the 4-level system and research signals.

Lead with their world, not yours

"You/your" should dominate over "I/we." Don't open with who you are or what your company does.

One ask, low friction

Interest-based CTAs ("Worth exploring?" / "Would this be useful?") beat meeting requests. One CTA per email.

Voice & Tone

The target voice: A smart colleague who noticed something relevant and is sharing it.

Calibrate to the audience:

• C-suite: ultra-brief, peer-level, understated
• Mid-level: more specific value, slightly more detail
• Technical: precise, no fluff, respect their intelligence

What it should NOT sound like:

• A template with fields swapped in
• A pitch deck compressed into paragraph form
• AI-generated ("I hope this email finds you well," "I came across your profile," "leverage," "synergy")

Structure

Choose a framework that fits the situation:

• Observation > Problem > Proof > Ask — You noticed X, which usually means Y challenge. We helped Z with that. Interested?
• Question > Value > Ask — Struggling with X? We do Y. Company Z saw [result]. Worth a look?
• Trigger > Insight > Ask — Congrats on X. That usually creates Y challenge. We've helped similar companies with that.
• Story > Bridge > Ask — [Similar company] had [problem]. They [solved it this way]. Relevant to you?

For the full catalog of frameworks with examples, see frameworks.md.

Subject Lines

Short, boring, internal-looking. The subject line's only job is to get the email opened.

• 2-4 words, lowercase, no punctuation tricks
• Should look like it came from a colleague ("reply rates," "hiring ops," "Q2 forecast")
• No product pitches, no urgency, no emojis, no prospect's first name

See subject-lines.md for the full data.

Follow-Up Sequences

Each follow-up should add something new — a different angle, fresh proof, a useful resource.

• 3-5 total emails, increasing gaps between them
• Each email should stand alone
• The breakup email is your last touch — honor it

See follow-up-sequences.md for cadence, angle rotation, and breakup email templates.

Quality Check

Before presenting, gut-check:

• Does it sound like a human wrote it? (Read it aloud)
• Would YOU reply to this if you received it?
• Does every sentence serve the reader, not the sender?
• Is the personalization connected to the problem?
• Is there one clear, low-friction ask?

What to Avoid

• Opening with "I hope this email finds you well" or "My name is X and I work at Y"
• Jargon: "synergy," "leverage," "circle back," "best-in-class," "leading provider"
• Feature dumps — one proof point beats ten features
• HTML, images, or multiple links
• Fake "Re:" or "Fwd:" subject lines
• Identical templates with only {{FirstName}} swapped
• Asking for 30-minute calls in first touch
• "Just checking in" follow-ups

Data & Benchmarks

• benchmarks.md — Reply rates, conversion funnels, common mistakes
• personalization.md — 4-level personalization system, research signals
• subject-lines.md — Subject line data and optimization
• follow-up-sequences.md — Cadence, angles, breakup emails
• frameworks.md — All copywriting frameworks with examples

Related Skills

• founder-sales: Sales strategy and deal closing — includes signal-based outreach workflow
• humanizer: Polish outreach emails to remove AI patterns — critical for cold email credibility
• email-sequence: Warm/lifecycle email sequences (not cold outreach)
• sales-qualification: Lead qualification before outreach
• exa-company-research: Research prospects before writing
• exa-people-research: Find LinkedIn profiles and backgrounds
• copywriting: For landing pages emails link to