Signal-first outreach
The audience for signal-driven outbound has bought data before and been burned: lists that bounce, alerts full of duplicates, tools priced per seat nobody opened. They stopped believing claims. So the first touch never claims — it demonstrates. The signal is the message.
The first-touch formula
Structure (60-90 words total, plain text):
- The signals, immediately. Three live, dated facts from the prospect's exact patch: company, role, day. No greeting fluff before them.
- One line of mechanism. How the sender knows this (watching job sources, flagged the morning they appear) and why it matters (be first, not ninth).
- A zero-friction offer. What they get free, what they do NOT have to do (no signup, no card, no call), and a reply mechanic: one word gets them the goods today.
Example skeleton:
Subject: 3 companies hiring in your patch this week
Hi [Name],
Three companies opened [niche] roles this week: [A] ([role], [city], Tue),
[B] ([role], Wed), [C] ([role], Thu). Hiring manager names sit behind each.
We watch a few hundred job sources and flag companies the morning they start
hiring, so you call first. The next ten for your patch are free. No signup,
no card, no call. Reply "[keyword]" and they arrive today.
[Sign-off]
Hard rules
- No links in the first email. The reply mechanic protects deliverability; a direct link runs only as a B-variant.
- Mid-market names only in examples. Filter out household names with big internal teams and closed supplier lists — the reader cannot bill them anyway, and using them signals the sender does not know the trade.
- Every fact verifiable and dated. Pull signals fresh (they age in days); the date in the email is the date of the pull. Never invent a signal, a number, or a case study.
- No demo-call CTA when the product has an instant trial. The sample converts or it does not.
- Follow-ups carry new data, not reminders. "Since Tuesday your patch added [X] more" beats "just bumping this". Breakup email closes the file politely and leaves one open door.
- Escalation for silent openers: a short LinkedIn note and one breakup email, then stop. Sequences that never end burn markets.
- Banned: hype adjectives, "however/moreover", em-dashes, "not X but Y" constructions, links to case studies that do not exist. Short sentences. Write like a colleague, not a campaign.
Variant discipline
Generate A/B pairs that differ in ONE variable only (subject, CTA style, signals-in-body vs P.S.), and name the variable. Label each variant so results can be attributed. Refuse to test two variables in one wave; say why.
LinkedIn companions
Connect note (≤200 chars, no pitch): common ground + curiosity. DM after accept: the same three signals, offer to send the rest, no link until asked. Voice: dry, specific, zero exclamation marks.
Close the loop
When an email turns into a meeting or a placement, log it: write_outcome on the MCP server, or POST /v1/companies/{id}/outcomes. Then GET /v1/attribution reads results back. This is how the user proves, with their own numbers, that dated signals turn into revenue.
1---2name: signal-first-outreach3description: Write first-touch emails and LinkedIn notes where the live hiring signal IS the message. Use when the user asks for cold outreach copy, a first email to a prospect list, follow-ups with fresh signals, or sequences built on hiring signals.4---56# Signal-first outreach78The audience for signal-driven outbound has bought data before and been burned: lists that bounce, alerts full of duplicates, tools priced per seat nobody opened. They stopped believing claims. So the first touch never claims — it demonstrates. The signal is the message.910## The first-touch formula1112Structure (60-90 words total, plain text):13141. **The signals, immediately.** Three live, dated facts from the prospect's exact patch: company, role, day. No greeting fluff before them.152. **One line of mechanism.** How the sender knows this (watching job sources, flagged the morning they appear) and why it matters (be first, not ninth).163. **A zero-friction offer.** What they get free, what they do NOT have to do (no signup, no card, no call), and a reply mechanic: one word gets them the goods today.1718Example skeleton:1920```21Subject: 3 companies hiring in your patch this week2223Hi [Name],24Three companies opened [niche] roles this week: [A] ([role], [city], Tue),25[B] ([role], Wed), [C] ([role], Thu). Hiring manager names sit behind each.26We watch a few hundred job sources and flag companies the morning they start27hiring, so you call first. The next ten for your patch are free. No signup,28no card, no call. Reply "[keyword]" and they arrive today.29[Sign-off]30```3132## Hard rules33341. **No links in the first email.** The reply mechanic protects deliverability; a direct link runs only as a B-variant.352. **Mid-market names only in examples.** Filter out household names with big internal teams and closed supplier lists — the reader cannot bill them anyway, and using them signals the sender does not know the trade.363. **Every fact verifiable and dated.** Pull signals fresh (they age in days); the date in the email is the date of the pull. Never invent a signal, a number, or a case study.374. **No demo-call CTA when the product has an instant trial.** The sample converts or it does not.385. **Follow-ups carry new data, not reminders.** "Since Tuesday your patch added [X] more" beats "just bumping this". Breakup email closes the file politely and leaves one open door.396. **Escalation for silent openers:** a short LinkedIn note and one breakup email, then stop. Sequences that never end burn markets.407. Banned: hype adjectives, "however/moreover", em-dashes, "not X but Y" constructions, links to case studies that do not exist. Short sentences. Write like a colleague, not a campaign.4142## Variant discipline4344Generate A/B pairs that differ in ONE variable only (subject, CTA style, signals-in-body vs P.S.), and name the variable. Label each variant so results can be attributed. Refuse to test two variables in one wave; say why.4546## LinkedIn companions4748Connect note (≤200 chars, no pitch): common ground + curiosity. DM after accept: the same three signals, offer to send the rest, no link until asked. Voice: dry, specific, zero exclamation marks.4950## Close the loop5152When an email turns into a meeting or a placement, log it: `write_outcome` on the MCP server, or `POST /v1/companies/{id}/outcomes`. Then `GET /v1/attribution` reads results back. This is how the user proves, with their own numbers, that dated signals turn into revenue.
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