Cold Email Sequence
Write a short outbound sequence that earns a reply by leading with the prospect's problem — not your product.
When to use
When opening conversations with a target account list, when current outreach gets ignored, or when launching a new outbound motion.
Before you start
- Read the brand/product context first. Pull the ICP and its single sharpest pain, plus the differentiator and one piece of proof, from
.agents/product-marketing.md. If none exists, ask the user.
- Gather inputs: who's being emailed (the role) and the relevance hook that triggered the outreach (a signal, an event, a shared context). If the account list / ICP isn't set, run
target-account-list and brand-product-context first.
- Confirm the objective: opening a conversation. (For nurturing existing leads, that's a lifecycle sequence — a different intent.)
Method
Anchor every email on one specific pain the role feels, and open in their world rather than with your company. One email, one idea, one low-friction ask. Keep each under ~90 words, plain text, written like a person — and vary the angle across touches instead of just bumping the thread.
Workflow
- Anchor each email on one specific pain the role feels.
- Give each one ask — low-friction (a question, a small yes), not "book a 30-minute demo" on touch one.
- Keep it short — 50–90 words, plain text, no jargon.
- Use proof sparingly — one concrete outcome or number beats adjectives.
- Vary the angle across touches (pain → proof → a different pain → break-up).
- End with a respectful break-up, then present the full sequence.
Reference
This skill bundles no data files. Pull the pain, differentiator, proof, and voice from .agents/product-marketing.md; write in the brand's voice.
Present the result
- 4–6 emails, each with: a subject line (short, lowercase, relevance or curiosity — no clickbait), the body, and the single ask.
- Send timing (e.g., day 1, 3, 6, 10, 14).
- The pain/angle each touch uses.
- 2–3 alternate first-touch subject lines to test.
Guardrails & common mistakes
- Lead with them, not you. If an email is about your company instead of the prospect's problem, rewrite it.
- One ask per email. Multiple asks (or a hard demo ask on touch one) kill reply rates.
- Keep it under ~90 words. Long cold emails don't get read.
- Back every claim. Make no outcome claim that isn't supported by real proof from context — invented numbers destroy trust and deliverability reputation.
Related AAJ resources
Related skills
target-account-list · discovery-call-framework · objection-handling · brand-product-context
Credits
Original AAJ skill. The Agent Skills format and the marketing-skills catalog by Corey Haines (coreyhaines31/marketingskills, MIT) were references for structure and coverage; this skill is independently written. See the repository README for the full reference list.
1---2name: cold-email-sequence3description: Use when the user wants to write a cold outbound email sequence — the multi-touch cadence that opens conversations with target accounts. Also use when the user mentions cold email, outbound sequence, email cadence, prospecting emails, sales outreach, follow-up emails, break-up email, or "emails that get replies." Produces a 4–6 touch cold email sequence with subject lines, send timing, and one clear ask per email, grounded in the prospect's pain.4license: MIT5---67# Cold Email Sequence89Write a short outbound sequence that earns a reply by leading with the prospect's problem — not your product.1011## When to use1213When opening conversations with a target account list, when current outreach gets ignored, or when launching a new outbound motion.1415## Before you start16171. **Read the brand/product context first.** Pull the ICP and its single sharpest pain, plus the differentiator and one piece of proof, from `.agents/product-marketing.md`. If none exists, ask the user.182. **Gather inputs:** who's being emailed (the role) and the relevance hook that triggered the outreach (a signal, an event, a shared context). If the account list / ICP isn't set, run `target-account-list` and `brand-product-context` first.193. **Confirm the objective:** opening a conversation. (For nurturing existing leads, that's a lifecycle sequence — a different intent.)2021## Method2223Anchor every email on one specific pain the role feels, and open in their world rather than with your company. One email, one idea, one low-friction ask. Keep each under ~90 words, plain text, written like a person — and vary the angle across touches instead of just bumping the thread.2425## Workflow26271. **Anchor each email on one specific pain** the role feels.282. **Give each one ask** — low-friction (a question, a small yes), not "book a 30-minute demo" on touch one.293. **Keep it short** — 50–90 words, plain text, no jargon.304. **Use proof sparingly** — one concrete outcome or number beats adjectives.315. **Vary the angle across touches** (pain → proof → a different pain → break-up).326. **End with a respectful break-up**, then present the full sequence.3334## Reference3536This skill bundles no data files. Pull the pain, differentiator, proof, and voice from `.agents/product-marketing.md`; write in the brand's voice.3738## Present the result3940- **4–6 emails**, each with: a subject line (short, lowercase, relevance or curiosity — no clickbait), the body, and the single ask.41- **Send timing** (e.g., day 1, 3, 6, 10, 14).42- The **pain/angle** each touch uses.43- **2–3 alternate first-touch subject lines** to test.4445## Guardrails & common mistakes4647- **Lead with them, not you.** If an email is about your company instead of the prospect's problem, rewrite it.48- **One ask per email.** Multiple asks (or a hard demo ask on touch one) kill reply rates.49- **Keep it under ~90 words.** Long cold emails don't get read.50- **Back every claim.** Make no outcome claim that isn't supported by real proof from context — invented numbers destroy trust and deliverability reputation.5152## Related AAJ resources5354- AAJ tools — https://aajconsult.com/tools (copy and outbound tools).5556## Related skills5758`target-account-list` · `discovery-call-framework` · `objection-handling` · `brand-product-context`5960## Credits6162Original AAJ skill. The Agent Skills format and the marketing-skills catalog by Corey Haines (`coreyhaines31/marketingskills`, MIT) were references for structure and coverage; this skill is independently written. See the repository README for the full reference list.
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