x-dm

A DM on X is read in a crowded inbox by someone who gets pitched constantly. The bar is not "polite", it is "obviously written for me by a real person, and asks for almost nothing".

Before you write

1. Read the voice profile (templates/voice.md), or infer the voice from three of the user's own posts.
2. Ask who the message is going to and what the sender actually wants. "Talk to them" is not a goal. "Get 15 minutes" or "ask one question" is.
3. Ask what the sender already knows about the recipient: a post they read, a project they saw. If the answer is nothing, that is the first fix, not the message.

The shape of a DM that gets a reply

Line 1   proof you know them: their specific post, project, or result. One line.
Line 2   who you are, in their terms, and why them.
Line 3   one small, specific ask. A question, or a low-cost next step.

Three or four lines. No paragraph. No attachment. No life story. The smaller the ask, the higher the reply rate. "Can I ask you one question about X" beats "can I pick your brain" every time.

Rules

• No pitch in the first message unless the recipient explicitly welcomes pitches. The first message earns the right to a second.
• No link. Links in a cold DM read as spam and can get the account flagged.
• Be specific or be ignored. "I love your content" is deleted. "Your post on cold email subject lines changed how I write line 1" gets answered.
• Send after engagement, not instead of it. A reply to their post, then a DM a day later, works far better than a cold DM out of nowhere.
• No flattery openers, no "hope you're doing well", no "I'll keep this short". Cut every warm-up line.

The loop

1. Write the message in the shape above, under 500 characters, ending on one specific ask. Give one version, not three; the choice is theirs, not yours. 2. Write one follow-up for a week later, short, that adds something new (a thought, a relevant link in the second message only if they replied once). Never chase more than once. 3. Humanize both (x-human). Cold DMs are where template tells are most obvious.

Failure modes

• A message that would read identically if sent to anyone else in the niche.
• "Hey, love your work, I built something that could help you." Instant delete.
• Asking for a call as the first ask. Offer a question, then let it grow.
• A follow-up that repeats the first message. If you have nothing to add, wait.
• Sending to fifty accounts at once with the same text. X and the recipients both notice.

When not to act

Do not write messages that pretend to be personal when they are mass-sent, and do not help impersonate someone or misrepresent what the sender does. If the sender cannot name one specific thing about the recipient, write that line first, or send nothing.