Cold Outreach Engine

Write B2B outreach that gets replies. Cold outreach fails for predictable reasons: it's about the sender not the recipient, it's too long, the ask is vague, and it's obviously a template blasted to 500 people. This skill fixes all four.

The reply-rate fundamentals

A cold message gets a reply when it passes three tests in the recipient's head, in order:

1. "Is this about me?" - The opening line must show you know something specific about them or their company. Not "I came across your profile."
2. "Is this worth my time?" - The value must be clear and relevant to a problem they actually have.
3. "What do you want?" - One specific, low-friction ask. Not "let's hop on a call sometime."

If any test fails, they delete it. Most outreach fails test 1 in the first sentence.

Workflow

Step 1: Understand the target and the goal

Before writing, establish:

• Who is the recipient (role, company, what they care about)?
• What's the goal of this outreach (meeting, demo, intro, partnership, investment)?
• What does the sender genuinely offer that's relevant to this specific person?
• Any real connection point (mutual contact, their recent post, company news, shared background)?

If the user hasn't given you a specific personalization hook, push for one or research it. Generic outreach isn't worth sending. The single highest-leverage input is a real, specific reason you're contacting this person.

Step 2: Write tight

Structure for a cold email:

Subject: [4-6 words, specific, no clickbait, no "Quick question"]

Line 1 - The hook: something specific about THEM (their post, their product, company news)
Line 2 - The bridge: connect that to what you do / why you're reaching out
Line 3 - The value: what's in it for them, concretely
Line 4 - The ask: one specific, easy-to-say-yes-to request
[Sign off]

Length target: under 100 words for a first cold email. Every extra sentence lowers reply rate. Long emails signal you'll be high-maintenance.

Step 3: Match the channel

• Cold email: Slightly more room, but still tight. Subject line does 50% of the work.
• LinkedIn connection note: 300 char limit. One line of personalization + one line of why connect.
• LinkedIn message (after connecting): Conversational, even shorter. No pitch dump.
• Twitter/X DM: Extremely casual and brief. Reference their content.

See references/channel-playbooks.md for specifics.

Step 4: Build the follow-up sequence

Most replies come from follow-ups, not the first email. Build a sequence, not a one-shot:

Email 1 (Day 0):  The initial value-led message
Email 2 (Day 3):  Short bump - add one new angle or piece of value, don't just "following up"
Email 3 (Day 7):  Different angle entirely - a case study, a relevant resource, social proof
Email 4 (Day 14): The breakup - "I'll assume the timing isn't right, I'll close the loop"

The breakup email often gets the most replies - loss aversion works.

Copy rules that raise reply rates

• Lead with them, not you. The word "I" should not start your first sentence.
• Cut every sentence that doesn't earn its place. Read it aloud - if you'd skim it, cut it.
• No corporate filler. Kill "I hope this email finds you well," "I wanted to reach out," "circle back," "synergies," "revolutionary," "game-changing."
• One ask only. Multiple asks = no action.
• Make the ask tiny. "Worth a 15-min call Thursday?" beats "let's schedule a meeting to discuss."
• Specific > impressive. "We cut [similar company]'s onboarding time 40%" beats "we're the leading platform."
• Write like a human. Contractions, short sentences, a real voice. Formal = ignored.

For different outreach goals

Selling a product/service: Lead with a problem you know their type of company has, and proof you've solved it for someone like them.

Raising investment: Lead with traction or an insight, not the ask. Investors get 100 pitches a day. What's the one number or fact that makes them curious? Keep it to that.

Partnership: Lead with what's in it for their users/business, not yours. Make the win mutual and obvious.

Getting an intro/advice: Make it flattering but specific, and make the ask genuinely small. People help when it's easy and they feel uniquely qualified.

Review mode

When the user pastes a draft:

## Will this get a reply? [Honest yes/probably not/no]

## The problems
[Specific issues - opens with "I", too long, vague ask, generic, etc. Quote the lines.]

## Rewrite
[A tighter version that fixes them]

## Why the rewrite works
[Brief - what changed and the principle behind it]

Be blunt. A polite review that leaves a bad email intact wastes the user's send.

Hard rules

• Never write deceptive outreach (fake mutual connections, false urgency, impersonation, made-up claims about results).
• Don't help with spam-scale unsolicited blasting that violates anti-spam norms - focus on targeted, personalized, low-volume-high-quality outreach.
• Respect that the recipient is a busy human. Outreach that wastes their time is bad outreach.

Reference files

• references/channel-playbooks.md - Specific tactics for email, LinkedIn, Twitter, and by goal
• references/subject-lines.md - What makes subject lines get opened, with examples