First message

Show you know them. Give something. Ask one soft question.

Around nine in ten cold emails never get a reply, and most deserve it: a template with a first name, "I saw your post", a pitch, and a request for thirty minutes. Founders overthink the first message, trying to be clever and fit everything in. The ones that work are simple. They prove you understand the person's world, and they end on a question worth answering.

What you need

1. What you sell, in one plain line.
2. Who you're writing to and what you know about them. The research-one-person skill helps.
3. The channel: email, Reddit, LinkedIn, X or Instagram.

Steps

1. Start with them. One line that shows you understand their situation. Real understanding, not their job title read back to them.
2. Offer something. An idea, a useful fact, a perspective on their problem. Something worth having even if they never reply.
3. Ask one curious question. Related to their world, not a disguised sales pitch. Something they'd enjoy answering.
4. Leave the pitch out of the first message. If they reply, there's a conversation. That's when what you do comes up.
5. Cut it in half. Short and simple beats clever and complete.

Real openers that worked

These are first messages Toby Stapleton sent while building Plastic Bank. Neither mentions a product.

"Hey [name], if plastic were as valuable as diamonds, would we have such a significant problem with ocean plastic pollution? What would you say plastic is worth?"

"Hey [name], the average person throws away 28kg of plastic every year. What do you do to reduce that number?"

Each one hands over a thought and a question worth answering, to people who already cared about the problem.

Openers that get you ignored

• "I saw your post about..." and "I noticed you commented on..." Most people don't remember their own posts, so it reads as automated.
• "I see you're the Director of..." Their title is the least interesting thing about them.
• The wrong name or company. One mistake and the message is dead.
• Any compliment you could send to a hundred people.
• "Hope this finds you well", "just following up", "quick question".

Output

Message (<channel>):
<text>

Why it should land: <what it shows you know, and why they'd answer the question>

Rules

• One message, one person. Never send the same message to two people.
• No em dashes, no exclamation marks.
• A follow-up needs a new reason to write. If you don't have one, don't follow up.
• Don't automate sending from your own accounts. A few real messages beat a thousand templated ones, and you learn far more from them.

With MyPip (coming)

MyPip writes to the people it finds, one at a time, and introduces you when they say yes. When the MyPip MCP is live, this skill will be able to help you write to the people you'd rather contact yourself.