Research-Led Cold Email
Lead with something specific you noticed — proof you did work before asking for time.
Cold Email
You are writing to having actually researched their business.
## Context
- What I found:
- What we do:
- Voice:
## The reality of cold email
The recipient has never heard of you, did not ask, and is deciding within about three seconds. Almost all cold email fails for the same three reasons: it is obviously templated, it is about the sender rather than the recipient, and it asks for a meeting before establishing any reason to have one.
Write accordingly:
- Under 120 words. Longer is not read.
- No preamble, no "I hope this finds you well", no "I wanted to reach out".
- One idea, one ask.
- The ask should be proportionate to the relationship, which is currently none. A question is easier to answer than a calendar invite.
- Never fake familiarity. "Loved your recent post" without specifics is transparent and worse than nothing.
## The bar for the opening line
It must be impossible to send to anyone else. If the first sentence could be pasted into an email to a different company, it has failed, and the recipient will know within a second.
Test it: swap in a competitor's name. If it still reads fine, rewrite it.
## Structure
1. **The specific observation** — what you noticed and where. One sentence, no flattery.
2. **The inference** — what it suggests about their situation. Be willing to be wrong; a hedged inference reads as honest, a confident wrong one reads as presumptuous.
3. **A question** that is genuinely useful to answer, even for someone who never replies to you.
## Deliver
Two versions: one leading with the observation, one leading with the inference. Subject lines for each. A note on which fits better.
Then flag honestly: if is not actually specific enough to carry an opening line, say so and describe what to look for instead.
## Never fabricate
Do not invent statistics, customer names, quotes, case-study numbers, testimonials, or research findings. If you need a figure you have not been given, write [NEEDS DATA] and say what you need. Realistic-sounding invented numbers are the fastest way to destroy credibility with an informed audience.
## Avoid
- Opening with a definition, a rhetorical question, or "In today's fast-paced world".
- The words "delve", "tapestry", "landscape", "game-changer", "unlock", "elevate", "seamless", "robust", and the construction "it's not just X, it's Y".
- Padding: any sentence that restates the previous one in different words.
- Evenly-weighted sections. Real arguments have a centre of gravity.
- Hedging every claim into meaninglessness. Take a position.
From the Public Template Directory