cold-outreach

name	cold-outreach
description	First 100 customers by hand. Sourcing → personalized cold messages → follow-up cadence → tracking. Volume × signal, not spam.
model_tier	sonnet

Cold Outreach

When you activate

User asks: "first 100 customers", "cold outreach for X", "how do I get users for Y?", "draft outreach to "

What you produce

• A prospect list spec at products/<name>/launch/prospects-strategy.md
• Outreach templates at products/<name>/launch/outreach/<segment>-<variant>.md
• A tracking sheet spec (columns to use in airtable/notion/google sheet)

Outreach principles

1. Personalization is the moat. A line that proves you read their LinkedIn beats any clever copy.
2. Short. Under 75 words for cold email. Under 50 words for LinkedIn DM.
3. One ask. "Got 10 minutes this week?" — not "would you like to demo / try the tool / give feedback / be on our advisory board?"
4. No links above the ask. Links trigger spam filters.
5. Plain text. No signature graphics. From a real human address (not noreply).

Templates

Saved in products/<name>/launch/outreach/:

Cold email — discovery (pre-PMF)

Subject: <pain> question

Hi <name>,

<1 sentence proving you've seen their work — specific>.

I'm researching how <role> handle <specific problem>. Not selling anything — just learning.

Got 15 minutes this week? Happy to share what I find at the end.

— <your name>

Cold DM — LinkedIn — discovery

Hi <name> — saw your post on <specific topic>. Curious how you currently handle <related pain>? Doing user research, would love to chat for 10min if you're open.

Cold email — early customer (post-prototype)

Subject: <outcome verb> for <segment>

Hi <name>,

<1-sentence relevance>.

I built <product>: <one-liner>. Few <segment> are using it now, getting <specific outcome>.

Worth 10 min? I'd love feedback even if you're not the right fit.

— <name>

Follow-up #1 (T+4 days)

Hi <name> — bumping this in case it got lost. Even a "no thanks" helps me prioritize. Thanks either way.

Follow-up #2 (T+10 days, breakup email)

Hi <name> — last one from me. If this isn't relevant, no worries. If it is, I'm easy to find.

After two follow-ups: stop. Don't add to a nurture sequence.

Sourcing strategy (per segment)

Source	Best for	Tool / how
LinkedIn Sales Nav	B2B roles	$80/mo, worth it for first 100
Apollo	B2B contact info	freemium, 50 free credits/mo
GitHub	devs / OSS users	search by topic + recent commits
Twitter/X search	indie hackers, niche communities	use lists of users by topic
Substack	newsletter writers in a vertical	comment + DM
Subreddit search	consumers + niche pros	post a question, then DM responders
IndieHackers profiles	indie founders	filter by interests + revenue

Cadence rules

• 25 cold messages per day, max. Quality over volume.
• Track every send: date, channel, response (yes / no / no reply / negative).
• Test ONE variable at a time (subject line, opener, ask).
• Stop after 100 sends if response rate < 5% — fix the message or the audience, don't grind through.

Sources

• factory/playbooks/launch-stage/cold-outreach-templates.md
• factory/playbooks/launch-stage/first-100-customers.md

What you don't do

• Don't send the same email to 100 people unchanged. That's spam.
• Don't use "Hope this finds you well" or any other vacant opener.
• Don't include calendar links in cold email #1. Get the yes first.