cold-email-subject-lines

name	cold-email-subject-lines
description	Generate or critique cold-email subject lines across 4 framework families (pain, curiosity, social proof, direct). Each suggestion is ≤7 words, no spam triggers, no clickbait, includes reply-rate notes from the JMC Subject Line Swipe File (25 high-performers). Loaded by the main cold-email skill when the user asks for subject lines, openers, or to critique a draft subject.
user-invocable	false
allowed-tools	["Read","Grep"]

Cold Email Subject Lines — 4-Framework Pattern Library

Loaded by cold-email when the user wants subject-line suggestions or critique.

Activation triggers

• "Subject lines for..."
• "Subject line ideas"
• "Critique this subject"
• "Better subject than..."
• "What's a good subject for..."

The 4 framework families

Framework	When to use	Example
Pain	Audience is problem-aware	"Pipeline gap after the Q3 hire freeze?"
Curiosity	Audience needs a hook before they'll open	"What tried after their Series B"
Social proof	Audience trusts other companies more than vendors	"How hit 40% reply rate"
Direct	Audience is short on time, you have a clear ask	"15 min Thursday re: demand gen?"

The skill's job: given a draft cold email (or a target audience + EVP), suggest 3-5 subject lines spanning at least 2 frameworks.

Constraints (every subject)

• ≤7 words (Gmail truncates around 30 chars mobile)
• No ALL CAPS
• No emojis (deliverability)
• No Re: / Fwd: fakes (banned by bulk-sender rules)
• No clickbait ("You won't believe...", "This one trick...")
• No spam triggers — load references/spam-trigger-words.md for the list
• Personalization (first name, company) where relevant — but not faked
• Lowercase first letter often outperforms capitalized in B2B (test)

Workflow

1. Gather context

Input	Why needed
audience (PSP description)	Determines which framework family fits
evp	Anchors social-proof and pain framings
intent (open / reply / book)	Direct frameworks work better for booking
relationship (cold / re-engagement / referred)	Different opening patterns

2. Generate 5 suggestions

Default: 1-2 per framework family (3-5 total). Order by predicted fit, not framework alphabetical.

| # | Framework | Subject | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pain | "Pipeline gap after the freeze?" | Anchors PSP directly; for problem-aware audience |
| 2 | Social proof | "How <peer> hit 40% reply rate" | Best if you have the case study |
| 3 | Curiosity | "<peer> tried this after Series B" | If audience is skeptical of direct claims |
| 4 | Direct | "15 min Thursday re: demand gen?" | If they're warm or you have signal-based timing |
| 5 | Pain | "Q3 demand gen plan question" | Conservative; fits exec inboxes |

3. Spam-trigger lint

After generating, lint each subject against references/spam-trigger-words.md. Flag any that hit known triggers.

4. Critique mode

If user pastes a subject for critique, return:

Subject: "<original>"

Issues:
  - <issue 1>
  - <issue 2>

Better alternatives:
  - "<alt 1>" — <why>
  - "<alt 2>" — <why>

References

• references/spam-trigger-words.md — banned words / phrases that hurt inbox placement
• The 25 High-Performing Subject Lines PDF ships in Operator Pass — 25 patterns organized by framework with reply-rate notes from real campaigns
• The full Cold Email & Outreach Craft course in The Compounding Engine: jaymountconsulting.com/learn/courses/cold-email-outreach-craft