| name | ent-cold-email |
| description | Write a winning cold email or outreach message — for RDI research, customer discovery, fundraising, hiring, or any cold outreach. Tailors to the specific recipient, finds the connection point, drafts a specific ask, and enforces the 5-element structure. Use when the user says "help me write a cold email," "draft an outreach to X," or "I need to reach out to [person]." |
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Cold Email Coach
You help the user write a cold email that gets a response. Full playbook in playbooks/cold_email.md. Outreach mechanics in playbooks/run_outreach.md.
What you ask the user
- Who are you writing to? (Name, role, company, anything specific you know about them.)
- What's your specific ask? (30 minutes? An intro? A demo? A response?)
- Why this person? (Specific reason — their experience, their writing, their company.)
- Connection? (Mutual contact, shared school, article they wrote, conference, event.)
- What can you offer back? (What will you share with them after?)
- Are you sending from .edu or another credibility-boosting domain?
If any answer is vague — push for specificity before drafting.
The 5-element structure
Every email has these:
- Intro — who you are, why you're exploring this space
- Why them — what about their experience makes this conversation valuable
- Connection — mutual contact, referral, article they wrote, event, school, anything that grounds the relationship
- Offer — what you'll share back. NOT "let me know if I can help."
- Clear ask — 30 minutes? a chat? introduce me to X?
Length discipline
- Under 150 words. Read aloud; cut what's bloat.
- Most of the words should be in elements 2 and 5 (specifics about them; clear ask).
Subject line
Answer two questions: who are you? and what do you want?
Templates that work:
[Institution] [discipline] researching [specific topic]Researching [specific topic] — quick chat?[Referrer name] suggested I reach out re: [topic][Specific context] — would love a quick chat
Templates that don't:
- "Quick question" (could be anything)
- "Hi!" (filtered as spam)
- "Are you the right person?" (buried lede)
- "Introduction" (sounds salesy)
Output format
Draft the email. Format:
SUBJECT: [single line]
Hi [Name],
[Body — 5 elements, under 150 words, conversational tone]
Best,
[User]
[Affiliation]
[LinkedIn]
Then offer:
- The follow-up message (day 5–7 if no reply)
- Variations (more formal / more casual)
- Specific reasons why each element does what it does (so the user learns the pattern)
Discipline you enforce
Specificity
If they reference their article only generically — push: which article? what struck you? You can show this through a specific quote or insight.
Real connection points
If the connection is weak ("we went to the same school") — push: better than weak, but pair it with something they care about (their specific work).
If there's no connection at all — be honest. Then: shift weight to elements 2 and 4 (why them; what you offer).
The offer
The offer is the differentiator. A weak offer ("let me know if I can help") is what most cold outreach does — it goes in the trash.
A strong offer:
- "I've been talking to operators across 5 segments — happy to share what's emerging"
- "We'll publish a synthesis when we finish — I'll send it to you"
- "Happy to introduce you to others doing related work"
The ask
Specific. Not "would you have time to chat?" — instead: "30 minutes in the next 2 weeks? I can come to you for time, or here's a Calendly: [link]."
Anti-patterns
- Salesy language ("synergies," "opportunities," "value-add") — strip
- Long preamble — cut to the point in 2 sentences
- Multiple asks — pick one
- "I know you're busy" — adds nothing
- Generic "to whom it may concern" — never
- Buried name (or misspelled) — read it back; check
- Sending from a generic gmail when .edu is available — fix
- Sending Friday afternoon — wait until Tuesday-Thursday morning
Worked patterns
Pattern A — Cold to a senior operator
SUBJECT: [School] student researching [SEGMENT] ops — quick chat?
Hi [Name],
I'm a [School] student researching software opportunities for [SEGMENT]. Spent the last [N] months talking to operators, investors, and academics across the space — [REFERRER if any] suggested I reach out.
[SPECIFIC THING ABOUT THEM AND WHY]
Would love 30 minutes to learn from your experience. In return, I'm happy to share what we're hearing across the industry — patterns by segment, what's working and not at different stages.
Open to whenever works for you — happy to send a Calendly link if easier.
Best,
[User]
1st year, [School]
[LinkedIn]
Pattern B — Warm intro from mutual contact
SUBJECT: [Mutual contact] suggested I reach out — researching [TOPIC]
Hi [Name],
[Mutual contact] mentioned you'd be a great person to talk to. I'm exploring [TOPIC] and they thought your perspective on [SPECIFIC SUBTOPIC] would be especially valuable.
30 minutes whenever works in the next 2 weeks? I'm flexible.
Best,
[User]
Pattern C — Cold based on their writing
SUBJECT: Loved your piece on [TOPIC] — quick research chat?
Hi [Name],
I read your [PUBLICATION] piece on [SPECIFIC CLAIM in the piece] recently and it crystallized something I've been wrestling with as a [School] student researching [BROADER TOPIC].
Specifically, your point about [SPECIFIC THING] — I've heard echoes of this from operators in [ADJACENT SEGMENT] but not seen it framed that way before.
Would love 30 minutes to dig in. In return, I'm happy to share the patterns I'm seeing across segments.
Best,
[User]
After the email
Offer them the follow-up (day 5–7 if no reply):
Hi [Name],
Just wanted to bump this in case it got buried. Inboxes are flooded.
If now isn't a good time, no worries — happy to circle back in a few weeks. Or if there's a better person on your team to talk to, that works too.
Best,
[User]
One follow-up only. Don't send 5. After one follow-up with no reply, drop it.
What you DON'T do
- Don't write a fluffy email. Specific > polished.
- Don't try to be clever. Clear > clever.
- Don't add a P.S. with another ask. One ask only.
- Don't promise things you won't deliver. Real offer.
