Cold outreach email that earns a reply

Write a short, specific cold email with one clear ask, plus a subject line and a follow-up-ready variant.

Change note: Initial version

Prompt

Write a cold outreach email from me to someone I have never spoken to.

About me: {{sender_background}}
Recipient: {{recipient}}
Why them specifically: {{personalization}}
What I want: {{ask}}
Tone: {{tone}}
Maximum length: {{max_words}} words for the email body.

Rules:
- Open with the specific reason I am writing to this person, not with who I am or "I hope this finds you well".
- Make exactly one ask, and make it small and easy to say yes to.
- Include one concrete detail of value to them (what they get, learn or save), not a list of my credentials.
- No flattery that could apply to anyone, no buzzwords, no fake urgency, no exclamation marks.
- If any key fact above is missing or vague, ask me up to 3 short questions first. Otherwise write straight away.

Output format:
1. Three subject lines (under 50 characters each), best first.
2. The email body, ready to send, ending with my first name only.
3. A one-sentence note on why the opening should work, so I can adjust it.

Variables

• {{sender_background}}About youlong

  Default: Freelance product designer with 8 years in fintech apps.

  Who you are, in a sentence or two

• {{recipient}}Recipienttext

  Default: Priya Shah, Head of Product at a payments startup

• {{personalization}}Why themlong

  Default: She recently posted about redesigning their onboarding flow and the drop-off after ID verification.

  Something specific you noticed

• {{ask}}Your asktext

  Default: A 15-minute call to share two onboarding ideas

• {{tone}}Toneselect

  Options: Warm and professional, Direct and concise, Friendly and casual, Formal, Confident and persuasive, Empathetic

  Default: Warm and professional

• {{max_words}}Max wordsnumber

  Default: 110

Example output

Subject lines
1. Your onboarding drop-off after ID check
2. Two ideas for your verification step
3. Quick thought on your onboarding post

Email
Hi Priya,

Your post about losing users right after ID verification caught my eye. I spent the last few years fixing exactly that step in two fintech apps, and the fixes were smaller than people expect: showing progress before the camera opens, and explaining why each document is needed.

I sketched two ideas based on your public flow. Would a 15-minute call next week be useful, so I can walk you through them? If not, no worries at all, and I am happy to send the sketches by email instead.

Best,
Daniel

Why the opening works: it proves you read her post and names the exact problem she described, so it does not read as a template.

Notes

Specificity in the 'why them' field is what separates this from a template. Paste a real sentence from their post or site for the best result.