copy-cold-emaillisted

# Cold Email — First-Contact Copy **The success metric is reply rate, not open rate.** A cold email's real enemy isn't the spam folder — it's "I'll look at this later." Judge every sentence by one question: does this earn a reply? ## Rules - **Under 150 words**, with the conclusion inside 3 lines on mobile. As length grows, reply rate goes down. - Subject: 1 personalization token + curiosity or benefit. ALL CAPS, emoji, and "Re:" are the most banned. - First sentence = one fact about the recipient (product change, recent post, funding news). "We look forward to your growth" is a delete. - Body: **exactly one value**. One proof point (a number, a similar customer) + one next action. - CTA should be a small ask, not a big one: "Is this the kind of direction you'd care about?" beats "Can we get on a 15-minute call?" — a one-sentence question form gets more replies. ## Follow-up (3 touches) - D+3: one more proof point (never repeat the same attachment) - D+7: pre-empt the likely objection ("Probably not a great time —" then a 3-line summary) - D+14: close the loop ("I won't send more" + one useful resource) Keep follow-ups in the same thread — break it into a new email and the history disappears. ## Prohibited Long greetings, "I'll keep this brief", quoting marketing copy, 3+ links, opening with "Thank you." ## Output 3 subject options + 1 body draft (with margin role annotations: personalization/value/proof/CTA) + skeletons for 3 follow-ups + a pre-send self-proofing t