Cold email fails for one of two reasons: the email is about you, or it went to someone who was never going to care. The first three prompts fix the targeting. The last three write the emails, including the follow-ups most people never send.
Step 1 — Fix the targeting before you write anything
1. Recipient Reality Check
I want to email [role] at [company type] about [what I am offering]. Describe what this person is measured on, what a normal week looks like for them, and the three reasons they would ignore my email. Then tell me whether I am emailing the right role at all.What it does: Decides whether to send anything before you spend time writing.
How to use: Fill all three brackets. If the answer to the last question is no, change the recipient rather than the email.
2. Relevance Line Builder
Here is everything I know about the recipient and their company: [paste notes]. Write five possible opening lines, each built on one specific, verifiable detail about them. For each, say what it implies we have in common. Do not invent anything that is not in my notes.What it does: Produces a first line that proves the email is not a mass send.
How to use: Paste real details you found — a posting, a launch, a talk they gave. If your notes are thin, get more notes.
3. Offer Angle
For [recipient situation] and [what I offer], write three different angles for the email — one framed as saving time, one as reducing risk, one as an easy first experiment. For each, state the smallest possible ask and what a reply would cost the recipient.What it does: Picks the angle that matches what the recipient actually cares about that month.
How to use: Always choose the smallest ask. A 15-minute call is a bigger commitment than a one-line answer.
Step 2 — Write the sequence
4. The First Email
Write a cold email under 120 words. Structure: the relevance line, one sentence on the problem, one sentence on what I do about it, one question. No attachments, no calendar links, no bullet list of features. Recipient: [role]. Relevance: [line from prompt 2]. Offer: [angle from prompt 3].What it does: Keeps the first email short enough to be read on a phone.
How to use: Paste your chosen relevance line and angle. Read it once out loud and delete any sentence you would skip.
5. Follow-Up Sequence
Write three follow-ups to this email: [paste email]. Follow-up one adds something useful and no pressure. Follow-up two restates the ask in one line. Follow-up three closes the loop and says I will stop. Give a suggested gap in days between each, and keep every one under 60 words.What it does: Produces a sequence that gives value before it asks again, and ends politely.
How to use: Keep the gaps sensible for your context and stop after the third. Five follow-ups reads as a vendetta.
6. Reply Handling
Write short replies to these four outcomes for the same email: not interested, not now, ask me again later, and who are you. Each reply must be under 40 words, leave the door open without being pushy, and be easy to answer. Original email: [paste email].What it does: Prepares the responses that turn a polite no into a future yes.
How to use: Ask for a specific date when someone says “later”, otherwise “later” becomes never.
Common mistakes
- Opening with who you are, which the recipient can read in your signature.
- Asking for a meeting in the first email when a one-line answer would be reasonable.
- Stopping after one email, which is the most common way a good cold email goes unanswered.
Keep going
- Browse the Email prompt library
- 6 Claude prompts for negotiation emails
- 5 ChatGPT prompts for cover letters
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