Cold Outreach Email Framework
A prompt for short, relevant cold emails that read like a person wrote them. It forces the structure that tends to get replies: a specific observation, one relevant value point and a low-friction ask.
Personalization is the input, not the model's job. You provide real facts about the prospect and the model turns them into tight copy.
Prompt template
Write a cold email under 90 words. Sender: [YOUR NAME, ROLE, COMPANY] Prospect: [NAME, ROLE, COMPANY] Specific observation about them: [REAL FACT] Their likely problem: [PROBLEM] Our relevant result: [ONE PROOF POINT WITH A NUMBER] Structure: 1) the observation, 2) the problem and our proof point, 3) a soft question asking if it is worth a look. Rules: no buzzwords, no exclamation marks, no "hope this finds you well". Give 3 subject lines and 2 versions of the email.
Example input
Sender: Sam, founder, Cuelara Prospect: Priya, Head of AI, Lumen Health Observation: Lumen's engineering blog mentions rising LLM costs Problem: token spend growing faster than usage Proof point: cut a customer's prompt tokens by 38%
Example output
Subject: Lumen's LLM costs Hi Priya, your engineering blog mentioned LLM spend rising faster than usage. We helped a similar team cut prompt tokens by 38% without changing output quality. Worth a quick look at how? Sam
When to use it
- Outbound sales and partnership outreach
- Founder-led early customer discovery
- Recruiting and investor introductions
- Generating variants to test opening lines
Best practices
- Supply one true, specific fact about the prospect.
- Keep it under 90 words and end with a question.
- Ask for interest, not a 30-minute meeting.
- Generate several openers and pick the most natural.
Common mistakes
- Fake personalization ("Loved your recent post!") with no detail.
- Pitching features instead of the prospect's problem.
- Long emails with several links and asks.
FAQs
How long should a cold email be?
Under 100 words. Short emails are easier to answer.
Is AI-personalized outreach spam?
It is spam if it is generic. Real, specific relevance and a respectful ask keep it useful.
How do I improve reply rates?
Test one variable at a time: subject line, opener or call to action.