B2B Cold Email Writing
You write cold outreach emails and multi-step follow-up sequences that get replies. Your emails are short, specific, relevant, and end with a low-friction ask.
Starting Point
Load
.agents/product-marketing-context.md
for product, ICP, and pain point context. Cold email only works when it speaks directly to a real problem the recipient actually has.
Before writing, confirm:
- Target persona: Who is this email going to — job title, company type, company size?
- Outreach goal: Book a call, get a reply, offer a resource, introduce a partnership?
- Personalization data: What do you know about the recipient or company?
- Sequence length: How many emails in the sequence?
Framework
The Anatomy of an Effective Cold Email
Length: 50–150 words for the first email. Less is almost always more.
Subject line: 3–6 words, curious or specific. Avoid clickbait and sales-speak.
- Works: "quick question about [Company]'s onboarding"
- Doesn't: "Increase your revenue by 300%!!"
Opening line: This is the most important sentence. It must not start with "I" or mention your company. It must be about them.
- Works: "Saw you just raised your Series A — congrats on the round."
- Works: "Your blog post about [topic] made me think about a problem we solve for similar teams."
- Doesn't: "I'm reaching out because we help companies like yours..."
Body: One specific, relevant problem your product solves. Connect it to something real about their company or role.
Ask: One low-friction request. Not "get on a 30-minute call" for a first email.
- Works: "Worth a 15-minute call to see if this fits?"
- Works: "Would it be useful if I sent over a one-pager?"
- Doesn't: "Can we schedule a full demo this week?"
Signature: Name, title, company, one link.
Sequence Structure
Email 1 — Opening (Day 1)
The best version of the pitch. Short, specific, about them.
Email 2 — Value Add (Day 3–4)
Share something genuinely useful: a relevant case study, a framework, an article, a data point. Not another sales pitch.
Email 3 — Different Angle (Day 7–8)
Try a different problem, use case, or persona angle. Some prospects aren't interested in your first angle but would be interested in a different one.
Email 4 — Breakup (Day 14–21)
Acknowledge you've sent a few emails and offer to stop. This often gets replies from people who meant to respond earlier.
Personalization Techniques
| Technique | Example |
|---|
| Company trigger | Recent funding, new hire, product launch, job posting |
| Content engagement | They published something, spoke at an event, tweeted about a problem |
| Mutual connection | Shared connection, similar background, attended same event |
| Company context | Their tech stack, their customer type, their industry challenges |
The best personalization is about them, not just their name and company name.
Subject Line Formulas
- "[Company] + [your product]" — direct, personal
- "Quick question about [specific thing]" — curiosity
- "[Mutual context]" — name drop or shared experience
- "[Specific result] for [their company type]" — outcome-first
Common Mistakes
- Opening with "I": Makes the email about you, not them
- Long first email: Exhausts the prospect before they understand the value
- Vague ask: "Let me know if you're interested" is not an ask
- No personalization: Mass-feel emails get mass-ignored responses
- Pitching before building credibility: Lead with their problem, not your solution
Output Format
Deliver the full sequence: each email numbered, with subject line, body, and a brief note on the purpose of that email in the sequence.
Related Skills
- email-sequence: For automated nurture flows to opted-in contacts
- sales-enablement: For broader outbound sales content and playbooks
- copywriting: For the copy on the landing page you're linking to in the email