Cold outreach
First messages to someone who has never heard of you. Filter by the role you are writing as, or search for the situation you are in.
10 templates · free · no sign-up
I'm a…
Sending it as…
Your safest default. Works because it proves you actually looked.
Hi [Name], Saw [specific thing — their post, launch, redesign] and it stood out because [one honest reason]. I do [what you do] for [type of company], and [company] looks like the sort of place it would help — usually [concrete outcome]. Worth a quick chat, or shall I send over a couple of examples first? [Your name]
Best when you can name a problem they'd recognise instantly.
Subject: [Their company] + [the problem you solve]
Hi [Name], Most [their role]s I speak to are stuck with [specific, recognisable problem] — usually because [root cause]. We built [product] to fix exactly that. [Similar company] went from [before] to [after] in [timeframe]. If that's on your list this quarter, I can show you in 15 minutes. If it isn't, no hard feelings — just say so and I'll leave you be. [Your name] [Company]
A shared name converts far better than a cold open. Ask them first.
Hi [Name], [Mutual contact] mentioned you're working on [thing] — they thought we should talk. I help [who] with [what]. Most recently [one-line result]. Happy to keep it to 15 minutes if you're curious. [Your name]
Slow to write, high reply rate. Do the work before you ask.
Subject: Three things I'd change on [their page]
Hi [Name], I had a look at [specific page or asset] and wrote down three things I'd change: 1. [Observation and fix] 2. [Observation and fix] 3. [Observation and fix] Take them, they're yours either way. If you'd like the rest, I do this properly for [type of company] — happy to walk you through it. [Your name]
When their inbox is clearly overloaded. Brevity is the whole trick.
Hi [Name] — I help [who] [do what] and I think [company] is a fit. Worth 15 minutes?
Funding, a launch, a new hire, an office move — timing does the work.
Subject: Congrats on [the news]
Hi [Name], Congratulations on [the news] — [one genuine sentence about why it's interesting]. Teams usually hit [specific problem] right after [that event]. If that's where you're heading, [product] handles it, and [similar company] used it through the same stage. Want me to send a short overview? [Your name]
They've advertised the need — skip the introduction and answer it.
Hi [Name], Saw you're looking for [role/help with X]. I've done exactly this for [client type] — [one-line proof, with a number if you have one]. Here are two relevant examples: [link], [link]. Free to start [when]. Want me to put together a short proposal? [Your name]
When you're not sure you've got the right person. Easy to answer.
Subject: Who handles [area] at [company]?
Hi [Name], Quick one — who looks after [area] at [company] these days? We help [type of company] with [outcome], and I'd rather bother the right person than the wrong one. Thanks, [Your name]
Send it the same day, while they still remember your face.
Hi [Name] — good to meet you at [event] today. You mentioned [the thing they said]. I've been chewing on it since; [your quick thought]. Would be good to carry it on properly. Coffee or a call next week? [Your name]
Only send if you know they use it. Guessing wrong is embarrassing.
Subject: Moving off [competitor]?
Hi [Name], Noticed [company] is on [competitor]. Not here to trash it — it's decent at [genuine strength]. The teams that move to us usually do it because of [specific difference that matters]. [Similar company] made the switch in [timeframe] and [result]. If [competitor] is working fine, ignore this. If it isn't, I'll show you the difference in 15 minutes. [Your name]
Nothing matches that
Try a plainer word, or clear the filters above.
Cold outreach fails in predictable ways: the message opens by talking about the sender, it could have been sent to anybody, and it asks for more than a stranger will give. Every template here is built to avoid those three.
The structure that works is consistent across channels and industries. Something specific about the reader, one line on what you do phrased as an outcome, a reason the two connect, and a single easy question. Keep it short enough to read on a phone without scrolling, because that is where most of these are opened. If a message needs three paragraphs of context before the point arrives, the point will not arrive.
The openers here fall into four families. A specific observation works when you can see something concrete about their business. A named problem works when you sell to a role whose pain you can describe accurately. A trigger event — funding, a launch, a job advert — works when timing is the strongest signal you have. And a mutual connection works better than all of them when you have one.
Pick by what you actually know rather than by what sounds best. A trigger-event email sent without a trigger reads as a guess, and readers notice. If you know nothing at all about the recipient beyond their job title, the honest options are the short two-line message or the routing question asking who owns the area.
One genuinely specific line is enough. A researched dossier is not necessary and rarely improves the reply rate beyond what a single concrete observation achieves.
The efficient shape is a fixed message with one variable sentence at the top. Your description of what you do does not change between prospects, so write it once. The specific line takes two minutes to find: a recent post, a change on their site, a job advert, a competitor they have started mentioning. What does not work is inserting a company name into a generic sentence, because readers have seen that pattern thousands of times and it now signals automation rather than attention.
Two follow-ups is the sensible ceiling for cold outreach. Once after three or four working days, once more a week later, then stop. Most replies arrive on the second or third touch, so a single message wastes the effort already spent, but a fourth buys almost nothing.
Each follow-up should add something rather than repeat. A relevant result, an answer to an objection they did not voice, a change worth noting. The message announcing you will stop chasing often outperforms the ones before it, because it removes the pressure. Send it, mean it, and revisit in three to six months instead of continuing.
Direct messages suit people who are active on the platform and work that is visual or personal. Email suits anything aimed at a company rather than an individual, because it can be forwarded internally to whoever holds the budget.
Length should follow the channel. Under eighty words for a DM, under about 120 for an email. One practical approach is to send the short version wherever they are most active and offer to send detail by email, which turns the mismatch into a question they can answer with a yes. A request for more information is a much warmer starting point than a pitch.
Some prospects are not worth a message, and recognising them saves more time than any template. If you cannot write one specific sentence about their business after a couple of minutes, that usually means you cannot help them specifically either.
The same applies to lists. Ten well-chosen recipients a day beats a hundred generic ones, keeps you out of spam filters, and gives you honest data about what is working. Cold outreach mostly fails not because the writing is poor but because it is done in panicked bursts when work dries up, which is exactly when the desperation shows.
Reply quickly and match their energy. A one-line response deserves a short answer rather than four paragraphs of relief. The job of the second message is only to work out whether there is a real problem worth solving.
Resist quoting a price straight away. You do not yet know the scope, and a number given early anchors everything after it. Ask what they have tried, what the deadline looks like, and what happens if nothing changes. If the answer is that the timing is wrong, take it at face value, ask when to come back, and actually come back. More opportunities are lost to poor follow-through after a warm reply than to weak outreach.
