cold-email-writer

---
name: cold-email-writer
description: Write a cold email sequence that earns a reply from someone who has never heard of the sender.
---

# Get a reply from someone who has never heard of you

A 50-90 word email on one real fact about them, follow-ups, a breakup, all scored first.

## Claude does

1. Ask for: recipient (name, role, company, seniority); what you know about them and where; the sender's offer as the buyer's outcome; why now; one proof point with source or "none", vague claims count as none; link or not; working folder. Guess nothing.
2. Pick one signal, in order: trigger event, mutual connection, their content, company initiative, role pain. Specific, dated, sourced, tied to a business problem. No signal, no email: say so, stop.
3. Framework: Do the Math (calculable cost), Ask Before Pitch (problem uncertain), Challenge of Similar Companies (named customer), Before/After (clear outcome), Neutral Insight (thin research).
4. Set one ask per email, answerable in five words ("Worth a look?") or an offer, never a meeting.
5. Plan 4-6 emails over 14-28 days, gaps widening (Day 1, 4, 9, 16, 25), breakup last; one or two people per company.

## Then Codex does

Bulk drafting to a fixed spec: Codex writes email 1 in two lengths, every follow-up, subjects, cut pass, counts. Fill in CODEX.md's {RECIPIENT}, {SIGNAL}, {PROBLEM}, {WHAT_YOU_DO}, {PROOF}, {FRAMEWORK}, {ASK}, {SEQUENCE}, {SENDER}, {LINK}, {OUTPUT_FOLDER}, then run:

```
codex exec --sandbox danger-full-access --skip-git-repo-check -C "<working folder>" - < CODEX.md
```

Read it before showing anything.

## Claude checks

1. Count words yourself: A 50-90, B 25-50, follow-ups 1-2 sentences.
2. Delete paragraph one; if it still reads fine, personalisation is decoration: reject.
3. Every fact traces to an input, proof word for word; every rule below holds.
4. Read aloud under 20 seconds: would you reply? Score 0-100; 85 ships, under 70 starts over. Failures go under "Fix these" in CODEX.md; rerun, never patch by hand.

## Rules

- Never "I hope this finds you well", "I wanted to reach out", "My name is", "I'd love to", "thoughts?", "never heard back", "just checking in", "following up", "one more thought", "let me know your thoughts", "leverage", "synergy", "ROI", "best-in-class", "leading provider", exclamation marks or bullets.
- No fake personalisation (merge tags, "I came across your profile", empty "loved your post", alma mater trivia); no pitch in email 1 (feature lists, several value props).
- Subjects 2-4 words, lowercase, internal-looking; never Title Case, numbers, company name, first name, emojis, urgency, fake Re:, question marks, "quick question", "curious" or empty.
- Plain text only, under 100 words, no attachments; one link at most, only if asked.
- Send the sequence; follow-ups stand alone, never repeat a failed angle; stop after six touches.
- No invented proof or facts; promise no reply rate, vendor figures are claims.
- Read it aloud; if it sounds like a company, rewrite. Two versions of email 1, recommend the shorter. No observation, no email: say so.

## If Codex is not installed

Claude does Codex's part to its spec and says so.

## Built from

- coreyhaines31/marketingskills: https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/cold-email/SKILL.md (46,908 stars)
- alirezarezvani/claude-skills: https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/blob/main/marketing-skill/skills/cold-email/SKILL.md (25,542 stars)
- anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins: https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/sales/skills/draft-outreach/SKILL.md (23,876 stars)
- growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills: https://github.com/growthenginenowoslawski/coldoutboundskills/blob/main/skills/campaign-copywriting/SKILL.md (680 stars)
- Cold-IQ/ColdIQ-s-GTM-Skills: https://github.com/Cold-IQ/ColdIQ-s-GTM-Skills/blob/main/master-skills/cold-email/.claude/skills/first-touch/SKILL.md (269 stars)
- 30MPC x Gong data report: https://tactics.30mpc.com/hubfs/The%20Ultimate%20Cold%20Email%20Data%20Report-1.pdf (85M+ emails)

# Get a reply from someone who has never heard of you - Codex task

Draft a cold email sequence whose only job is a reply.

## You are given

- {RECIPIENT}: name, role, company, seniority.
- {SIGNAL}: a dated, sourced fact about them; use as written.
- {PROBLEM}: the business problem behind the signal.
- {WHAT_YOU_DO}: the sender's offer as the buyer's outcome.
- {PROOF}: a sourced result or named customer, or "none"; quote exactly or omit.
- {FRAMEWORK}: Do the Math (signal as cost calculation), Ask Before Pitch (one question, no pitch), Challenge of Similar Companies (peers' struggle, then the customer), Before/After (today, then after), Neutral Insight (one observation, no pitch).
- {ASK}: closing question, answerable in five words.
- {SEQUENCE}: follow-up day numbers; the last is the breakup.
- {SENDER}, {LINK} ("none" allowed), {OUTPUT_FOLDER}.
- Fix these: blank unless rerunning, then the exact failures to correct.

## Produce

One file per recipient, {OUTPUT_FOLDER}/cold-email-<surname>.md, containing:

1. Email 1, Version A: 50-90 words (C-suite: 3-4 sentences), shaped by {FRAMEWORK}, in order: {SIGNAL} into {PROBLEM} in you/your language; {WHAT_YOU_DO}; {PROOF} in one sentence if given; {ASK}. Signed {SENDER}.
2. Version B: the same at 25-50 words.
3. One follow-up per {SEQUENCE} day, headed "Day N": 1-2 sentences, standing alone, ending in one interest question, rotating angles: save time, make money, save money, new proof, different pain, referral. Breakup: 2-3 sentences: you will stop; who should this have gone to?
4. A subject per email: 2-4 words, lowercase, internal-looking ("hiring ops").
5. Cut pass on every draft: 20% fluff, 15% clauses, 10% adjectives; record before/after word counts.

## Rules

- Plain text, no HTML, bold, images, bullets or attachments; {LINK} once at most, only if given.
- Contractions, no exclamation marks, three sentences about them per one about the sender.
- Banned: "I hope this finds you well", "I wanted to reach out", "My name is", "I came across your profile", "loved your post", "I'd love to", "quick question", "curious", "thoughts?", "just checking in", "following up", "never heard back", "one more thought", "let me know your thoughts", "leverage", "synergy", "ROI", "best-in-class", "leading provider".
- Subjects: no first name, company name, numbers, emojis, urgency, Re:/Fwd:, question marks or Title Case.
- One CTA per email, never a meeting.
- Follow-ups never mention earlier emails or reuse an angle.
- Invent nothing; an input you cannot use as written is left out and reported.
- Read aloud; rewrite what sounds like a company.

## Return

Print:

- File path(s).
- Per email: subject, word count, sentence count, them-to-sender ratio, banned phrases found.
- Cut-pass words before and after.
- What "Fix these" changed; any input left out, and why.