Cold email that shows you did the homework

Four sentences, one specific observation, one easy yes.

Freelancers and small teams reaching out to companies they'd love to work with.outreachemailprospecting

Write a cold email that a busy person would actually answer.

Who I'm writing to: <name, role, company>
What I noticed about them (paste what you found: a post, a job ad, a page, a product change): <paste>
What I do, in one sentence: <your offer>
One relevant thing I've done, with a real detail: <e.g. built X for a company like theirs; no invented results>
What I want from this email: <a 15-minute call / a reply / permission to send something>

Write 3 versions, each under 70 words:
1. Observation first: open with the specific thing I noticed and connect it to a problem I solve.
2. Question first: open with one sharp question about their situation.
3. Straight: who I am, why them, one ask. No warm-up.

Rules: no "I hope this finds you well", no flattery, no "quick question" in the subject, no claims I didn't give you. One ask per email, phrased so "no" is easy too.
Then write 4 subject lines under 6 words, lowercase, specific.

Replace every <placeholder> with your own details before you send it.

How to use it

1Spend five minutes on their site or LinkedIn and paste what you found. The email is only as good as the observation.
2Send the 60-word version. Long cold emails get skimmed and deleted.
3Track replies for 20 emails before changing the template.

Reviewed 2026-09-20

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