Article · 8 min read

How To Get A 35% Cold Email Response Rate Without Selling Your Soul

Josh Braun Free Intermediate

Braun's four-sentence formula (proof you did your homework, the specific problem you think they have, a sliver of social proof, a humble ask) is the clearest short structure we found for turning research into a message instead of a pitch. It is built around starting a conversation, not closing a deal, which is exactly the tiny-ask posture our answer argues for.

  • Open with a line only this recipient could receive, proving you did the research
  • Name the specific problem you think they have before you mention your product
  • End with a small, low-friction ask like a reaction, not a meeting request
Open on joshbraun.com ↗

It answers 5 questions

  1. Cold email or cold LinkedIn/DM, what works better for reaching first customers?
  2. What tools should I use to send and track cold outreach without spamming?
  3. What's a good response rate for cold email, and how do I know if mine is broken?
  4. How do I write cold emails and LinkedIn messages that founders actually get replies to?
  5. How do I cold email people at big enterprises when I'm a small unknown startup from outside the major hubs?

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