Essay

How to Write a (Successful) Cold DM

Justin Welsh · justinwelsh.me Free Beginner

A short, concrete framework for the actual first message you send someone you don't know: lead with something useful, not with an ask. Directly useful for the part of your launch where you personally message every relevant person you know or want to know.

  • Your first message to a stranger should offer value, not request something.
  • Personalized, specific outreach consistently outperforms generic templates.
  • Selling in the first message is the most common way cold outreach fails.

The question it answers

  1. I'm a solo non-technical founder with no audience. How do I launch when I have zero followers to post to?

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. A short, practical field guide to customer discovery: who to talk to, how to find them, and how many. Pairs perfectly with The... talkingtohumans.com Book · ~80 pages (free PDF available) Talking to Humans Giff Constable
  3. The permission slip to recruit users by hand, do things manually, and deliver 'insanely great' experiences to your first few... paulgraham.com Essay · ~15 min read Do Things That Don't Scale Paul Graham
  4. A YC partner and ex-Airbnb growth lead gives a tactical, no-fluff talk on landing early customers for both B2B and B2C. It's... YC Startup Library Video · ~30 min video How to Get Your First Customers Gustaf Alstromer (Y Combinator)
  5. The definitive talk that reframes launching from a one-shot event into a repeatable tactic, exactly this category's thesis. YC... YC Startup Library Video · ~25 min How to Launch (Again and Again) Kat Manalac (Y Combinator)
  6. The official, primary-source guide straight from Product Hunt, it dispels myths and sets realistic expectations, unlike the sea... Product Hunt Article · guide / multi-page Product Hunt Launch Guide Product Hunt
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