Article

The Best Email Scripts for Cold-Emailing

Benjamin Todd · 80,000 Hours Free Beginner

This collection was built for asking strangers for small favors like introductions and advice, which is a gentler version of the same skill a founder needs for a cold ask. The scripts are short, specific, and easy to adapt, and they're a good model for the low-friction, single-ask ending your own email needs.

  • Keep the ask small and specific, a single question beats an open-ended one
  • State plainly how you found the person and why you're writing to them
  • Make it easy to say no, it paradoxically makes people more likely to say yes
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It answers 2 questions

  1. How do I write a cold email that people actually reply to?
  2. What should my very first cold email subject line actually say?

Read with it

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