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    The Art of Cold Emailing 1617646325

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    Amit Khurana
    The document provides tips for writing effective cold emails. It discusses things like using a personalized subject line, greeting the recipient by name, clearly stating the purpose upfront, establishing relevance to the recipient, precisely asking what you want, following up if no response, and keeping emails authentic and human. The key is to communicate rather than impress and always ask because the answer is no if you don't ask.

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    The Art of Cold Emailing 1617646325

    Uploaded by

    Amit Khurana
    18 views26 pages
    The document provides tips for writing effective cold emails. It discusses things like using a personalized subject line, greeting the recipient by name, clearly stating the purpose upfront, establishing relevance to the recipient, precisely asking what you want, following up if no response, and keeping emails authentic and human. The key is to communicate rather than impress and always ask because the answer is no if you don't ask.

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    The document provides tips for writing effective cold emails. It discusses things like using a personalized subject line, greeting the recipient by name, clearly stating the purpose upfront, establishing relevance to the recipient, precisely asking what you want, following up if no response, and keeping emails authentic and human. The key is to communicate rather than impress and always ask because the answer is no if you don't ask.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    18 views26 pages

    The Art of Cold Emailing 1617646325

    Uploaded by

    Amit Khurana
    The document provides tips for writing effective cold emails. It discusses things like using a personalized subject line, greeting the recipient by name, clearly stating the purpose upfront, establishing relevance to the recipient, precisely asking what you want, following up if no response, and keeping emails authentic and human. The key is to communicate rather than impress and always ask because the answer is no if you don't ask.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 26

    Cold emailing is the act of sending an email

    (or a DM) to someone who doesn’t know you


    (hence the word, cold!)

    Every day I get 300+ emails, most from those


    I do not know, and a shocking number of
    them are poorly written.

    Here are 10 things that work for emails that I


    reply to
    1. A different (but not aggressive) subject line

    Ask yourself, what is the most likely subject


    line that EVERYONE will tend to write.
    And then DO NOT write that.

    What works?
    Personalization (I think Vidur and Uzma will
    love this)
    Intrigue (This is when I first saw you)
    What doesn’t work?
    Common themes (Seeking investment; Job
    application)
    Aggression (Your content sucks - true story
    btw. It was used only to catch attention)
    Buzzwords (AI/ML startup by Stanford
    founder)
    2. The salutation

    It is crazy how this small thing is so


    impactful.
    How do you start your email?

    Hi Ankur / Hey Ankur / Good Morning Ankur /


    Dear Mr. Warikoo etc

    Adding harmless emoticons helps (Smiling


    face with smiling eyes)
    The worst ones?

    Dear Sir/Ma’am (ridiculous how many of


    these I get everyday)
    Hi (that’s it! Nothing else. Just a hi!)
    Wasssup bro (I am not your bro!)
    Guru Ji (please!)

    The idea is to strike a warm connect over a


    medium where your words are reflecting your
    emotions.
    3. The purpose

    Assuming you are writing to someone busy,


    you do them a world of good when you state
    the purpose of the email right upfront.

    This way, they know what you want from


    them.

    It is critical you do not dilly-dally in the


    purpose. That just makes it hard to decipher.
    Worst ones?
    This is for a potential collaboration that we
    wish to explore (loose af)
    Trying to explore synergies
    Want to see where I can fit in the team

    Good ones?
    I want to show the progress of my startup,
    current traction and see if you would be
    interested to invest?

    Simple!
    4. Relevance
    This is the crux of the conversation where the
    best emails establish relevance.
    This requires homework, research and
    customization.

    Which is why, you cannot, by definition, send


    more than 3-5 cold emails a day.
    Anything more and you are most likely doing
    it wrong.
    You have to, in this section, find
    Sender-Receiver-Fit (SRF)

    You as the sender, have something to offer or


    ask, that fits what the receiver is seeking or
    willing to offer.

    When you do not get a reply, it is because


    there was no SRF.
    5. The ask

    Post attempting SRF, you ask.


    Clearly and precisely.

    Mistakes people often make?


    1. Assume on behalf of the receiver (oh, this
    must not be imp for them)
    2. Ask broadly (I am looking for guidance!)
    3. Not ask at all (hoping to hear from you)
    6. Follow up

    This is where most people fail. They take no


    response as rejection. While in most cases, it
    may simply be lack of priority.

    Always follow up - once.


    And in the follow up ask, specify your next
    step...
    “To make it easy for you, in case I do not hear
    back, I will assume this isn’t priority right now.
    I respect that.”

    “In case I do not hear back, I hope it is fine


    that I check back in x. Please let me know if
    you would much rather not hear from me.”
    7. Myths about cold emailing
    It is about how good your English is.
    NO!

    It is not about your grasp over the English


    language.
    Establish your comfort.
    The key is to communicate, not to impress.
    8. Myths about cold emailing

    Cold emailing doesn’t work.

    No!
    Cold emailing works.
    I have made it work for myself and on a daily
    basis I hear from people who have created
    opportunities simply by sending an email.

    Remember, if you do not ask, the answer is


    always no.
    9. Use cases which work the best

    Hiring
    Send emails to the hiring manager, not to HR.
    They need the candidate more than HR.

    Mentoring
    Send emails to those who could help you in
    life, through their experiences.

    Feedback
    To solicit views on how you are doing, what
    you are doing
    10. The golden tip

    The best cold emails I have got have one


    thing in common

    They are authentic (you can make out from


    the way the email is written. For instance, no
    one uses the phrase “any inconvenience
    caused is deeply regretted” in real life)

    They sound human!


    For all those in your 20s, use cold emails to
    create opportunities that you didn’t know
    existed for you. This is your exploration tool.

    For those in your 30s, use cold emails to build


    a network that builds on your identified
    strengths.
    And always remember life’s simple truth

    If you do not ask, the answer is always no.


    Sample of a poor email
    Poor email. I know it’s just a 18YO and I would
    frankly reply to this email too, but it is an
    example of an email that will not have a high
    response rate.
    Extremely poor email
    Good cold emails I would (and have)
    respond to
    and some more
    And one of my favorite cold emails of all
    times :)) This goes out to one of my favorite
    thinkers, Kunal Shah

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