The art of cold emailing

A thread...

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 (😊)
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 not about your grasp over the English language.
Establish your comfort.
The key is to communicate, not to impress.
8. Myths about cold emailing

It doesn’t work

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.
If you liked this thread, please do yourself a favor and send a well researched cold email today to someone.

And retweet this thread, so that it reaches others :)

More from Ankur Warikoo

More from Life lessons

You May Also Like

Funny, before the election I recall lefties muttering the caravan must have been a Trump setup because it made the open borders crowd look so bad. Why would the pro-migrant crowd engineer a crisis that played into Trump's hands? THIS is why. THESE are the "optics" they wanted.


This media manipulation effort was inspired by the success of the "kids in cages" freakout, a 100% Stalinist propaganda drive that required people to forget about Obama putting migrant children in cells. It worked, so now they want pics of Trump "gassing children on the border."

There's a heavy air of Pallywood around the whole thing as well. If the Palestinians can stage huge theatrical performances of victimhood with the willing cooperation of Western media, why shouldn't the migrant caravan organizers expect the same?

It's business as usual for Anarchy, Inc. - the worldwide shredding of national sovereignty to increase the power of transnational organizations and left-wing ideology. Many in the media are true believers. Others just cannot resist the narrative of "change" and "social justice."

The product sold by Anarchy, Inc. is victimhood. It always boils down to the same formula: once the existing order can be painted as oppressors and children as their victims, chaos wins and order loses. Look at the lefties shrieking in unison about "Trump gassing children" today.
दधीचि ऋषि को मनाही थी कि वह अश्विनी कुमारों को किसी भी अवस्था में ब्रह्मविद्या का उपदेश नहीं दें। ये आदेश देवराज इन्द्र का था।वह नहीं चाहते थे कि उनके सिंहासन को प्रत्यक्ष या परोक्ष रुप से कोई भी खतरा हो।मगर जब अश्विनी कुमारों ने सहृदय प्रार्थना की तो महर्षि सहर्ष मान गए।


और उन्होनें ब्रह्मविद्या का ज्ञान अश्विनि कुमारों को दे दिया। गुप्तचरों के माध्यम से जब खबर इन्द्रदेव तक पहुंची तो वे क्रोध में खड़ग ले कर गए और महर्षि दधीचि का सर धड़ से अलग कर दिया।मगर अश्विनी कुमार भी कहां चुप बैठने वाले थे।उन्होने तुरंत एक अश्व का सिर महर्षि के धड़ पे...


...प्रत्यारोपित कर उन्हें जीवित रख लिया।उस दिन के पश्चात महर्षि दधीचि अश्वशिरा भी कहलाए जाने लगे।अब आगे सुनिये की किस प्रकार महर्षि दधीचि का सर काटने वाले इन्द्र कैसे अपनी रक्षा हेतु उनके आगे गिड़गिड़ाए ।

एक बार देवराज इन्द्र अपनी सभा में बैठे थे, तो उन्हे खुद पर अभिमान हो आया।


वे सोचने लगे कि हम तीनों लोकों के स्वामी हैं। ब्राह्मण हमें यज्ञ में आहुति देते हैं और हमारी उपासना करते हैं। फिर हम सामान्य ब्राह्मण बृहस्पति से क्यों डरते हैं ?उनके आने पर क्यों खड़े हो जाते हैं?वे तो हमारी जीविका से पलते हैं। देवर्षि बृहस्पति देवताओं के गुरु थे।

अभिमान के कारण ऋषि बृहस्पति के पधारने पर न तो इन्द्र ही खड़े हुए और न ही अन्य देवों को खड़े होने दिया।देवगुरु बृहस्पति इन्द्र का ये कठोर दुर्व्यवहार देख कर चुप चाप वहां से लौट गए।कुछ देर पश्चात जब देवराज का मद उतरा तो उन्हे अपनी गलती का एहसास हुआ।
THE MEANING, SIGNIFICANCE AND HISTORY OF SWASTIK

The Swastik is a geometrical figure and an ancient religious icon. Swastik has been Sanatan Dharma’s symbol of auspiciousness – mangalya since time immemorial.


The name swastika comes from Sanskrit (Devanagari: स्वस्तिक, pronounced: swastik) &denotes “conducive to wellbeing or auspicious”.
The word Swastik has a definite etymological origin in Sanskrit. It is derived from the roots su – meaning “well or auspicious” & as meaning “being”.


"सु अस्ति येन तत स्वस्तिकं"
Swastik is de symbol through which everything auspicios occurs

Scholars believe word’s origin in Vedas,known as Swasti mantra;

"🕉स्वस्ति ना इन्द्रो वृधश्रवाहा
स्वस्ति ना पूषा विश्ववेदाहा
स्वस्तिनास्तरक्ष्यो अरिश्तनेमिही
स्वस्तिनो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु"


It translates to," O famed Indra, redeem us. O Pusha, the beholder of all knowledge, redeem us. Redeem us O Garudji, of limitless speed and O Bruhaspati, redeem us".

SWASTIK’s COSMIC ORIGIN

The Swastika represents the living creation in the whole Cosmos.


Hindu astronomers divide the ecliptic circle of cosmos in 27 divisions called
https://t.co/sLeuV1R2eQ this manner a cross forms in 4 directions in the celestial sky. At centre of this cross is Dhruva(Polestar). In a line from Dhruva, the stars known as Saptarishi can be observed.