Aleksandr Volodarsky's Twitter Thread

Cold emailing changed my life. I made friends with founders I won't have met otherwise, made partnerships that bring us millions, and sold to clients who have never heard about us. I've curated the best advice on how to write a killer cold email:

1/ "Stalk, then talk" - @thesamparr Your chances of receiving a reply will increase if you try not to appear as a stranger. So, before emailing, interact with the person on social media: like their posts, leave comments, or provide product/content feedback through DMs.

2/ "Break the ice" - @tobydoyhowell Visit their site & social media to find what resonates with them: • Fav book • Current obsession • Lesser-known detail about them Mention any of the above in the intro to connect with them. Or laud their work/address common interests.

3/ "Be super clear on who you are" - @sriramk Address who you are and why you're worth paying attention to (credibility). Two ways to do this: • Share what you’ve built & achieved with social proof. • Talk about your credentials (companies you worked at and roles you had).

4/ "Personalize. Pain point. Pitch" - @harrydry Make the email about them, not you. Show how you'll either save them money/time or help them avoid stress/make money. Give to receive.

Few things you can do: • If you're pitching a service, provide a detailed plan of how you'll help. • If you're seeking a job, share how you'll grow the company in the next 90 days. • If you want to network, show why they should agree.

5/ "Reverse engineer your offer for the CTA" - @andrehaykaljr Ensure your ask is specific and can be answered with "yes/no." Don't ask something that will make them reply later (later means never). Tip: Write your outcome, and turn it into a yes/no question. Example:

If you want an interview, ask, "Can you chat on Monday at 3 pm?" If you want to meet, ask, "Are you willing for a 15-min coffee on Thursday at 5 pm?" The trick is to be ultra-specific, making it easy to respond, and keeping it low-friction "(15 min vs 60 min)

6/ "Follow-up to show you care" - @sivers You're emailing a busy person. There's a high chance they'll miss your first email. So, follow up every T+2, T+5, and T+7 days. You'll show you care and receive 40-50% more responses.

7/ "Add social proof" - @SahilBloom Infuse credentials or social proof—i.e. reasons the person should take you seriously. Don't be humble—let it shine. What have you done that is interesting or notable? Who has engaged? Show them they would be crazy to ignore your email.

8/ "Create a curiosity gap in the subject line" - @ShaanVP Give a hint to your reader of what's to come without giving all the answers. Example: "The 5 ways to grow your revenue by $1M in the next 60 days." The reader will think, "What are those 5 ways? I want to know"

@ShaanVP If I have to write a high-stakes cold email, I come back to this email by @safwaankay to @ShaanVP to prep. Btw, blocked by @safwaankay. Never spoke to a guy 🤷‍♂️

@ShaanVP @safwaankay Another example that I love is an email from @david_perell to @tylercowen

@ShaanVP @safwaankay @david_perell @tylercowen That's the wrap. If you liked this thread: 1. Follow @volodarik. I share everything about growing my company to $100m/y. 2. RT the tweet below to share this thread with your audience.

I report on conpany progress here

And of you a rebuilding something and boring developers, send me a DM. I run a marketplace of vetted engineers in Europe and LatAm and am happy to give a discount.

@volodarik Brilliant. Thanks for including me in this gem.

@SahilBloom Your whole thread on cold email was amazing

@volodarik Agreed. If 80% of your recruiting, sales, marketing, fundraising leads don’t come from outbound then you are doing it wrong

@adcock_brett 100% agree

@volodarik Love that framework of "stalk, then talk" LOL Honestly, great tips here. I gotta start doing more of this!

@AliTheCFO Thanks, Ali

@volodarik You’re killing it!

@EyalToledano Thank you, Eyal!

@volodarik This is a fantastic curation

@barrettjoneill Thank you

@volodarik I love how specific this is, and the actual cold email examples! Here's a video of this great thread.