Jump to content

    Here's How to Cold Email Like a BOSS (including free cold email templates)

    sam-parr-cold-emails-snowman.gif

    It’s Neville here, and I’m about to let my friend Sam Parr take over for a second to show you how to contact anybody...BUT...the reason Sam is such an interesting example is cause he’s a nobody.....

    ....yet he got the founders of all these companies to speak at his conference:

    Pandora, NerdWallet, Coffee Meets Bagel, Teespring, Imgur, General Assembly, Getaround, Tilt, Udemy, Sprig, Mixergy, BackToTheRoots, 500 Startups and more.

    He did this all through cold emails.

    I'm going to let Sam Parr take over this post, and explain exactly how he used cold emails to reach out to major titans of industry and get them to do stuff.

    Here’s Sam! Make sure to bookmark this post or share it with someone it can help, it has some kickass templates you should save for your personal swipe file.

    --- SAM STARTS TALKING HERE --- SAM STARTS TALKING HERE ---

    Sam Parr

    What up friends? This is Sam, the founder of Hustle Con and TheHustle.

    Last August, I wrote a post on Nev’s blog explaining how I hosted a conference made me $40,000 in 7 weeks. You people loved it. So, I thought I’d teach you another cool lesson:

    How to get in touch with influencers.

    In this post, I’ll explain step-by-step the four ways we convince big time founders to speak at Hustle Con. If you follow these steps you’ll be able to connect with pretty much anyone with an email address.

    In fact, we got these founders to speak at HustleCon using these exact emails and methods:

    ....so let me show you exactly how I got all these big-wigs to show up to my conference just with just some cold emails.

    You've got to cold email like a boss!

    In 15 years our kids will be shocked when we say, “back then you could email anyone on earth…and they’d actually respond!”

    A lot of people don’t realize this, but getting in touch with someone via cold email is shockingly easy. I’ve had email convos with Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon), the founder of Twitter, even famous actors…all because of cold emails. Here’s how I do it…

    I’m using Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora, for this example. He's agreed to speak at this year's Hustle Con after a few cold emails.

    tim-westergreen-pandora.png

     

     

    Step 1: Find the person’s email:

    Obviously we have to find the person’s email, right? Most email addresses are pretty simple, but there’s one tool that’ll make the guessing game super easy: Thrust.io

    Thrust is super simple. Enter in your target’s name, what company they work for and watch the magic happen. Thrust uses wizardry and finds your your target’s email:hustlecon-thrust.png

    I just typed in "Tim Westergren, Pandora" and found his email in two seconds.

     

     

     

    Step 2: Craft an irresistible email:

    This is where the Hustle Con team and I really kick ass. We know how to make participating in our conference a no brainer.

    It doesn’t matter what you’re selling, make sure your “ask” clearly shows how it benefits the receiver. If you’ve never studied copywriting before, take Neville’s Copywriting Course. It’s a game changer for cold emails. If you’re too lazy to take it, here’s the summary: no one cares about you…they only care about themselves.

    Here's what I sent Tim along with his response. If you wanna write your own, use the AIDA formula.

     

    Check out the gif we sent Tim. This is our secret touch. We made one for each speaker. They’re pretty easy to make. We took photos of us spelling out “Hey will you speak at Hustle Con?” Then, when we sent an email, we Photoshopped the person’s name on a blank photo:

    hustlcon-gif2.gif

    People loved this photo because it was unique, funny, and showed we took extra time to personally reach out.

     

     

     

    Step 3: Follow up and CLOSE THEM:

    Here’s where winners emerge. Big shots get 100’s of emails a day, so they’ll most likely ignore you. Don’t take it personally. You must follow up. When I was a noob, I thought this was nagging. It’s not. Just make sure to add an easy out.

    Something like “if you’re not interested in this, no sweat…I’m still a fan of your company.”

    As long you’re tasteful, you can send 7 to 10 emails every 5 days without being annoying. Here's how many emails I sent Tim Westergren:

    hustlecon tim emails

    tim-westergren-followup.png

    See, it’s not nagging. Tim responded after three emails!

    I can’t emphasize enough how important following up is. I’ve chatted with the founders of GoPro, Thrillist, Gilt, and Twitter all because I’m constantly following up. Sure, they may not always say yes, but they will remember me.

    Hell, I’ve followed up so much that the founder of Legal Zoom and Honest Co. (aka Jessica Alba’s cofounder) offered me a job:

    hustlecon-hey-brian.png

    And finally, here are three emails that required tons of followup. In fact, I followed up with the founder of Imgur for literally 6 months before he said yes.

    Use your current network for a warm intro:

    Rick Marini, the founder of Branch Out and Tickle, was one of last year’s most accomplished speakers at Hustle Con. He sold Tickle for $100 million, founded one of the fastest growing social networks in the world, and is an extremely successful angel investor....so he gets literally 100’s of emails a day.

    To contact Rick, I used a mutual connection using this 5-step process. Sure, it’s mostly common sense, but you’d be shocked at how many people fail after steps 3, 4, and 5.

    Use your current network for a warm intro.

    Method A: Find your target’s Linkedin account

    rick-marini-linkedin.jpg

    Simple enough, right?

    Use your current network for a warm intro:

    Method B: Find mutual connections

    Next, I scrolled to the bottom of Rick’s profile and see who we had in common. Sweet! Looks like my buddy Joey is LinkedIn buds with with Rick.

    If you don’t have any mutual friends, use this same tactic but on Facebook or skip to the cold email step below:

    hustlecon-connections.jpg

    Use your current network for a warm intro:

    Method C: Write the email FOR your mutual connection

    I asked Joey for the intro, but I made sure to write the majority of the email for him. (Here’s a link to the exact email I wrote for Joey. Feel free to copy)

    Remember, he’s doing me the favor. I should make life as EASY as possible for the person doing the intro. That’s why I write the email for them. Otherwise it’ll never happen.

    And if your friend decides to write a little message, like Joey did for me, your email with the important details is still at the bottom.

    hustlecon-yo-joey.jpg

    This was my initial email to Joey. Assume that your target will see this email, so include all the details:

    hustlecon-hey-rick.jpg

    Joey wrote his own message but kept our original email at the bottom.

     

     

    Step 4: Create a powerful first impression:

    Once you get the opening, respond FAST and hit your mark. I try and respond within 30 minutes, but ideally within 5. Rick is doing me a favor by even talking to me. He’s a successful and busy guy, so he most likely won’t respond first.

    Think of networking or sales like hunting. This is your chance to make a fantastic first impression and get the kill. The goal of this hunt isn’t a deer, but a relationship. And you’re not using a bow and arrow, but kindness, sincerity, promptness, and salesmanship. So basically, be Cupid.

    This is your opening...make it count!

    hustlecon-mister-rick.jpg

    I wanna point out two crucial parts of my message: specifics and writing style.

    You’ll notice that I mentioned how I knew Rick worked at Fisher Scientific years ago. How did I know this?

    Because I watched every

    about Rick. I wanted to make sure he’d be a good fit for the event, but also to better understand my “customer.”

    Before I talk to a potential customer, I read/watch everything about them so I know their wants and personality. If you’re trying to make a sale, make sure to comment about something very specific and meaningful to that person so they know you’re sincere.

    The research isn’t hard to do, it just takes time. Google the person you’re contacting and read everything from pages 1 to 5.

    Yes, some may think it’s strange to tell Rick how much I know about him, but in doing so I prove that I genuinely appreciate him. Basically, I want him to know I’m willing to work hard to get him to come. It’s called the rule of reciprocity.

    The second thing to notice is my writing style. Always remember to write like you speak and know your audience. I wouldn’t say the word “badass” if I emailed a Stanford professor. If you wanna learn more about this, take the Copywriting Course (Nev also spoke at Hustle Con).

     

     

    Step 5: Close:

    The purpose of each step is to move closer and closer to a predetermined goal, which in this case is a phone call.

    Never end an email with “so what time works for you?” Be as specific as possible. This is easier for your customer.

    I suggest ending your ask email with 3 possible times so the person can simply say yes to one and not have search their calendar for a free space. Or, if you get lucky like I was with Rick, your customer will suggest a time:

    hustlecon-suggest-a-time.jpg

    Luckily Rick suggested a time. Our call was fantastic and Rick agreed to participate!

     

     

    Step 6: Send thoughtful gifts:

    Sending a thoughtful gift to a potential client is a pretty bold move, but it has the potential to work wonders.

    My most recent gift-giving campaign was to Noah Kagan, Andrew Warner, and Neville. Neville and Andrew both said yes, but Noah couldn’t make it.

    But who can you send gifts to??

    To send gifts the right way (thoughtfully, tastefully, not creepily), you have to know your audience—even more so than sending cold emails. I suggest only sending gifts to someone you’ve spoken with before or someone who at least knows you exist. This includes:

    • Clients in a similar industry as you.
    • Someone you’ve shared an email exchange with.
    • Mutual friends.
    • Someone with a fun personality.
    • Someone you know has heard of you or your company.

    If your target fits into one of these categories, here’s how you send a gift.

     

     

    Gift-Giving Step 1: Find out what they’re into:

    90% of cold emails, calls, or gifts are completely thoughtless and bland. You’ll really stand out from the crowd if you just take 10 or 20 minutes and stalk your recipient. Find out what they like, want, and how they think. I go about this using a few different methods:

    Constantly listening: Because I’m such a fan of gift-giving, I always keep my ears open for a good gift idea. For example, when Neville spoke at

    he told how much he loves Dave Matthews Band, specifically his live shows.

    So when I asked Neville to speak, it was obvious what kind of gift I should send: a DMB live DVD:

    hustlcon-neville-messages.jpg

    Small gifts really show that you care.

    Use Twitter, Facebook, or their personal blog: What’s amazing about the internet is that wants someone writes something, it’s there forever. This makes stalking crazy easy. I wasn’t personal buds with Noah when I asked him to speak, but I had emailed with him a few times.

    Plus, Noah is super active on Twitter and his blog, so researching what gift to send him wasn’t difficult. I found a post where he wrote about eating healthy, which gave me the idea to send a Magic Bullet for smoothies. I then did a little Google-ing and found another post about how much he loves The Magic Bullet.

    If you notice, the post is 2 years old, and if you’ve ever owned a Magic Bullet you know they don’t last very long. To me this meant that a Magic Bullet was the PERFECT gift...so it’s what I sent him!

    hustlecon-noah-gift.jpg

    Perfect.

     

     

    Gift-Giving Step 2: Write a handwritten note:

    I didn’t realize how powerful handwritten notes were until Andrew Warner of Mixergy sent me a handwritten thank-you card for introducing him to a buddy of mine. It was just a small note, but it made a huge impact on me.

    Here’s the exact letter I wrote back to Andrew when I asked him to participate at Bootstrap Live. I’ve had a lot of success with that letter’s format, so feel free to copy it.

    If you wanna learn more about how I snagged Andrew as a speaker, this post will answer your questions.

     

     

    Gift-Giving Step 3: Find the address:

    This step is obvious, but here’s one extra tip: make sure to send your package to the recipient’s office! Imagine yourself in your recipient’s shoes, opening a flattering handwritten letter and gift in front of coworkers. Feels good, doesn’t it?

     

     

     

    Gift-Giving Step 4: Make sure it looks amazing:

    You’ve picked out a gift, wrote an awesome handwritten letter, and know the end address. Now it’s time to ship it off! But before you do, make sure that your gift looks amazing.

    hustlecon-mixergy-gift.jpg

    Preparing and delivering the package for Andrew Warner of Mixergy.

    I started to see the importance of packaging after reading Steve Job’s biography. I’m not saying you need to package your gift as meticulously as an iPod, but some nice gift wrap, a perfectly fitted box, and a fancy label will make a huge difference.

     

    Free Cold Email Templates

    Cold Email Mail

    [table id=57 /]

    Purpose: Cold email looking for consulting gig

    Subject 1: Need any advice?

    Subject 2: Your LinkedIn profile

    Subject 3: Looking for a consult?

     

     

    Purpose: Cold Email Looking For Freelance Writing Work

    Subject 1: Content Creation

    Subject 2: A writer from your [home town].

    Subject 3: Looking for writing help?

     

     

    Purpose: Cold Email Looking For Freelance Writing Work

    Subject 1: Can I write for your blog?

    Subject 2: Some cool article ideas for you

    Subject 3: You should write about this

    Subject 4: Looking for writing help?

     

     

    Purpose: Cold Email Looking For Freelance Writing Work

    Subject 1: Need writers?

    Subject 2: Need writing help?

    Subject 3: Need an outdoor freelance writer?

    Subject 4: Can I write for Camping World?

     

     

    Purpose: Get sponsors for podcast

    Subject 1: partnership?

    Subject 2: Promoting your brand

    Subject 3: Our listeners would love your product

    Subject 4: Let's partner up.

     

     

    Purpose: Looking for podcast partnerships

     

     

    Purpose: Cold email to promote your podcast

    Subject 1: You're audience would love this podcast

    Subject 2: [Name of person interviewed]

    Subject 3: [Podcast title]

     

     

    Purpose: Sell your product at local businesses

    Subject 1: You're customers would love this podcast

    Subject 2: company name + product = $

    Subject 3: Free sample

     

     

    Purpose: Sell your training program to companies

    Subject 1: Improve your sales

    Subject 2: Sales training

    Subject 3: Could your sales be higher?

     

     

    Purpose: Sell leads to Real Estate agents

    Subject 1: Real Estate Leads

    Subject 2: Save time use my leads

    Subject 3: Need leads?

     

     

    Welp, that’s it ladies and gents. That’s how you get in touch with anyone on earth!

    Sincerely,

    Sam Parr

    P.S. Thanks Neville for letting us guest post! And signup for TheHustle.co to get updates from us!

     


    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    Guest Laura Moreno Cabanillas

    Posted

    Awesome Chi!

    Which Podcast?

    We should connect. I am recording the Growth Hacking podcast.

    Email me pls at lauramorenocabanillas@gmail.com

    Xxx

    Laura

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Nice, hope this technique helps increase your conversions!
    Link to comment
    Guest Chris

    Posted

    If I'm the whale (I'm not) and I got that it would instantly communicate to me that you're guessing. It says so right in the word "assume". Use it if you like I guess. If I'm someone who gets pitched on a constant basis, a line like that would turn me away.
    Link to comment
    Guest james

    Posted

    Loved this. One thing that has worked for me is making sure your subject line sounds like a human. Make it clunky. So that people don't think it is automated.

    And make the request REALLY clear, such as: could I have a Nelville box please ????

    Link to comment

    My brother and I got together this weekend for my mom's birthday and got to talking about our individual projects (me=relationship business, and him=amazon and hardware development). The conversation turned to some new companies we've been watching and the one thing that came up was how everything these companies did was deliberate. EVERYTHING!!!

    It's easy to stand back and blame it on luck or timing, but just like Sam says in the post. You can make it happen as long as you do your homework (understanding your customer) and make it happen (meet the customers needs).

    I am in the process of restructuring the way my "product" is presented (website) so that it meets the needs of my customers. I have been compiling a list of influencers that I can get a hold of so that when I launch I can be deliberate about who helps to push my business to the next level.

    Thanks for the strategies. I'll be sure to save and use them soon.

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Awesome Wade, so glad ya learned something to apply right away :)
    Link to comment
    Guest Chi Odogwu

    Posted

    Andrew - Not without at least 3 prenups when you're dealing with Sam "Hustle-Muscle" Parr
    Link to comment
    Guest Jordie

    Posted

    I have been through the problem of being frightened of repeating e-mails.

    "If I keep e-mailing they will remember my name, how annoying I am, and blacklist me from the community" - what a great false sense of entitlement I have!

    I'm definitely a believer in people don't care about you, they care about them.

    One of my success stories was when I wanted a job for an agency. I noticed they had no head of marketing.

    So i decided to apply....

    I sent my C.V and a cover letter explaining how they didn't have a head of marketing and I how I think they could benefit from it. I then sent them a 10 page pdf with screen grabs from their website listing the a/b tests I would run, why, and what results we'd expect to see if they hired me.

    Turns out they still weren't looking for a head of marketing, but they did hire me on a freelance basis to implement all the A/B tests I suggested.

    I've tried this for other companies as well and haven't heard back, I guess it's time to get over my fear of follow-up!

    Thanks for this article, gave me the little kick I needed!

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Yeah Jordie, just re-send the email as if it never happened!

    I've frequently cleared out my inbox just by "Select All --> Delete", and unless something gets re-sent I'll never see it. Go ahead and do it :)

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Oh yeah it would DEFINITELY turn me away. I like Sam's method of keeping it friendly like:

    "....and if not, no sweat, we still love your company!"

    Link to comment
    Guest Jordan Flynn

    Posted

    I sent this cold email to Noah, Seth Godin and James Altucher.

    James and Noah said yes...

    initially...

    But, then some inexperience on my behalf most likely got me ignored in the long run...

    If noah said it was a "great email" do I get brownie points..?

    On Sun, Dec 14, 2014 at 3:41 PM, jordan flynn wrote:

    Noah, would you consider coming to Australia to join James Altucher to perform a live talk at a tech/business/life skills conference?

    I have listed 5 reasons why you should totally say yes and come out and have a great time!

    1. We have super cool animals. Let's face it.. Australia has some pretty cool wild life.. We have kangaroos, koala bears, emus and Julia guillards.

    2. It's clean. Australia is way under populated and smog doesn't exist. If you came here even for a week who knows what wonders the great aussie air would do to add years onto his life.

    3. I live here. Yeah I live here and who doesn't want to travel 13 hours to visit me. But in all seriousness. I can totally arrange everything if you want to come here and holiday while your down here doing your talk. Being a local I can organise and give my opinion on some super fun things to do.

    4. You will get paid and who doesn't want to get paid while they check out a different country and do cool stuff.

    5. We talk differently and let's face it when we say the world "purple" we sound like 12 year old girls, this may make you laugh.

    There you have it. 5 reasons why you should come here!

    If I could build something and get you an audience would you consider it?

    It will be a business/life/tech event.

    Let me know!

    Jordan

    ----------------------------------------------------

    If anyone wants to read what happened next and if Neville doesn't mind me dropping a stinky linky. I could link to a blog post I wrote a few days ago about my emailing attempts to VIP's for my currently failed tech event.

    It has some good insights and some "not what do do's".

    Any who, great article Sam! and thanks for sharing Nev. I've already forwarded this to my girlfriend to have a read!

    Jordo

    Aka Wanna be pro-cold emailer.

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    Nice!

    However you're asking these people for a MAJOR time and travel commitment, so I'm assuming A LOT is riding on their schedules also :)

    Feel free to drop a link!

    Link to comment
    Guest Chris Von Wilpert

    Posted

    Here's an email I sent to get the owner of Galpin Auto Sports who worked on the cars for PimpMyRide to agree to a podcast interview (hint: lots of name dropping). Hope it helps some people with podcasts...

    Hi Beau

    I'm following up on the email I sent you 2 days ago about having a chat and interview with you for the high performance auto shop site I'm creating.

    I handpicked you after doing online research because I saw you are running a professional shop, have long experience, and above all have PASSION and respect for the customers dream cars you work on!

    Here is an 'All-Star' line-up of just some of the performance experts I've already spoken to:

    - Dave Golder of Hennessey Performance (30,000 square ft facility)

    - Loren Beggs of 911 Design in California (over 20,000 square ft facility)

    - Chris Musante of Musante Motorsports in Connecticut (over 20,000 square ft facility)

    - Dave Smith of Smith Motorworks in Florida (10,000 square ft facility)

    - Frank Beck 'the Daytona Racer' of Beck's European in Arizona

    - Todd Trimble of Trophy Performance in Las Vegas (10,000 square ft facility)

    I would love to have a chat with you regarding your business and feature you in the high performance auto shop interview series I'm creating. If it makes sense to talk, what does your calendar look like?

    Keep up the great work,

    Chris Von Wilpert

    Link to comment
    Guest Neville

    Posted

    It was already sent out! You can search for best comments in the thread Kath!
    Link to comment



    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

    • Join 55,000+ people getting our newsletter

      nev-and-logo-going-into-email (3).gif

      - Get notified of new posts -
      - Get weekly S.W.I.P.E.S. Email -
      - Get a free masterclass in copy -
      - People love our emails, see testimonials -

    ×
    ×
    • Create New...
    Guest