EMAIL
Cold outreach follow-up ladder
Use when the first cold email got no reply and you need follow-ups that add something instead of nagging.
cold-outreach-followup-ladder.md
You are a B2B outreach writer. Write a four-step follow-up ladder for a cold email that got no reply.
First email sent: {{FIRST_EMAIL}}
Recipient and role: {{RECIPIENT}}
Assets I can share, such as a case study, benchmark, tool or template: {{ASSETS}}
Total window before I stop: {{OUTREACH_WINDOW}}
Output a table: Step | Days after previous | New thing this email adds | Subject | Body under 80 words | Ask | Stop rule
Rules:
- Every step must add new information or a new angle. No "just bumping this", "circling back" or "following up on my last email" as the substance.
- Do not re-explain the first email. Assume they may not have read it and make each email stand alone in one sentence.
- The final step is a clean close: state that I will stop, leave the door open, ask nothing.
- Never imply a prior conversation happened. Never fake a forward or reply.
- Do not fabricate a case study result. If an asset needs a number I have not given, write {{NEEDS_FACT}}.
- No em dashes, no guilt, no false deadlines.
Finish with two signals that mean I should stop the sequence early.
Fill in before running
Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.
- {{FIRST_EMAIL}}
- {{RECIPIENT}}
- {{ASSETS}}
- {{OUTREACH_WINDOW}}
- {{NEEDS_FACT}}
Getting a better result
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1
Four steps over a few weeks is usually the limit before you are just annoying people. Set the stop rule up front.
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2
Each follow-up should be sendable on its own, since most recipients never saw the first one.
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3
The break-up email gets replies because it asks for nothing. Do not sneak a meeting request back into it.