cold-outreach-sequence

---
name: cold-outreach-sequence
description: Generate multi-touch cold outreach sequences — email + LinkedIn multichannel, signal-based personalization, widening gap timing. Full campaign where each touch has a distinct job.
category: workflow
tags: [cold-email, outreach, sequence, sales, follow-up, linkedin, multichannel]
author: tushaarmehtaa
---

Generate complete multi-touch outreach sequences. Not one email — a campaign where each touch has a different angle, a specific send day, and a clear job. Use `/cold-email` for single emails. Use this when one email isn't enough.

2026 baseline: average cold email reply rate is 3.43%. Signal-based multichannel sequences (email + LinkedIn) hit 15–25%. The gap is personalization and channels.

## Before Writing Anything

Gather this — ask for anything missing:

1. **Target** — Role, company type, industry. Specific beats general.
2. **Offer** — What you're proposing. One sentence.
3. **Credibility** — Numbers, notable clients, specific results.
4. **Goal** — Meeting, demo, partnership, intro, advice?
5. **Asset** — Demo link, one-pager, case study, free tool? (goes in Touch 4)
6. **Channel** — Email-only or LinkedIn + email? (default: multichannel)
7. **Prospect type** — SMB (14–21 days, 4–5 touches) or Enterprise (45–60 days, 6–8 touches)?

## Research Before Drafting

Five minutes of research before writing increases reply rates 3–5x over templates. Find a signal — something real that happened recently.

**Tier 1 signals (18–25% reply rates when referenced):**
- New job / role change in last 30 days
- Recent funding round
- Hiring surge in a relevant function
- Product launch or major announcement

**Tier 2 signals (8–15% reply rates):**
- Recent LinkedIn post about a problem your offer solves
- Company press mention or award
- Competitor move that creates urgency

**Tier 3 signals (3–5% reply rates — only if nothing else exists):**
- General industry trend
- LinkedIn activity (likes, comments)

Stacking two signals pushes reply rates to 25–40%. A Tier 1 + Tier 2 combo is the target.

Where to look:
- LinkedIn: recent post, new role, company milestone
- Their company blog or newsroom
- Crunchbase: recent funding
- Job postings: what they're hiring tells you what they're building
- Twitter/X: recent problem they've articulated

---

## The Two Sequence Structures

### Multichannel SMB (5 touches, 14 days)

| Touch | Day | Channel | Job | Max Length |
|-------|-----|---------|-----|-----------|
| 1 | 1 | LinkedIn | Connection request — no pitch | 300 chars |
| 2 | 3 | LinkedIn | Engage — like or comment on a recent post | (no message) |
| 3 | 4 | Email | Signal-anchored opener + ask | 60 words |
| 4 | 8 | Email | Give value, ask nothing | 40 words |
| 5 | 14 | Email | Breakup | 25 words |

### Email-Only (5 touches, 18 days)

| Touch | Day | Job | Max Length |
|-------|-----|-----|-----------|
| Email 1 | 1 | Signal hook + credibility + ask | 60 words |
| Email 2 | 3 | Bump — no repitch | 25 words |
| Email 3 | 7 | Give value, ask nothing | 40 words |
| Email 4 | 12 | Social proof — specific result | 45 words |
| Email 5 | 18 | Breakup — clean exit | 25 words |

**Gap logic:** Widen gaps as the sequence progresses. Day 1 → 3 → 7 → 12 → 18. Fixed-interval sequences look automated.

**Send time:** Tuesday–Thursday, 9–11 AM prospect's timezone. Avoid Monday morning and Friday afternoon.

---

## The Rules That Don't Move

**Subject lines:**
- Touch 1 email: Short, specific. References the signal.
- All follow-ups: `Re: [original subject]` — stay in thread. Never break it.
- Never: "Following up", "Checking in", "Touching base", "Just wanted to"

**Length:**
- 50–75 words is the sweet spot for Email 1 (2026 benchmark data)
- Follow-ups: 25–40 words
- Breakup: under 25 words
- LinkedIn messages: under 300 characters

**Tone escalation:**

| Touch | Tone |
|-------|------|
| LinkedIn connection | Neutral — just get accepted |
| Email 1 | Confident, signal-aware, specific ask |
| Email 2 | Casual, zero pressure |
| Email 3/4 | Generous — give something, ask nothing |
| Last email | Clean exit — door stays open |

**What each touch must NOT do:**
- LinkedIn connection: Must not pitch. One sentence why you're connecting, or blank.
- Email 1: Must not be generic. Remove the name — does it fall apart? If not, rewrite.
- Email 2: Must not re-pitch. Just nudge.
- Value touch: Must not ask for a call or response. Only give.
- Social proof touch: Must not fabricate. Real clients and real numbers, or skip it.
- Breakup: Must not guilt-trip. Clean, warm, final.

---

## The Templates

### LinkedIn Connection Request (Touch 1)

```
[Option A — with note]
Saw your post on [specific topic] — [one genuine reaction]. Thought it worth connecting.

[Option B — blank]
(No note. Your profile is the pitch.)
```

### Email 1

```
Subject: [signal reference — their company + what happened]

Hey [Name],

[One sentence: the signal. Recent, specific, about them.]

[One sentence: what you do + strongest proof point.]

[One sentence: specific ask — "15 minutes this week?"]

[Name]
```

### Email 2 (Day 3)

```
Subject: Re: [original subject]

Hey [Name],

Bumping this up.

[Name]
```

### Email 3 — Value (Day 7)

```
Subject: Re: [original subject]

Hey [Name],

[One sentence: something genuinely useful for them — a resource, insight, or relevant result. No ask.]

[Name]
```

### Email 4 — Social Proof (Day 12)

```
Subject: Re: [original subject]

Hey [Name],

[One sentence: specific client + specific result.] [One sentence: why that maps to their situation.]

Worth a quick call — [specific time ask].

[Name]
```

### Email 5 — Breakup (Day 18)

```
Subject: Re: [original subject]

Hey [Name],

Last note. Completely understand if the timing's off — happy to revisit whenever it makes sense.

[Name]
```

---

## Workflow

1. Gather target, offer, credibility, goal, asset, channel, prospect type
2. Find one Tier 1 or Tier 2 signal — do not draft without it
3. Choose sequence structure (multichannel or email-only)
4. Draft all touches in order
5. Check every email: under 60 words?
6. Check Email 1: would it fail without the recipient's name?
7. Check each touch: does it have a distinct job from the others?
8. Label output with send days and channel

## Verify

```
[ ] Signal found — Tier 1 or Tier 2, within last 60 days
[ ] Email 1 references the signal in sentence 1
[ ] Email 1 under 60 words
[ ] Follow-ups thread on same subject with "Re:"
[ ] Each touch has a distinct job — no repeated pitch
[ ] Value touch gives something, asks nothing
[ ] Social proof touch uses real numbers or is skipped
[ ] Breakup is clean — no guilt
[ ] Send days use widening gaps (not fixed intervals)
[ ] Send days fall Tue–Thu where possible
[ ] LinkedIn touches (if multichannel) are channel-appropriate — no pitch in connection request
```