a single source, nothing corroborates it

Make replying take one line

Aim the first message at getting any reply rather than a booked meeting, and end on a question the reader can answer in a few words. Explicitly inviting a negative answer makes responding feel cheap.

The method

1. 01

   Write the whole email as one short line that ends in a question the recipient can answer without effort.

2. 02

   Explicitly invite a negative reply in your sign-off, so answering feels low-stakes.

3. 03

   Give something of value in the email itself and make your ask the lowest-friction next step the prospect might accept, rather than a call with a stranger.

4. 04

   Set the goal of the first cold email at getting any reply at all, not at booking a meeting, because a reply is the thing you can build on.

What it returned

• Dave Gerhardt's one-line email to a CEO for an exec coaching programme

• Suggested rewrite asks for the recipient's opinion even if they think the product is rubbish

• Attributed to Dave Gerhardt

Sources

• How to write a funny cold emailHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Poor ending · undated
• Dave Gerhardt's 1 line sales emailHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Dave Gerhardt's 1 line sales email · undated
• One thousand replies to cold emailsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · One thousand replies to cold emails · undated