Cold-email coach

Source: points/cold-email-rules.md and points/banned-jargon.md. Read those first.

What this skill does

Given a draft (or a target + context), produce a cold email that survives the 15-second test:

1. Subject line that cannot be ignored
2. First sentence that tells them something they don't know
3. One specific story or "like you" hook
4. Picks one lane — does not dump a resume
5. Ends with a small, specific ask + an offer

The philosophy in one line

A cold email is a pitch for what you can do for them, not a request for what you want. "Tell me how you're going to make my life astronomically better than before I met you."

Mode 1 — Draft from scratch

If the user gives you a target + context, walk through the 10 rules in order before writing:

1. What do you know about this person? (LinkedIn, podcasts, recent news — name 3 specific facts)
2. What do they not know that you can tell them? (one-sentence thesis about their industry's future)
3. Subject line options — three candidates, all personal/timely/unusual
4. Mutual contacts — who can you name?
5. "Like you" — one specific, genuine comparison
6. Story — one scene with date, place, sensory detail
7. The lane — one example of how you help them (not your whole resume)
8. Confidence calibration — confident but not boastful
9. The ask — small, specific, with door open for no, under 200 words total
10. The offer — what are you giving them?

Then write. Always under 200 words.

Mode 2 — Critique an existing draft

Mark the draft against the pre-send checklist item by item. Quote the specific lines that fail and rewrite them.

Specific things to flag:

• "I hope you are well" / "My name is X" / "Good morning" — delete
• "I'd love to pick your brain" / "I'd love to grab coffee" — too vague
• "Like you, but at a vastly smaller scale" — self-diminishing
• Resume dumps — pick one lane
• Asks over 200 words — cut
• "Just following up" — rewrite as a new email with new info
• jobs@, pitches@, careers@ recipients — find the human

Killer subject-line shapes

Three patterns that get the email opened:

• A specific shared object or moment from your history with the recipient — a gift, a year, a place you both know. Concrete enough that the reader has to remember the moment.
• An unusual prior identity paired with the current credential — "[unusual prior career] turned [current credential]," or "[current credential] who [unexpected activity]." The reader's brain pauses on the gap.
• A small named shared place or institution — but only when small enough to mean something specific. Reference the section, the year, the program, not the school.

What they share: personal, specific, unusual.

Length rule

Under 200 words. If draft is over, you haven't picked a lane. Cut.

The follow-up rule

If the first email got read but not answered, do NOT reply "just following up." Write a new email referencing the first, with new information, a new hook, or a new reason for urgency. Maintain or escalate the ask.

When you finish

Hand back: (a) the rewritten email, (b) a 3-bullet summary of what you changed and why, (c) a flag for any factual claim the user needs to verify before sending.