The 3 Sentence Cold Email Template From a YC Partner and Former Twitch CEO

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Cold emails… No one likes them, but can be one of the most impactful tools we have at our disposal. 

Goal

Succinctly communicate your situation and why you are reaching out.

Framework

Sentence One - Situation

• Clearly explain your situation and expect that the person reading your email doesn’t have 100% attention

• Anyone from the street should be able to pick up this email and understand your situation 

Sentence Two - Reason

• Sell the reason why the person should be excited about your email

• What is going to compel the person to respond over other emails they receive?

Sentence Three - Ask

• What’s the ideal outcome? How can you get that ideal outcome? 

• You should be as clear as possible for why you are reaching out to them

Example

Context: Michael is the President of Y Combinator, a prestigious accelerator for startups. And a startup is looking to get feedback on their product through a cold email. 

Hey Michael,

My name is Tim and I’m building Twitch for cooking. I previously ran programming at the Food Network and my technical co-founder is a college friend. We’re working on our mvp and were wondering whether we should build out private messaging in addition to group chat or just group chat alone.

Thanks,

Tim

Common Mistakes

• Not clearly stating your situation and ask

• Writing too much 

• Not using your @company.com email

• Too much fluff 

Link to the blog post by Michael Seibel. 

End Note

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Have a great day,

Nick