ai-marketing-skills/outbound-engine/references/copy-rules.md

Cold Email Copy Rules

Rules for writing and evaluating cold email copy. Apply to every step in every sequence.

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First Sentence Rules

NEVER start with:

• "I" — e.g., "I came across your company..."
• "We" — e.g., "We help companies like yours..."
• "Our team" — e.g., "Our team specializes in..."
• "I wanted to" — e.g., "I wanted to reach out because..."
• "Hope this finds you well" or any version of it
• "My name is..." (save for follow-ups if needed, never Step 1)

ALWAYS start with one of:

• Prospect's company name — "{{companyName}}'s recent..."
• A specific market observation — "Most [industry] companies we talk to are..."
• A specific finding — "Your [blog post / LinkedIn post / job listing] on..."
• A relevant trend — "Since [relevant thing] happened in [industry]..."

The first sentence earns the second. If it doesn't make the prospect think "hm, relevant," the email is dead.

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Body Length Rules

Step	Max sentences	Notes
Step 1	3 sentences	Open + value + CTA. That's it.
Steps 2-4	3-5 sentences	Add new angle or asset, not a repeat
Step 5 (bump)	1-2 sentences	Short. "Still relevant?" style.
Step 6 (breakup)	2-3 sentences	Leave value, don't close your file.

If a step is longer than this, cut it. Ruthlessly.

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Stats and Social Proof

Correct framing (observation):

"Most brands we audit are leaving 30-40% of their SEO traffic unconverted."

Incorrect framing (study/study-like):

"According to our data, 73% of brands have this problem."

Why: Observation sounds like earned experience. Study sounds like a marketing claim. Prospects believe the former.

Never fabricate:

• Specific client names unless verified and approved
• Revenue numbers or % improvements unless you have the actual data
• Podcast episodes or content references unless they exist and are linkable
• Case study specifics — if you can't verify it, generalize it

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CTAs

Soft asks (preferred):

• "Worth a look?"
• "Want the data?"
• "Does this match what you're seeing?"
• "Relevant to what you're working on?"
• "Happy to share what we found — useful?"

Hard asks (avoid in Step 1):

• "Book a call with me" → too much commitment too early
• "Schedule 30 minutes" → presumes interest
• "Let's hop on a call" → pushy
• "Are you free Thursday?" → too forward for a stranger

Use hard asks only in Step 4+ if you've gotten engagement signals. Even then, soften them.

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Links

• Step 1: No links (deliverability + trust)
• Steps 2-3: Max 1 link, only if it adds genuine value (a case study, a report, a tool)
• Breakup email: Include 1 real link to genuinely useful content (not a sales page)
• Never: Hallucinate URLs. All links must be verified real pages before use.
• Never: Link to a landing page with a form in Steps 1-2 — it signals spray-and-pray

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Breakup Email (Final Step)

Correct:

Leave something genuinely useful. A real article, a real report, a real piece of content that relates to their problem. "In case it's useful regardless — here's the framework we use: [real URL]. No pressure on the rest."

Incorrect:

"Just wanted to close the loop / closing your file / marking you as not interested" This is negative framing and slightly manipulative. The prospect notices.

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AI Engine References

When listing AI tools in copy or messaging, always include the full set: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude

Do not omit any major AI platform. If listing "AI tools" or "AI search engines," include all four.

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Personalization Rules

• {{personalization}} field: must be set per lead. Don't leave it generic.
• Personalization should reference something specific to the company: a recent hire, a published piece, a product launch, a job listing signal, a funding round.
• If you can't personalize at least 50% of the list, remove {{personalization}} from the template and rewrite to not depend on it.

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Subject Lines

• Length: 3-7 words is the sweet spot
• No exclamation points
• No all-caps
• No emoji in B2B cold email (unless targeting a persona that expects it)
• Best patterns:
  • Question: "Quick question, {{firstName}}"
  • Observation: "{{companyName}}'s content strategy"
  • Specificity: "Saw your post on [topic]"
  • Intrigue: "One thing we noticed"
• A/B test 2 variants per Step 1. Pick winner after 100+ sends each.

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Tone

• Peer-to-peer, not vendor-to-prospect
• Curious, not desperate
• Specific, not generic
• Short, not comprehensive
• Human, not corporate

If it sounds like a marketing email, rewrite it. Cold email that converts sounds like a text from a knowledgeable peer.