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The Cold Email

zachholman.com

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Re: The Cold Email

#121

Post by npras1 »

As to what to write as a "starting point" in a cold email:

It's nice to write nice things about the things that person has done. nice tweet, nice post etc.

But it's nicer to write about things they've created and you paid money for. a book, a course, a software etc.

('nice' in this context means the chance of getting a reply.)

My own cold email story:

I was in a paid telegram group of a fitness guru I followed on Twitter. He once complained about how he's having a hard time managing his many info products, emails, having to write promotional content etc.

I then spent the night collecting all the things he's could do better: dusting off his unused wordpress site to keep as source of content rather than just tweeting bangers and let them be forgotten due to the algorthm after some time, writing better sales copy for his copy instead of just trying to list its merits in every tweet and email, new ebook ideas based on stuff that people in his telegram group are already complaining about (how do I recover better?!) etc.

I didn't expect much out of this. It just felt nice to come up with ideas honestly. but he replied with with 2 sentences: "How can I pay you" and "When can you start?".

That started a 2 year sidegig as a copywriter, a profession I didn't know I was interested in at all before this, lol.

Hmm.. thinking back.. have I learned this lesson myself? I can't think of any other instances where I replied to people's stuff that I purchased. But maybe I forgot. I'm going to think about it though, and write hot cold emails!

And thanks Zach for this. The one thing I remember about you from your early blogging days. That "glue technologies" blog post - where you said about how things like bash, sql, server management etc.. are all not main character skills, but are glue skills that are still important. That term stuck with me, and I do see their importance.

Re: The Cold Email

#122

Post by ButlerianJihad »

npras1 wrote: post #121

As to what to write as a "starting point" in a cold email: It's nice to write nice things about the things that person has done. nice tweet, nice post etc. But it's nicer to write about things they've created and you paid money for. a book, a course, a software etc. ('nice' in this context means the chance of getting a reply.) My own cold email story: I was in a paid telegram group of a fitness guru I followed on Twi…

So you were a customer, and this business owner created a job opening, announced the responsibilities to a list of his paying customers, and then he offered one of his existing customers a job while making it seem like it was your idea.

Networking. It's called "Networking".

Re: The Cold Email

#123

Post by ButlerianJihad »

embedding-shape wrote: post #78
ButlerianJihad wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The people who are celebrities, or public figures, or likely to receive a lot of email, also have secretaries, or PR/social media managers who open all their messages and respond to strangers. This is why it can be so easy to find someone's contact email address, versus phoning their office and trying to get past the voicemail or front desk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasocial_interaction

Also, lots of them seemingly read emails themselves, or at least have their secretaries forward emails written by passionate people to them, as I've also gotten replies to a bunch of emails from people I didn't expect such involved reply to, even when they're "celebrities".

QED

Re: The Cold Email

#124

Post by npras1 »

ButlerianJihad wrote: post #122
npras1 wrote: post #121

As to what to write as a "starting point" in a cold email: It's nice to write nice things about the things that person has done. nice tweet, nice post etc. But it's nicer to write about things they've created and you paid money for. a book, a course, a software etc. ('nice' in this context means the chance of getting a reply.) My own cold email story: I was in a paid telegram group of a fitness guru I followed on Twi…

So you were a customer, and this business owner created a job opening, announced the responsibilities to a list of his paying customers, and then he offered one of his existing customers a job while making it seem like it was your idea. Networking. It's called "Networking".

> created a job opening, announced the responsibilities to a list of his paying customers,

No. he didn't know he needed those tasks done. Once I started, it was mostly me defining my own role and doing the work needed for that role.

And he didn't have to make it seem like it's my idea. He's the type to ask things directly. Has done so many times in his tweets, group and emails.

You'll see such examples of cold emailing in this own hn thread, where the job/role "didn't even exist" until that email.

And yes this is networking. But so is all communication in the context of cold emailing.

Re: The Cold Email

#125

Post by m4tthumphrey »

looking-for-job wrote: post #109
m4tthumphrey wrote: post #97

I was rejected from a job interview a few years ago - wow 13 years ago now - and was honestly shocked after how well the interview went. I decided to write a letter (email) to the HR department implying they'd made a huge mistake (the head of HR was in the interview too). She (as much as I knew at the time) overruled my would-be boss and the rest is history. Best email I ever sent.

Bold move, and it clearly worked out for you! I do think it's a risky strategy, though. A respectful follow-up asking for feedback or reiterating your interest can leave a great impression, but telling a company they made a mistake could easily backfire with a different hiring team. Every situation is different, so I'd be cautious about recommending it as general advice.

I was simplifying my HN comment for brevity, I didn't just go "you've made a mistake by not hiring me, gimme the job" in the letter.

Re: The Cold Email

#126

Post by Shocka1 »

jibal wrote: post #57
tombert wrote: post #29

Something I learned awhile ago is that most people that I consider "celebrities" really aren't that famous, and as such are generally pretty happy to respond to emails. In ~2014 I sent an email to Joe Armstrong (one of the creators of Erlang) asking some questions about concurrency because I still didn't fully understand why Erlang was supposed to be better for it. I expected him to just point me to an FAQ or simply…

I've sent cold emails to Noam Chomsky and Daniel Dennett and received prompt and friendly replies. (I had met each briefly and mentioned that in my emails ... that may have helped.) I emailed Chomsky on 9/11, asking about blowback from U.S. operations in Afghanistan. He responded the next day, apologizing for the delay (!) because he was receiving so many queries. He sent me numerous citations, including a Newsweek (…

This is really cool thank you for sharing.

Re: The Cold Email

#127

Post by treszkai »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #39
gerdesj wrote: post #30

I'm probably somewhat older than most here. What OP is describing is what used to be normal and should still be! In the past it was normal to write a CV (resume) and a covering letter that was mildly tailored to each target firm, either in response to a job advert or on spec. I'm not talking quill pens here - you'd do a mail merge and buy a really large book of stamps. Linked In is possibly the worst thing that ever…

I abandoned cover letters when I showed up to an interview and the interviewer complained that my resume was too thin. That was on purpose because a lot of the meat was in the cover letter that he never received. I just merged them and gave up on customization when ATSs started being used to cull 99% of applicants.

...99% of applicants who apply through the standard route.

Re: The Cold Email

#130

Post by getpost »

tombert wrote: post #29

Something I learned awhile ago is that most people that I consider "celebrities" really aren't that famous, and as such are generally pretty happy to respond to emails. In ~2014 I sent an email to Joe Armstrong (one of the creators of Erlang) asking some questions about concurrency because I still didn't fully understand why Erlang was supposed to be better for it. I expected him to just point me to an FAQ or simply…

I would love to read his reply, but of course I understand that correspondence is private. Do you know of something similar that is available on the web?
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