How to get a reply from busy people using cold outreach methods like email, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc
I get many cold emails, Twitter messages, LinkedIn messages, etc., and most of them do a terrible job of receiving a response from me. I don't blame them. When I first started my career as a software engineer, I used to send many cold messages for job vacancies, collaborations, etc. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it would not. I tried different formats (long and short) and always used to wonder which format works the best and why. Now, I'm on the other side where I run businesses and build products, and people reach out to me. Now, I understand the clear picture of a good outreach message.
To get a response from a busy person, you should follow the principal-agent problem, i.e. incentives must be aligned for both parties.
Your message should consist of 2 parts.
- What do you want from the other person?
- What's in it for the other person?
If it's not clear to me what you want, or the value proposition is not good enough for me, then I would not spend my time and energy in responding back.
Pro tips:
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Keep the length short because the longer the length, the more time it requires to go through the message. Time is a currency and it is quite valuable for busy people.
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Use simple words and stay away from business lingo/jargon because:
- It uses less brain power for the reader to decipher the meaning.
- People most of the time use heavy words (i.e., revolutionary, ground-breaking) to add weight to their idea, and it subtly indicates that their idea might not be that substantial on its own. A good idea doesn't need to be buttered up by complex words.
Example of bad writing:
“A disruptive corporate startup operating in the e-commerce realm, specializing in the circular economy, dedicated to curating a cutting-edge online platform facilitating the seamless exchange of pre-loved, premium-quality children's apparel.”
Underlying idea:
E-commerce website to buy and sell second-hand clothes for kids.
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Be precise in what you're offering and what you want:
Bad outreach example:
“Hi Gourav, hope you are doing great. I work at Google as a Customer Engineer based in Stockholm. I currently have some idea of creating an extension related to GPT. Let's jump on a call to see if there's a possibility of collaboration.”
No, I would not jump on a call. Your idea is too vague. Please be more specific so that I can see if it's worth my time to connect on a call.
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It’s okay to follow-up 1-2 times if you didn’t get a response. Determination shows that you’re serious about it. It’s common for busy people to miss messages and it’s not rude if you follow-up in a polite manner.
Example:
Hey Gourav, just wanted to follow-up on my last email in case it might have slipped your attention…