The cold DM that gets answered

The five openers that guarantee silence

1. 1Hey! Hope you're doing well! — reads as automated because it usually is.
2. 2I love your content! — with no reference to any of it.
3. 3Quick question — followed by something that is not quick.
4. 4I think we could really help each other out — you want something.
5. 5Anything longer than about eight lines before the ask.

The shape that works

Four lines. Proof you know who they are, the reason you're writing, the ask, the exit. The exit — an explicit way to say no — is what makes people reply, because it converts an obligation into a choice.

To a creator

[Specific reference to a thing they made, recently, with a detail only a viewer/reader would have.]

I built [product] — [one line]. It's basically [the thing they complained about / talked about] as a tool.

If you want a look, here it is: [link]. No ask attached.

Totally fine to ignore this.

To a potential user

Saw your [post/comment/question] about [specific problem]. [One sentence showing you understood it.]

I built something for exactly that: [one line]. Not selling — it's [free / free to try] and I mostly want to know whether it actually solves your version of the problem.

[Link]

If it doesn't, I'd genuinely like to know why.

To another founder

Hey [name] — [specific thing about their product, one that shows you used it].

I'm building [product] for [audience]. Overlaps with yours at [the specific overlap], doesn't compete because [the honest reason].

Two things I thought might be worth a conversation: [thing one], [thing two].

Worth twenty minutes, or not really?

What to do with a reply

• Answer within an hour if you can. You cold-messaged them; making them wait is the only unforgivable part.
• Don't pitch harder. A reply means they're curious. The next message should answer their question and nothing else.
• Ask what they were hoping for. Even a 'not for me' reply is worth one polite follow-up question, and the answers to that question are the most useful research you will get all month.