How to write the perfect cold email (by not giving a damn) 💅

Rare tricks from "Baby Reindeer" and more

Welcome to Marketing Ideas! 👋 I share 1 powerful marketing idea every week. Join 14,500+ marketing leaders by subscribing here:

---

The only rule of thumb that always worked for my cold emails: Make the email extremely casual. 🤙

The more your cold email looks like it wasn’t even meant for the recipient → the HIGHER the chances they’ll actually read it and respond.

❌ Ditch the salesiness.

✅ Make it seem like you don’t really care.

Here are 7 psychological hacks to write emails so casual, you’ll be drowning in replies:

---

Trick #1: Internal Subject Lines 🤫

Make your subject line read like an internal email from their boss.

RE: [Company] Q3 kick off

need your quick help with [project]

It hijacks the Zeigarnik Effect: our need to close open loops. Subject lines like these spark FOMO about internal discussions = instant open rate boost.

---

Trick #2: lowercase it all 🤷‍♂️

kill the corporate vibe with nonchalant lowercase.

“hey sarah” slaps harder than “Dear Ms. Johnson” any day if you wanna seem chill AF.

---

Trick #3: The Fake Referral 🕵️‍♂️

This one is my favorite - but it’s a bit sneaky.

Include a fake forwarded message from one of your colleagues recommending that you reach out to this person. This makes it seem like you’re contacting them based on an internal suggestion (for a real reason), rather than cold outreach.

Great example from Brex:

🎁 Bonus side effect: It makes the recipient feel super valued. They think “I must be important if they’re already discussing me internally...”

FWD From: Sarah Jones sarah@yourcompany.com 

Hey Tom, I saw {{Company}} just launched {{Feature}}. Might be worth pinging {{FirstName}} to get their take on the roll-out process (he/she is a genius). Could be super valuable insights for our own release.

---

Trick #4: Zero Calls + Zero Links 🫧

Close your email by asking a question the recipient can answer in <1 minute: Opinion, tech stack, advice, or pain points.

Never (!!!) ask for a call or send a link to an LP in your first cold touch.

Our goal here is to get the conversation going.

What's the #1 thing you wish was easier about [common task in their role]?

---

Trick #5: The Magical “May I?” 🙏

Kicking off any question with “May I...” hits hard. Really hard.

You’re not assuming their time/attention — you’re humbly seeking their permission to continue. “May I get your quick take on this?” feels way less salesy and demanding than launching straight into an ask.

May I send over a 3-min demo video I created just for you?

I've seen this boost reply rates by up to 35% with no other changes. Try asking ‘May I’ questions yourself and watch those responses roll in.

---

Trick #6: “Sent from my iPhone” 📱

Always end the email with “Sent from my iPhone” (even if not). It makes it look like you’re just casually firing this off on the go, not sweating over every word.

Sent from my iPhone

I actually started doing it myself after watching Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, and it’s hilarious how good it is. My reply rate skyrocketed.

iphon

---

Trick #7: The Hyper-Personalized "P.S." 🥰

The P.S. is the most-read part of any email — hands down. People always skip to the bottom. Don’t waste that real estate!

Use it to admire something personal about them:

Mention a recent award they won, a blog post they wrote, or even a mutual connection. Bonus points if you tell them they inspired you.

🧐 Easiest way to do it? → Check their latest LinkedIn activity (you can even filter to see posts they’ve liked) and be a fanboy/fangirl of that thing in the P.S.

---

Wrapping It Up 🌈

Here’s an example of a perfect cold email:

Subject: re: optimizing {{Company}}'s onboarding

hey {{FirstName}}

May I borrow your brain for a quick sec?

Saw your genius post on LinkedIn about personalizing your onboarding experience at scale (mad props btw, TONS of juicy insights 🧠💡). 

It got me noodling on this random idea I've been toying with:

What if you built an AI-powered chatbot sidekick that could walk each user through the entire onboarding journey step-by-step?

Like a concierge bot that could:
* Answer FAQs in real-time
* Recommend next steps based on their goals
* Automate the whole process end-to-end

Crazy thought experiment I know 😅 But would something like that be a total game-changer for your activation & retention or no?

You're the master at this stuff so I'm all ears.

{{Your Name}}

p.s. Your "SaaS Pricing Masterclass" was the best $99 I've spent in ages. Just wanted to say thanks 🙏💸

---------

From: Jill Jones jill@company.com 

Subject: our secret weapon for fixing onboarding?

{{Your Name}},

I think I found our dream advisor for cracking our onboarding:
{{FirstName}} {{LastName}} from {{Company}}

Did you SEE their epic post on seamless onboarding journeys? Pure 🔥🔥🔥

{{Link}}

Let's try to pick {{FirstName}}'s brain on this like yesterday. Can you work your magic and get on {{his/her/their}} radar? Pretty plz with a cherry on top? 🍒🙏

Tyvm you rockstar, 

Jill

Sent from my iPhone

And there you have it - 7 stupidly simple tricks molded into one ultra-effective cold email template:

1. Subject line looks like an internal email

2. Casual lowercase tone

3. Fake forward from colleague

4. Simple question CTA (no links/calls)

5. “May I” opener

6. “Sent from my iPhone”

7. Specific, personalized P.S.

See you next week ✌️

Tom

---

P.S. please tag me on LinkedIn if you share this article! I’d LOVE to engage & repost ♥️