The cold email that actually gets a reply

Short, specific, about them, and asking for something small. Everything else is decoration.

Open with the thing that happened

The first line decides whether the rest is read. It should be a verifiable fact about their business from the last few weeks, stated plainly, with no preamble. Not "I hope this finds you well". Not "I came across your website".

"You have had the accounts assistant role open since the start of June" is a first line. So is "the batch of X you stock was recalled on Tuesday". Both say, without claiming it, that a real person looked at their specific situation.

Name the small piece, not the big vision

The second line should describe one narrow, finishable job. Not a partnership, not a retainer, not a transformation. One thing, with a boundary around it.

Small asks get said yes to because saying yes is cheap. A retainer requires a decision; a €300 fixed piece of work requires an afternoon of goodwill.

Make the reply easy and specific

End with one question that can be answered in a word. "Want me to send a fixed quote?" is answerable. "Let me know if you would like to discuss how we might work together" is not, and it is the single most common way a decent email dies.

Length, and who you send it to

Five sentences. Anything longer is read diagonally or not at all.

Send it to whoever owns the problem, which is almost never the generic inbox and almost never HR. In a small business that is the owner. In a larger one it is the manager the vacancy reports to. One correct recipient is worth thirty wrong ones, and finding that recipient takes about ten minutes.

Then follow up once, and stop

One follow-up a week later, two sentences, no guilt-tripping. If that gets nothing, move on. The people who reply to a third chase are not the clients you want anyway.