Cold Email Copywriting — Frameworks
Named frameworks with templates and examples. Each framework is battle-tested and credited to its creator.
Quick Reference
| Framework | Best For | Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Do the Math | Quantifiable ROI, clear business case | Thibaut Souyris |
| Short Trigger | Quick, trigger-based outreach | Guillermo Blanco |
| Challenge of Similar Companies | Industry-wide pain points | Patrick Trümpi |
| Neutral Insight | Sharing third-party content | Chelsea Castle |
| Leader Responsibilities | Role-specific curiosity | Vin Matano |
| Ask Before Pitch / Pattern Interrupt | Flipping the script | Will Allred |
| Not Too Different Persona | Peer similarity | BowTiedSalesGuy |
| Upfront Value | Leading with free value | Jordan Crawford |
| Leverage Content in Outbound | Using lead magnets | Ethan Parker |
| "Why Are You Paying?" | Analogy-based persuasion | Leif Bisping |
| Write a Good Cold Email | Problem-first structure | Josh Braun |
| HOT Outreach | Peak interest → value → CTA | — |
| Manual Email Style | Casual, human, low-pressure | Josh Braun (Henry's email) |
Do the Math
By Thibaut Souyris — Best when you can put numbers to the problem.
Template:
- Trigger: The reason for reaching out. Better with a number.
- Quick pitch: Short explanation of the qualified impact.
- Calculation: Back-of-napkin math.
- CTA: Ask for interest.
Example:
Mary, noticed you have over 50 open positions on your job portal.
We help tech scale-ups reduce their new employee churn from 30% to 10% or less.
With a typical cost of mis-hire around $30,000 per employee, this would mean going from 15 mis-hires to 5, resulting in $300,000 saved.
Worth a chat?
Short Trigger-Based Outreach
By Guillermo Blanco — Best for quick, punchy, under-30-word emails.
Template:
- Relevant trigger (personalization)
- Validation + value prop
- CTA
Example:
G, saw that Reach's latest blog post doesn't include a Meta tag which can affect its online visibility.
{{client}} improved theirs by creating meta tags using ChatGPT.
Can I share how?
Challenge of Similar Companies
By Patrick Trümpi — Best when the industry has a known, widespread pain point.
Template:
- Personalization (if available)
- Challenge others in the industry face
- Solution
- CTA
- P.S. with something funny or personalized
Example:
Hey Patrick,
We are working with a lot of security officers at banks who faced losses of $9K per hour due to ransomware and had phishing victims every 11 seconds.
We have a global team of experts available 24/7 to respond to and contain cyber incidents and can react in hours not days. When is the last time you tested your plan?
Cheers, P.
PS: I would attach a link but we both work in security 😅
Neutral Insight
By Chelsea Castle — Best when you have a relevant third-party resource to share.
Template:
- Reference a third-party resource — bring a trusted publication to the discussion
- Explain why they should read it — tie to their context
- Explain why you're sharing it — connect to their business needs
- Optional: Soft ask and nod back to original CTA
Example:
George, do you read Outreach's blog?
Given you're likely ramping reps, I thought you'd find it interesting.
The VP of Sales Dev at Segment wrote about how she scaled her team to a $3.2B acquisition.
They did it without using canned templates. (and using Lavender!)
Check it out
Will
P.S. Any thoughts on my last note?
Leader Responsibilities
By Vin Matano — Best for reaching role-specific leaders with curiosity.
Template:
{{First Name}} as a {{role}} leader, curious how {{responsibility}}
Either way, {{personalize}}!
Example:
Armand, as a Sales leader, curious how your reps prioritize which accounts to reach out to?
If I can create a list for your team of Accounts researching competitors like Salesforce would it be worth a conversation?
Either way, congrats on recently being named Top Sales Coach!
Ask Before Pitch / Pattern Interrupt
By Will Allred — Flips the typical cold email by leading with a question.
Template:
Hey {{first_name}}, [open-ended question as CTA]
You're [trigger/observation]. [Potential problem from observation]
[How product solves problem]
PS — Relevant because _____
Example:
Hey Will, think this would help George & Anne?
You're hiring new sellers. Despite the same templates, some reps get results and others don't.
Lavender gives you a clearer picture on why things work. We've even seen it identify clear personalization plays for the team to use.
Figured that'd be relevant with the new focus upmarket.
Let me know.
Not Too Different Persona
Seen on BowTiedSalesGuy — Best when you can reference peers with the same problem.
Template:
I work with [ICP similar to target]
They tell me they struggle with [...]
Key idea: Position yourself as someone who already understands their world because you work with people just like them.
Upfront Value
By Jordan Crawford — Lead with free value, no pitch.
Template:
[here is "value offering"] hope it was helpful
Example:
Here's a list of every founder at every company that just implemented HubSpot... I hope it was helpful.
Leverage Content in Outbound
By Ethan Parker — Use a lead magnet as the entry point.
Template:
Hi {{first_name}}, [name of content] [how it helps].
Can I send it over to you?
PS — Thought this was relevant because _____
Example:
Hey Jason — we've compiled a cheat sheet on how folks like [social proof] are getting their AEs self-sourcing more than 30% of their own pipeline.
Can I send it over to you?
Ethan
PS — Thought this was relevant because I saw you recently decreased your SDR headcount and are hiring 3 more AEs right now.
"Why Are You Paying?"
By Leif Bisping — Analogy-based persuasion.
Tips:
- Set the stage by describing a typical life situation
- Describe an obvious choice given several options
- Compare it to a "choice" the prospect is making relating to your solution
Key idea: Make the prospect realize they're overpaying or overworking for something that should be simple — through a relatable analogy, not a pitch.
Write a Good Cold Email
By Josh Braun — Problem-first framework.
Framework (thinking process before writing):
- Who are you targeting?
- What problem are you trying to solve?
- What are they currently doing to solve it?
- What's the problem with their current solution (and other solutions)?
- How does your solution solve it differently?
Rules:
- Follow the structure
- Be crispy or specific
- Stay away from generic words ("optimize," "streamline," "save time," "save money")
- Focus on what sucks about how they currently get the job done — not your value prop. Solutions have no value without a problem people can relate to.
Example (for CaptivateIQ):
James, honestly now — did you spend your youth dreaming about someday hard-pasting entire Excel pages into Google Sheets and then manually making adjustments, one sheet at a time to determine payouts?
Manual Email Style
Josh Braun — Henry's cold email — Casual, human, low-pressure.
Example:
Hey Josh — Subscribed to your email list a few weeks ago. I've been doing digital marketing for eight years — have a few unconventional ideas that might goose sales of your Badass Guide without offering discounts.
I don't get paid unless you make more.
Worth batting around a few ideas? Henry.
P.S. Not sure it's a fit for you, but several course creators I'm working with are seeing a 10-12% MoM boost in sales.
Why it works:
- "Subscribed" — personalization
- "Don't get paid unless you make more" — lowers zone of resistance (ZOR)
- "Not sure it's a fit" — also lowers ZOR, sounds curious not pushy
- "10-12% increase" — plausible and exciting social proof
- "A few unconventional ideas" — piques curiosity
- "I don't get paid unless you make more" — we're in this together, not a hit-and-run
- Casual writing — feels more relatable
HOT Outreach Template
Three-section structure for maximum impact.
Section 1: Peak Interest (the problem you found)
Three options:
- Say the problem you found — "Your website is slow," "Your podcast clips are edited poorly," "Your current funnel is flawed"
- Mention something not obvious — "I listened to what you said in X," "You have a TikTok account but no TikTok shop," "You're not using email automations"
- Anything related / connection — "I also love X place," "X UFC fight was amazing yesterday"
Section 2: The Value (what makes you an expert)
Give them the answer. Whatever you want them to pay you for, give them something right now.
Examples:
- "If you change your email to long form, you will easily get a 20% open rate difference"
- "I re-edited a video of yours — it's here and why I did XYZ"
- "I looked at your engagement, website traffic, etc. and think a TikTok shop would sell around 2K orders a month"
Section 3: About You and CTA
- I am X from Y
- I have done Z
- I think I can help you here
- Always end with a question
Don't: "Let me know," "Let's get a call" Do: "What do you think of your short form content?" "Have you bought anything from TikTok shop?"
Frontal Sequence Base (Quick Reference)
Trigger-based message with soft CTA. Pick your trigger:
| Trigger Type | Template Pattern |
|---|---|
| Case study | [One-line case study] — already done so for {{company X}} |
| Observation | [Observation] — see you're doing X |
| Hiring | Hiring for {{job_title}} who can {{job_summary}} |
| Growth | Growing headcount across {{department}} |
| Tech stack | Using {{software}} for {{topic}} |
| Ads | Running ads on {{platform}} |
| Pain/KPI | [Common problem] we see is X which leads to Y. Does that resonate? |
| Give ideas | Have a problem? Here's an idea to solve it |
| Break-up | Timing is off, priority soon? |
Built by Frontal & Ivan Falco. For questions on implementation or anything not covered here, reach out to Ivan directly on LinkedIn.