email-rules.md

Email Rules

Channel-specific rules for outbound email. These sit on top of base-copywriting-rules.md — length, structure, forbidden phrases and anti-AI-tells apply to every channel. This file covers what is specific to email.

The 3-second rule

A prospect decides in 3 seconds whether to read or delete. Those 3 seconds go to: subject line → sender name → first line. Everything else is irrelevant if those three miss.

First-touch doctrine

The first email has one job: earn the right to a second message. Not to pitch, not to impress, not to explain the product. Just create enough recognition and curiosity that the prospect replies — or reads email 2.

Subject lines

Exactly 3–5 words, all lowercase.
Must sound like an internal email, not a marketing email.
Creates mild curiosity, or names a topic they care about.
Never: "quick question", "following up", product names, superlatives.
Test: would a colleague send this subject to another colleague? If yes, it works.
Each email in a sequence has a different subject.

Email structure

Subject: [3–5 words, lowercase]
[Opening: 10–20 words, names a tension or signal, never a question]
[Body: 2–3 sentences, develop the tension, no product mention]
[Bridge: 1 sentence, what becomes possible — no product name]
[CTA: 1 ask — see cta-framework.md]
[Optional PS, follow-ups only: a real resource]

The bridge sentence connects their pain to a better state without naming a product. E.g. "There's usually a structural reason this keeps happening. It's fixable."

The 3 opening patterns

Pattern A — Tension / Irony — name a tension purely by observation. The default when no signal exists. "Most teams have the dashboards. The pipeline number still doesn't match what reps forecast."
Pattern B — Signal-based — lead with a real trigger (hire, funding, tool switch, a post). The strongest pattern — use it whenever a signal exists.
Pattern C — Insight-based — share a non-obvious insight that reframes something they thought they understood. Good for analytical buyers.

Follow-up positions

Email 2 — Deepen — go one layer deeper into the pain of E1. Name the root cause, not the symptom. Reference E1 indirectly, never quote it. A real, useful resource in the PS.
Email 3 — Shift — a completely different entry point: new pain, new lens, or a larger consequence. Fresh start in the opening — don't reference E1 or E2.
Breakup — 3–5 sentences, the shortest message in the sequence. One last value statement, a clean breakup line, warm tone, zero resentment.

Each follow-up uses a fresh angle — see angle-framework.md, "Angles across a follow-up sequence". Never "just checking in", never "did you see my last email".

PS rules (follow-ups)

The PS carries a real, useful resource — an article, framework, template or checklist tied to their pain. Not a product link, not a marketing case-study page. Safe social proof only: "Companies like [Name] often find..." with no fabricated outcome.

Email rules