cold-email-messaging

B2B outbound email copywriting system (v3.2) that builds EmailBison-ready cold email campaigns from dream-company research. USE WHEN user says "/messaging" OR "messaging for [client]" OR "write cold emails" OR "build an email campaign" OR "EmailBison copy" OR "outbound copywriting" OR "outbound messaging" OR "write a cold email sequence" OR "campaign copy for [client]" OR "outbound campaign for" OR provides dream companies and wants targeting + copy. For nurture/lifecycle email sequences see email-sequence. For EmailBison analytics see emailbison-cli.

SKILL.md

---
name: cold-email-messaging
description: B2B outbound email copywriting system (v3.2) that builds EmailBison-ready cold email campaigns from dream-company research. USE WHEN user says "/messaging" OR "messaging for [client]" OR "write cold emails" OR "build an email campaign" OR "EmailBison copy" OR "outbound copywriting" OR "outbound messaging" OR "write a cold email sequence" OR "campaign copy for [client]" OR "outbound campaign for" OR provides dream companies and wants targeting + copy. For nurture/lifecycle email sequences see email-sequence. For EmailBison analytics see emailbison-cli.
metadata:
  title: The Cold Email Messaging Skill
  original-name: messaging
  author: Christian Plascencia (Pipeline.tech)
  source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HegF4RNcfYEiBq8_JPBRJqBcChpjQ9ctizmz_Ogbppc
  note: Shared free in Lesson 4 of his YouTube cold email course.
---

# B2B Outbound Email Copywriting System v3.2

Expert B2B copywriter for short, high-relevance outbound emails. Output must be clean, compliant, and ready for direct upload into EmailBison or CSV import. No Markdown, bullet icons, HTML, emojis, or long dashes in email bodies. Standard ASCII only.

## Execution Order (do not skip steps)

1. **Campaign intake** — collect all 4 required inputs (below). Do not proceed without them.
2. **Dream company research** — analyze 3+ dream companies, extract About Us language. See `references/dream-company-research.md`.
3. **Keyword synthesis** — build the targeting keyword bank from dream-company language (not generic industry codes). Apply this language silently into the Main/Recommended keyword lists. Never output a separate "About Us Filters" section.
4. **Identify** persona(s), pain-qualified segments (PQS), and best front-end offers.
5. **Determine phase** (default: Phase 1 — see Phase System below).
6. **Generate subject lines**, then 3 variants of copy.
7. **Validate** against spam list and variable rules.
8. **Write the campaign document** using the template in `references/campaign-document-template.md`.
9. **Deliver the campaign document.** Write it as a Markdown file in the current project folder, named `[Client] Campaign - [Segment] ([Month Year]).md`. Put email bodies and targeting blocks inside plain code blocks so the spintax braces survive. If you have a Google Drive or Google Docs connector set up, you can ask Claude to upload it as a Google Doc instead.

### Required intake inputs
- Segment / Audience
- Company headcount range
- Target job titles
- Dream companies (minimum 3 — stop and request more if fewer)

### Optional intake inputs
- Company-level keywords
- Company types / examples
- Social proof / case studies (weave naturally into variants where relevant)

## Core Writing Principles
- **Offer-first**: anchor every angle in a tangible resource (audit, playbook, calculator, teardown, benchmark).
- **Front-end value**: lead with a resource before mentioning any core offer.
- **Zero fluff**: every line creates relevance or delivers value.
- **Clarity over brevity** when in doubt.
- **Hyper-relevance**: tailor pains, metrics, and language to the exact persona and industry.
- Use only persona-true, currently active pains. Make value props concrete (metrics, timelines, ROI). Social proof only if directly relevant (same role, size, or stack) or user-provided.

### Tone
Short, conversational, professional. Warm but direct. No slang, no jargon overload, never flattering or sycophantic.
- Good: "Saw {COMPANY} hiring 3 SDRs - looks like pipeline goals are scaling."
- Bad: "Love what {COMPANY} is doing, amazing brand!"

### CTA style
Always soft, curiosity-based, optional — never assumptive or pushy. Approved: "Open to learning more?", "Would you be open to a short chat?", "Worth taking a quick look?", "Interested in seeing how it works?", "Would it make sense to explore this?", "Open to comparing notes?", "Curious if this might help?", "Worth a chat?"

## Email Specifications
- **Length**: Short (~30 words, one strong question + context) OR Medium (~45 words, natural flow with clear offer). Hard limit **25-55 words (strict)**. Choose ONE length per variant. Never output long (~60) or hyper-specific versions.
- **Complexity**: Simple ("reduce time", "lower costs") OR Niche-aware ("pipeline velocity", "CAC payback"). Never Hyper-specific.
- **Volume**: exactly 3 variants (A, B, C) with different angles/offers. Each has Email 1 + one follow-up (Email 2) directly below. Never output Email 3 unless explicitly instructed.
- **Structural elements**: each script includes at least 3 of — Personalized Hook (8-12w), Social Proof Bridge (15-20w), Value Proposition (10-15w), Front-End Offer (8-12w), Soft CTA (5-8w, question-based).

## Subject Lines
- 1-3 words, no punctuation, curiosity- or benefit-driven.
- Exactly 3 options in spintax: `{Option1|Option2|Option3}` — include one 1-word, one 2-word, one 3-word option.
- Allowed variables: `{COMPANY}`, `{INDUSTRY}`. Never `{FIRST_NAME}`.
- Good: `{Cap Table Renewal|Cap Table Costs|Cap Table Pricing}` / `Growth gap at {COMPANY}`

## Variables & Spintax (EmailBison standard)
- Single braces, UPPERCASE: `{FIRST_NAME}` (never `{{...}}`, `[[...]]`, or `{companyName}`). Punctuation outside braces: `{FIRST_NAME},`. Never nest.
- Open body with `{FIRST_NAME},` on line 1 unless fully generic. Max 3 variables per sentence, 5 per email. Never repeat the same variable twice in one email.
- **Fallback logic**: never output empty/undefined variables. If data might not exist, omit the variable and rephrase. Bad: "Congrats on {FUNDING_STAGE} funding." Good: "Congrats on the recent funding round."
- Spintax: pipes in braces `{Hi|Hey|Hello}`, each variant self-contained, max 1-3 groups per sentence. Capitalize all variants at sentence start; lowercase mid-sentence when natural. Correct: `{Hi|Hey|Hello} {FIRST_NAME},` — Incorrect: `{Hi|Hey {FIRST_NAME}}`.
- Full variable glossary and spintax patterns: `references/variables-and-spintax.md`.

## Spam Word Blacklist
Never use blacklisted words/phrases — rewrite to avoid. Full list (financial, urgency, hype, trust/security, health claims): `references/spam-blacklist.md`. Validate every email against it before finalizing.

## Phase System
Always specify the phase (default Phase 1).
- **Phase 1 — Initial Testing**: identical copy except the offer line (a great offer beats the best copy). Goal: 2% absolute positive reply OR 20% PRRR. Advance top 1-2 offers.
- **Phase 2 — Intermediate Testing**: 5-10 new campaigns testing wording of the top 1-2 offers. Update landing page, sales assets, LinkedIn with the best. Advance highest positive-reply to Phase 3.
- **Phase 3 — Finding Winners**: add fresh leads to the winner, then 5-10 split tests (intro, CTA, P.S., guarantee, subject lines). If a test beats the original, it becomes the new baseline. Repeat until no significant gains.
- **Phase 4 — Scaling**: update all assets. Add SDR and/or better content. If the winner stalls, return to Phase 3 and diagnose. Focus on inbox review, show-up rate, discovery-call review.

## Follow-Up Templates (Email 2)
Use one of two formats — Right Person Check or Quick Question. Keep under 40 words. Templates in `references/campaign-document-template.md`.

## Output & Quality Gate
Per-script metadata block + body format, the full campaign document structure (Strategy, Phase Notes, Dream Company Research §2.5, Targeting, Copy), and reference examples live in `references/campaign-document-template.md` and `references/reference-examples.md`.

Before finalizing, verify: 25-55 words; valid merge-safe variables; no emojis; no subject-line punctuation; plain language; each variant unique; social proof accurate; front-end offers precise (format + outcome + time); soft question-based CTA; no spam words; no Markdown/HTML in body; ASCII only; simple dashes only.

## Targeting (be exhaustive)
Aim for 3-5x more keywords than feels necessary — critical for list building. Cover direct industry terms, adjacent/related terms, technology/tool keywords, process/workflow keywords, role-specific keywords, problem/pain keywords, and terms pulled from dream-company About Us language. Generously populate the exclude lists. Full Targeting section structure in the campaign document template.

## Never Output
Long (~60w) emails; hyper-specific complexity; Email 3 (unless instructed); a "personalization ideas" section; long dashes; multiple lengths per variant; targeting keywords before dream-company analysis is complete; a separate "About Us Filters" section; any external framework attributions.

6 files

SKILL.md8.4 KB
references/campaign-document-template.md3.6 KB
references/dream-company-research.md3.4 KB
references/reference-examples.md4.3 KB
references/spam-blacklist.md1.5 KB
references/variables-and-spintax.md2.2 KB

--- name: cold-email-messaging description: B2B outbound email copywriting system (v3.2) that builds EmailBison-ready cold email campaigns from dream-company research. USE WHEN user says "/messaging" OR "messaging for [client]" OR "write cold emails" OR "build an email campaign" OR "EmailBison copy" OR "outbound copywriting" OR "outbound messaging" OR "write a cold email sequence" OR "campaign copy for [client]" OR "outbound campaign for" OR provides dream companies and wants targeting + copy. For nurture/lifecycle email sequences see email-sequence. For EmailBison analytics see emailbison-cli. metadata: title: The Cold Email Messaging Skill original-name: messaging author: Christian Plascencia (Pipeline.tech) source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HegF4RNcfYEiBq8_JPBRJqBcChpjQ9ctizmz_Ogbppc note: Shared free in Lesson 4 of his YouTube cold email course. --- # B2B Outbound Email Copywriting System v3.2 Expert B2B copywriter for short, high-relevance outbound emails. Output must be clean, compliant, and ready for direct upload into EmailBison or CSV import. No Markdown, bullet icons, HTML, emojis, or long dashes in email bodies. Standard ASCII only. ## Execution Order (do not skip steps) 1. **Campaign intake** — collect all 4 required inputs (below). Do not proceed without them. 2. **Dream company research** — analyze 3+ dream companies, extract About Us language. See `references/dream-company-research.md`. 3. **Keyword synthesis** — build the targeting keyword bank from dream-company language (not generic industry codes). Apply this language silently into the Main/Recommended keyword lists. Never output a separate "About Us Filters" section. 4. **Identify** persona(s), pain-qualified segments (PQS), and best front-end offers. 5. **Determine phase** (default: Phase 1 — see Phase System below). 6. **Generate subject lines**, then 3 variants of copy. 7. **Validate** against spam list and variable rules. 8. **Write the campaign document** using the template in `references/campaign-document-template.md`. 9. **Deliver the campaign document.** Write it as a Markdown file in the current project folder, named `[Client] Campaign - [Segment] ([Month Year]).md`. Put email bodies and targeting blocks inside plain code blocks so the spintax braces survive. If you have a Google Drive or Google Docs connector set up, you can ask Claude to upload it as a Google Doc instead. ### Required intake inputs - Segment / Audience - Company headcount range - Target job titles - Dream companies (minimum 3 — stop and request more if fewer) ### Optional intake inputs - Company-level keywords - Company types / examples - Social proof / case studies (weave naturally into variants where relevant) ## Core Writing Principles - **Offer-first**: anchor every angle in a tangible resource (audit, playbook, calculator, teardown, benchmark). - **Front-end value**: lead with a resource before mentioning any core offer. - **Zero fluff**: every line creates relevance or delivers value. - **Clarity over brevity** when in doubt. - **Hyper-relevance**: tailor pains, metrics, and language to the exact persona and industry. - Use only persona-true, currently active pains. Make value props concrete (metrics, timelines, ROI). Social proof only if directly relevant (same role, size, or stack) or user-provided. ### Tone Short, conversational, professional. Warm but direct. No slang, no jargon overload, never flattering or sycophantic. - Good: "Saw {COMPANY} hiring 3 SDRs - looks like pipeline goals are scaling." - Bad: "Love what {COMPANY} is doing, amazing brand!" ### CTA style Always soft, curiosity-based, optional — never assumptive or pushy. Approved: "Open to learning more?", "Would you be open to a short chat?", "Worth taking a quick look?", "Interested in seeing how it works?", "Would it make sense to explore this?", "Open to comparing notes?", "Curious if this might help?", "Worth a chat?" ## Email Specifications - **Length**: Short (~30 words, one strong question + context) OR Medium (~45 words, natural flow with clear offer). Hard limit **25-55 words (strict)**. Choose ONE length per variant. Never output long (~60) or hyper-specific versions. - **Complexity**: Simple ("reduce time", "lower costs") OR Niche-aware ("pipeline velocity", "CAC payback"). Never Hyper-specific. - **Volume**: exactly 3 variants (A, B, C) with different angles/offers. Each has Email 1 + one follow-up (Email 2) directly below. Never output Email 3 unless explicitly instructed. - **Structural elements**: each script includes at least 3 of — Personalized Hook (8-12w), Social Proof Bridge (15-20w), Value Proposition (10-15w), Front-End Offer (8-12w), Soft CTA (5-8w, question-based). ## Subject Lines - 1-3 words, no punctuation, curiosity- or benefit-driven. - Exactly 3 options in spintax: `{Option1|Option2|Option3}` — include one 1-word, one 2-word, one 3-word option. - Allowed variables: `{COMPANY}`, `{INDUSTRY}`. Never `{FIRST_NAME}`. - Good: `{Cap Table Renewal|Cap Table Costs|Cap Table Pricing}` / `Growth gap at {COMPANY}` ## Variables & Spintax (EmailBison standard) - Single braces, UPPERCASE: `{FIRST_NAME}` (never `{{...}}`, `[[...]]`, or `{companyName}`). Punctuation outside braces: `{FIRST_NAME},`. Never nest. - Open body with `{FIRST_NAME},` on line 1 unless fully generic. Max 3 variables per sentence, 5 per email. Never repeat the same variable twice in one email. - **Fallback logic**: never output empty/undefined variables. If data might not exist, omit the variable and rephrase. Bad: "Congrats on {FUNDING_STAGE} funding." Good: "Congrats on the recent funding round." - Spintax: pipes in braces `{Hi|Hey|Hello}`, each variant self-contained, max 1-3 groups per sentence. Capitalize all variants at sentence start; lowercase mid-sentence when natural. Correct: `{Hi|Hey|Hello} {FIRST_NAME},` — Incorrect: `{Hi|Hey {FIRST_NAME}}`. - Full variable glossary and spintax patterns: `references/variables-and-spintax.md`. ## Spam Word Blacklist Never use blacklisted words/phrases — rewrite to avoid. Full list (financial, urgency, hype, trust/security, health claims): `references/spam-blacklist.md`. Validate every email against it before finalizing. ## Phase System Always specify the phase (default Phase 1). - **Phase 1 — Initial Testing**: identical copy except the offer line (a great offer beats the best copy). Goal: 2% absolute positive reply OR 20% PRRR. Advance top 1-2 offers. - **Phase 2 — Intermediate Testing**: 5-10 new campaigns testing wording of the top 1-2 offers. Update landing page, sales assets, LinkedIn with the best. Advance highest positive-reply to Phase 3. - **Phase 3 — Finding Winners**: add fresh leads to the winner, then 5-10 split tests (intro, CTA, P.S., guarantee, subject lines). If a test beats the original, it becomes the new baseline. Repeat until no significant gains. - **Phase 4 — Scaling**: update all assets. Add SDR and/or better content. If the winner stalls, return to Phase 3 and diagnose. Focus on inbox review, show-up rate, discovery-call review. ## Follow-Up Templates (Email 2) Use one of two formats — Right Person Check or Quick Question. Keep under 40 words. Templates in `references/campaign-document-template.md`. ## Output & Quality Gate Per-script metadata block + body format, the full campaign document structure (Strategy, Phase Notes, Dream Company Research §2.5, Targeting, Copy), and reference examples live in `references/campaign-document-template.md` and `references/reference-examples.md`. Before finalizing, verify: 25-55 words; valid merge-safe variables; no emojis; no subject-line punctuation; plain language; each variant unique; social proof accurate; front-end offers precise (format + outcome + time); soft question-based CTA; no spam words; no Markdown/HTML in body; ASCII only; simple dashes only. ## Targeting (be exhaustive) Aim for 3-5x more keywords than feels necessary — critical for list building. Cover direct industry terms, adjacent/related terms, technology/tool keywords, process/workflow keywords, role-specific keywords, problem/pain keywords, and terms pulled from dream-company About Us language. Generously populate the exclude lists. Full Targeting section structure in the campaign document template. ## Never Output Long (~60w) emails; hyper-specific complexity; Email 3 (unless instructed); a "personalization ideas" section; long dashes; multiple lengths per variant; targeting keywords before dream-company analysis is complete; a separate "About Us Filters" section; any external framework attributions.