# Cold email principles

How to write cold emails in Victoria AI that get read and answered: short, about the prospect, giving before asking, one small CTA.

## Cold email: keep it short and about one thing

A cold email is read on a phone, between other things. Write a few short sentences with one idea, in the first person, as one person writing to another. Cut anything that explains your whole product. No links and no attachments.

## Cold email: open with one of two structures

The first line decides whether the rest gets read. Two openers work best for us:

- **"I help X do Y by Z"**: who you help, the specific thing you help them do, and how in a few words.
- **The question opener**: one specific, true observation about them, then one question about it.

```text
Weak: Hi {first_name}, I'm reaching out because we offer a platform that helps companies like yours...
Better: Hi {first_name}, I help [growing SaaS founders] [grow their audiences] by [connecting them with podcast hosts in their niche].
Better: Hi {first_name}, saw that {company} is hiring its first SDRs. Are you building outbound from scratch?
```

Only state what you know is true. If the observation comes from an AI Personalization field, give the field a fallback that still reads naturally. See [Openers that get replies](https://docs.versionseven.ai/playbook/openers).

## Cold email: give before you ask

End the first email with a small offer, not a request for time. "Mind if I send over \[a short sample]?" is easier to say yes to than "Can we book a call?", and it starts the relationship with you helping.

Across the sequence, give, give, give: each email offers something useful, such as an idea, a resource, an intro or a sample. Ask for little. See [Give before you ask](https://docs.versionseven.ai/playbook/give-before-you-ask).

## Cold email length: give without sending a newsletter

Giving doesn't mean sending long content. Don't sign someone up for a newsletter they didn't opt in for, and don't paste an article into a cold email.

- Offer the give in a line, and send it if they say yes.
- If you share an idea in the email itself, keep it to two or three lines.
- If an email is longer than a phone screen, cut it.

## Cold email subject lines

Short and plain, a few words, often lowercase. Specific beats clever: "question about `{company}`" or "`{first_name}`, quick one". Avoid words that read like marketing, such as "opportunity" or "partnership".

## Cold email follow-ups

Never resend the same email, and never send "just following up". Each follow-up gives something new:

- **Middle emails**: a different give or a different angle, such as a new idea, a resource, or a question about whether you've reached the right person.
- **Last email**: short and direct. Say it's the last note, leave the offer open and make "not now" an easy answer.

## Reference LinkedIn in a multichannel cold email

In an Email + LinkedIn sequence, the lead also sees your LinkedIn request and messages. Say so in a few words, so the two channels read as one conversation: "I sent you a note on LinkedIn too, so I'll keep this short." Do it in every email after the first touch. See the [multichannel starter](https://docs.versionseven.ai/playbook/sequences/multichannel-b2b-default).

## Cold email rules the Copilot follows

The AI Sales Copilot writes every sequence to these rules, and they hold for copy you write yourself:

- No links and no attachments in any sequence message. They hurt deliverability and read as a pitch. A link goes out only in an Appointment Setter reply, when the prospect asks for it.
- No claims you can't prove. Every number, client name or result must be real; soften anything uncertain, such as "teams we work with often" instead of a made-up percentage.
- A small, give-first ask in early touches, not a meeting.
- Short, first person, no em dashes and no slop. See [Slop](https://docs.versionseven.ai/playbook/slop-language).

## No links or attachments in cold email

Never put a link or an attachment in a sequence email: not your website, not a case study, not a booking page. Mailbox providers treat links and attachments in cold email as spam signals, and in a first email they read as a pitch.

Offer the give in words instead, and send it once they say yes. The Appointment Setter shares a link from your **Assets** or your booking link in its reply when the prospect asks. See [Configuring the Appointment Setter](https://docs.versionseven.ai/playbook/appointment-setter-configuration).

## Send cold email from a dedicated mailbox and domain

Copy only matters if it reaches the inbox. Don't send cold email from the mailbox you use every day: use mailboxes on a dedicated sending domain, warm them up with a warm-up service, and set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. See [Sending mailbox best practices](https://docs.versionseven.ai/help/sending-mailbox-best-practices).

## Cold email variables

Variables use single braces: `{first_name}`, `{last_name}`, `{company}`, `{title}`, custom fields from your CSV, and AI Personalization fields by their exact name. Double braces don't work. See [Personalization fields](https://docs.versionseven.ai/help/personalization-fields).