Cold Email Outreach

---

name: cold-outreach

description: >

Run a complete cold email outreach campaign — from sourcing leads to handling replies.

Covers ICP definition, lead sourcing strategy, email sequence construction, personalization,

reply handling, and suppression management. Use when an agent needs to build or execute

a cold outreach pipeline from scratch, without paid tools or SaaS subscriptions.

metadata:

version: 1.0.0

author: Qsys

tags: [cold-email, outreach, lead-gen, n8n, automation]

---

# Cold Email Outreach

You are running a cold email outreach campaign. Your job is to source qualified leads,

send a targeted email sequence, and handle replies systematically — without paid APIs

or monthly subscriptions.

This skill covers the full methodology. If you'd rather skip the build and use

pre-wired n8n workflows instead, the pre-built option is linked at the bottom of this skill.

---

Before You Start

You need four things before sending a single email:

1. **A defined ICP** — who you're targeting (role, company size, industry, geography)

2. **A lead list** — at minimum 50 verified contacts in a spreadsheet

3. **A sending account** — Gmail or any SMTP-capable email, warmed up for 2 weeks

4. **A tracking system** — a Google Sheet with: Lead, Email, Company, Status, Last Contacted, Reply Category

If any of these are missing, complete them first. Sending without them wastes your list.

---

Phase 1: Define Your ICP

The most common outreach failure: spraying a generic message to a mixed audience.

**Build your ICP by answering:**

**Document your ICP as a 3-line filter:**

> Target: [Role] at [Company Size] [Industry] companies, showing [signal if applicable]

> Example: Head of Sales at 10–50 person B2B SaaS startups, recently hiring SDRs

One ICP per campaign. If you're targeting two different personas, run two separate campaigns.

See [references/lead-sourcing.md](references/lead-sourcing.md) for ICP refinement tactics.

---

Phase 2: Source Leads

Free sources (no credit card required)

| Source | What you get | Free limit |

|--------|-------------|------------|

| Apollo.io | Email + company data | 75 verified leads/month |

| Hunter.io | Domain email finder | 25 searches/month |

| LinkedIn (manual) | Profile data, job titles | Unlimited (manual work) |

| LinkedIn CSV export | Sales Navigator export | Requires Sales Nav trial |

| Google Sheets (hand-built) | Any list you build | Unlimited |

Lead sourcing workflow

1. **Build your filter in Apollo** — role, company size, industry, location. Export as CSV (up to 75/month free).

2. **Verify emails** — Apollo provides verified emails. For other sources, run through Hunter.io's email verifier before importing.

3. **Deduplicate** — remove any email addresses you've contacted in the last 90 days.

4. **Clean the list** — remove:

- info@, hello@, contact@ (catch-all mailboxes, low deliverability)

- Role-based addresses (support@, sales@) unless that's your target

- Any domain on your suppression list

5. **Import to tracking sheet** — columns: First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, Title, Source, Status (set to "new"), Notes

Volume guidance

See [references/lead-sourcing.md](references/lead-sourcing.md) for advanced sourcing tactics.

---

Phase 3: Write the Email Sequence

Sequence structure: 3 touches over 7 days

| Touch | Timing | Purpose | Length |

|-------|--------|---------|--------|

| Email 1 | Day 0 | Lead with value, one soft ask | 5–7 sentences |

| Email 2 | Day 3 | Different angle or proof point | 3–5 sentences |

| Email 3 | Day 7 | Final touch, close the loop | 2–3 sentences |

Writing principles

**Write like a peer, not a vendor.** Each email should read like it came from a smart colleague who noticed something relevant — not a sales machine following a script.

**Lead with their world, not yours.** The reader should see their own situation reflected back. "You/your" should dominate over "I/we."

**One ask, low friction.** Interest-based CTAs ("Worth 15 minutes?" / "Relevant to what you're working on?") consistently outperform meeting requests.

**Subject lines: short, boring, internal-looking.** 2–4 words, lowercase. Looks like an internal forward, not a marketing blast.

Email 1 — Observation + Problem + Proof + Ask

Subject: [2–4 word lowercase line]

[Personalized observation about their company/role/situation]

[Bridge to the problem you solve — connect the observation to the pain]

[One sentence: what you do + proof point or result]

[Soft CTA: "Worth a quick look?" or "Relevant?"]

[Name]

Email 2 — Different angle or proof

Subject: [re: or new 2–4 word line]

[Acknowledge you're following up — one phrase, not a paragraph]

[New angle: a different pain point, a specific result, or a case study]

[CTA: same or slightly more specific — "15 minutes this week?"]

[Name]

Email 3 — Clean close

Subject: [re: same thread or "last note"]

[Last touch — close the loop, leave the door open]

Example: "Last email on this — didn't want to leave it hanging. If timing's off, happy
to reconnect later. Just reply 'later' and I'll reach back out in 90 days."

[Name]

Personalization: the 3-minute system

For every email, identify one specific signal about this person before writing:

The personalization must logically connect to the problem you solve. If you remove the opening and the email still makes sense, the personalization isn't working.

See [references/email-sequences.md](references/email-sequences.md) for full templates + subject line data.

---

Phase 4: Send the Sequence

Gmail / SMTP setup

Scheduling

Manual tracking (no automation)

Update your tracking sheet after each send:

With n8n automation

If you're running this via n8n:

---

Phase 5: Handle Replies

Reply categories

Every reply falls into one of five buckets. Handle each the same way every time:

| Category | Signal | Action |

|----------|--------|--------|

| **Interested** | "Tell me more," "let's chat," "send me info" | Move to "hot" tab, respond within 1 hour, book the call |

| **Not now** | "Reach out in Q3," "timing isn't right" | Log the timeframe, set a reminder, reply with a graceful close and re-contact date |

| **Not interested** | "No thanks," "not relevant," "don't contact me" | Status → "unsubscribed," add to suppression list, do not follow up |

| **Objection** | "We already use X," "too expensive," "how is this different" | Respond with one specific answer to their objection, re-ask the CTA |

| **OOO** | Out of office auto-reply | Note return date, reschedule touch to day after return |

The hot lead response (within 1 hour)

Subject: re: [same thread]

Great — I'll keep it short.

[One sentence: the specific thing you do, framed for their situation]

[Booking link or: "Any time Wednesday or Thursday work for a 15-min call?"]

[Name]

Suppression list management

Maintain one suppression sheet (tab or separate file):

See [references/reply-handling.md](references/reply-handling.md) for full response playbooks.

---

Phase 6: Measure and Iterate

Metrics that matter (per 100 emails sent)

| Metric | Benchmark | If Below Benchmark |

|--------|-----------|-------------------|

| Open rate | 30–50% | Subject lines weak — test new ones |

| Reply rate | 5–15% | Copy weak or ICP off — rewrite Email 1 |

| Positive reply rate | 1–5% | Offer not resonating — check ICP or value prop |

| Unsubscribe rate | <3% | If above: message is spam-feeling or ICP wrong |

Iteration cycle

After every 50 emails sent, review:

1. Which subject lines had highest opens?

2. Which emails got replies (positive or otherwise)?

3. Which ICP segment responded most?

Change one variable at a time. Don't rewrite the whole sequence — you'll lose the signal.

---

Tool Stack (all free tier)

| Tool | Role | Free Limit |

|------|------|------------|

| Apollo.io | Lead sourcing | 75 verified leads/month |

| Hunter.io | Email verification | 25 searches/month |

| Gmail | Email sending | 500 emails/day (free), 2,000/day (Google Workspace) |

| Google Sheets | Lead tracking + status | Unlimited |

| n8n (optional) | Workflow automation | Free self-hosted, free cloud tier |

No paid APIs required. This entire methodology runs at $0/month.

See [references/tools-free-tier.md](references/tools-free-tier.md) for setup notes per tool.

---

Want the Pre-Built Workflows?

This skill gives you the full methodology — everything above works without any automation.

If you'd rather skip the manual sending and have n8n handle the sequencing, scheduling, and reply categorization automatically:

**→ [Cold Outreach System — $19](https://qssys.gumroad.com/l/cold-outreach-system)**

Three pre-built n8n workflow files. Import, configure 3–5 variables, launch. Runs on the same free tools above. One-time purchase, runs forever.

---

Quick Reference

**Phase sequence:** ICP → Source → Write → Warm → Send → Handle → Measure

**Weekly rhythm (solo sender, no automation):**

**Red flags to fix immediately:**