How to Use AI to Write Cold Emails that Get 10x More Replies

The psychology behind cold emails that work, and an AI framework to craft your own

Dear subscribers,

Today, I want to share how AI can help you craft cold emails that get 10x more replies.

The right cold email can unlock amazing job opportunities. Yet most people still default to generic requests for "a quick call" to "pick your brain."

A few weeks ago, I received a cold email that made me want to drop everything and help. So let’s walk through:

1. What separates the best cold emails from the rest

2. 5 ways to stand out even more in your cold outreach

3. My AI prompt to help you craft emails that get replies

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What separates the best cold emails from the rest

Here's the cold email that caught my attention:

What made this email stand out? Credibility. Aarav’s CS degree, great internships, and startup experience made him uniquely qualified for a PM role. But I knew that we could make it even better. Here's what he came up with after my feedback:

The key insights here is that:

Hiring managers are always hungry for thoughtful feedback about their products.

In his revised email, Aarav:

1. Did his homework and discovered I worked on Roblox's analytics product.

2. Shared specific suggestions on how to improve the product.

3. Made a low-effort ask — I just needed to forward his email to recruiting.

Needless to say, I went out of my way to help him.

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5 ways to stand out even more in your cold emails

Want to go even further? Here are five things that hiring managers love in a cold email that 99% of candidates don’t bother to include:

1. Talk to their customers and include specific feedback about their product.

2. Write a friction log of their product that includes both problems and solutions.

3. Reference their content meaningfully. Don’t just write, "I loved your blog post," but write, "Your point about X made me think about Y."

4. Show your work. Include a sample of what you could contribute, such as product improvement ideas, competitive research, or mockups.

5. Create an AI prototype of a new feature. Screenshot their current product, use AI to mockup improvements, and share the link to a working prototype.

Creating AI prototypes (#5) is especially powerful because it's both innovative and rare. I'll teach you my exact process in my upcoming AI PM course (March 29-30).

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My personal AI prompt to craft great cold outreach

My prompt works!

Since we’re all tired of getting our brains picked, I spent hours crafting an AI prompt to help you edit your cold emails and DMs to get 10x more replies.

Here’s what the prompt includes:

1. Real examples of effective cold emails from myself and others

2. The four elements every great cold email needs:

   1. Why should I care? Create a hook.

   2. Who are you? Establish credibility.

   3. How can you help me? Offer value.

   4. How can I help? Make a low-effort ask.

Ok, here’s the AI prompt (I’ve also added this to my AI prompt library for paid subs):