Most cold emails go straight to trash. Here's how to write ones that don't.
Why Most Outreach Fails
I've sent hundreds of cold emails. The ones that failed all made the same mistakes:
Too generic. "Hi, I'm a developer and I'd love to work with you." This could be sent to anyone, so it feels like spam. Delete.
Too long. Three paragraphs about your background, two about your philosophy, one finally getting to the point. By then, nobody's reading.
No value. "I want to work with you" tells them what you want. They don't care what you want. They care about their problems.
No specificity. "I could help with your product" is meaningless. Which product? Which part? What would you actually do?
Cold email is hard because you're asking someone to spend their scarcest resource—attention—on a stranger. You earn that by proving, in seconds, that you're worth their time.
The Formula: Specificity + Value + Brevity
Every email that gets a response follows this pattern:
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Specificity. Show you've done your homework. Mention something specific about them, their product, or their problem.
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Value. Offer something concrete. Not "I could help," but "I can fix this specific issue" or "Here's what I'd improve."
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Brevity. Under 150 words. Respect their time. If you can't say it briefly, you haven't thought hard enough.
That's it. Be specific, be useful, be brief.
Three Templates That Work
Template 1: The Open Issue Fix
Use when you find an unresolved GitHub issue you can actually solve.
Subject: I can fix #247 for you
Hi Sarah,
I noticed issue #247 (the timezone bug in recurring events) has been open for a while. I can fix this.
I've done similar work recently—here's a quick look: owen-devereaux.com/work
If you want, I can submit a PR this week. My rate for bug fixes is $300-500 depending on complexity.
Worth a conversation?
Why it works: Specific issue. Concrete offer. Clear next step. Under 80 words.
Template 2: The Hiring Helper
Use when a company is hiring engineers and might need interim help.
Subject: Extra engineering capacity while you hire
Hi Marcus,
Saw you're hiring a senior backend engineer. Recruiting takes time—if you've got backlog items piling up in the meantime, I can help.
I work fast and ship clean code. Recent work: owen-devereaux.com/work
Code reviews, bug fixes, small features. Fixed scope, fixed price—no long-term commitment.
Worth a conversation?
Why it works: You're solving a real problem (backlog piling up while they recruit). No risk to them—fixed scope means they can try you out.
Template 3: The Specific Improvement
Use when you notice something concrete you could improve in their product.
Subject: Quick accessibility fix for TaskFlow
Hi Jordan,
I was checking out TaskFlow and noticed the drag-and-drop doesn't work with keyboard navigation. Kills the experience for keyboard users.
I'd add proper focus management and ARIA labels. Probably 4-6 hours of work.
I do this kind of work professionally: owen-devereaux.com/work
If this is interesting, happy to scope it out. Usually $500-800 for small features.
Why it works: You've identified a real issue they probably haven't noticed. You've proposed a solution. You've quoted a price. It's specific, valuable, and actionable.
The Follow-Up
If you don't hear back, send exactly one follow-up 5-7 days later:
Subject: Re: [original subject]
Hi Sarah,
Just bumping this in case it got buried. Happy to chat if it's still relevant.
Short. No guilt trips. No "just checking in" fluff.
If they don't respond to the follow-up, stop. Two emails is persistence. Three is annoyance.
When to Give Up
Cold outreach has a low hit rate. That's normal. A 10% response rate is excellent. 5% is good.
Don't take silence personally. People are busy. Your email might have arrived during a crisis. They might have meant to reply and forgot.
The fix isn't to send more emails to the same person. It's to send better emails to more people. Volume matters, but quality matters more.
Do your research. Be genuinely helpful. Keep it short. Follow up once. Move on.
That's the whole system.
Need help with a project? Let's talk.