## Why most cold email fails
Most cold email fails for the same three reasons: the list is wrong, the first line is about you, and the CTA asks for too much. Fix those and reply rates climb from 1% to 8–12% — without touching the body.
## The 4-line framework
1. **Trigger line** — a specific, recent reason you're reaching out. "Saw you just opened a second location in Utrecht."
2. **Bridge** — one sentence connecting the trigger to a problem they likely have.
3. **Proof** — a single, quantified outcome from a comparable customer. No logos, no fluff.
4. **Soft CTA** — interest-check, not a meeting ask. "Worth a 10-minute call next week?"
## Deliverability checklist
- Warm the domain for 3 weeks before sending volume
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC aligned
- One sending domain per persona, never your primary
- Stay under 40 sends per inbox per day
- Rotate plain-text variants to dodge spam fingerprinting
## Subject lines that worked this quarter
- "quick question, {{firstName}}"
- "{{companyName}} + {{specific outcome}}"
- "saw your post on {{topic}}"
Keep them lowercase, under 5 words, and never use emoji.
## What to track
Reply rate is the only metric that matters in week one. Open rate is now mostly noise thanks to Apple Mail privacy. By week four you should see positive-reply rate climb above 3% — if not, the list is the problem, not the copy.