1. Pick one writing job, not one audience
"Marketers" is too broad. Pick a repeated, painful writing task like product descriptions for Shopify stores, weekly client reports for agencies, or job descriptions for recruiters. Your email will be about that task, not about AI. If you can't name the task in five words, keep narrowing.
2. Find people who do that job this week
Search LinkedIn for titles like "Content Marketing Manager", "Ecommerce Manager" or "Technical Recruiter" at companies with 10 to 50 people. Check job boards like Indeed or Wellfound for companies hiring a "freelance copywriter" or "content writer". A company hiring for writing right now has the problem today. Aim for a list of 50 names.
3. Get the right email address
Most small companies use firstname@company.com. Check the company site, the person's personal site or their GitHub, then confirm with a free checker like the trial tier of Hunter.io. Skip info@ and hello@ addresses, they rarely reach the person who writes.
4. Lead with their writing, not your product
Open with something specific you noticed in their actual content. Example: "Saw your team posted 40 new products last week and each description is hand written. That looks like a full day of work." One true observation beats any clever opener.
5. Make one small, concrete offer
Don't ask for a demo. Offer to do the work for free once. Example: "Want me to send back 10 of those descriptions rewritten in your brand voice? If they're not usable, just ignore this." Then actually do it by hand with your tool and send the result.
6. Keep it under 90 words with a plain subject
Subject lines like "your product descriptions" or "quick question about your blog" get opened because they look like a colleague wrote them. No links, no images, no signature banner in the first email. Read it on your phone before sending. If you have to scroll, cut it.
7. Follow up twice, then stop
Send a short follow up after 3 days and a last one after 7. Example: "Did the sample idea make sense? Happy to just send the 10 rewrites so you can judge." If someone uses the free work, ask for a paid trial that week: "Want me to set you up so your team can do this themselves? It's $X a month."
8. Track every send and every reply
Use a simple spreadsheet: name, company, task, date sent, reply, outcome. After 50 sends, look at which task and which opener got replies and double down on that. Hulby does this research, writing and tracking daily for a founder, so you only handle the replies.
Mistakes to skip
- Pitching "AI writing" instead of a specific writing task the person already does.
- Asking for a 30 minute demo call in the first email.
- Sending the same template to 500 people instead of researching 50.
- Giving up after one email with no follow up.
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Find my first customersQuestions
How many cold emails should I send per day?
Start with 10 to 20 well researched emails a day from a normal inbox. Quality matters more than volume, and low volume protects your domain.
Should I mention that my tool uses AI?
Not in the first line. Lead with the outcome for their task. Mention AI only if they ask how it works.
Is cold email legal?
In most places B2B cold email is allowed if you are honest about who you are, email work addresses, and stop when someone asks. Check the rules where you and your recipients are, especially in the EU.
What reply rate is good?
Track your own numbers rather than chasing a benchmark. If you get almost no replies after 50 sends, change the task you target or the opener, not just the subject line.