Cold email templates

Cold email templates, written by Dylan's rules.

A good B2B cold email template says who is writing and for whom, gives one reason to write to this person now, makes one small ask and offers an easy way to say no. Below are six templates in that shape, each with a filled-in example, why it works and what to avoid.

Follow-up email templates Meeting request template Cold email subject lines Grade your own email

Which cold email template should you use?

Your situation	Template
You write to someone for the first time, and you have a real reason to write to them now.	The first cold email
An AI agent writes for your company. The first sentence says so, and names the company.	The first email from an AI agent
You know this is the right person and the reason is strong, so you ask for a meeting at two real times.	Asking for a meeting
Your first email got no reply, and you have one new fact worth a second email.	The second email: one new thing
You have written twice with no reply. This email says it is the last, and it is.	The last email: close the loop
You have a reason to write to the company, but you are not sure who owns the topic.	Finding the right person
You need a subject line for any of them.	Cold email subject lines

The templates

Copy one, fill in every field, and read it once as the person who gets it. Each one opens a filled-in example; the companies and the people in the examples are invented.

The first cold email

When to use itYou write to someone for the first time, and you have a real reason to write to them now.

Why it works

The first line says who is writing and for which company, so a stranger can judge the email at a glance.
The reason belongs to this person, this month. It is the one line a merge field cannot fake.
One small ask, so a reply takes one word.
The last line is an obvious way out, and you keep the promise it makes.

What not to do

Opening with "I hope this email finds you well" or "I wanted to reach out". Those lines could go to anyone.
Sending it with the reason field empty or vague. Without a reason, it is a mass email with a first name.
Adding a second question, a deck or a row of links.

Grade the example

Template

Subject: {{topic}} at {{company}}

Hi {{firstName}},

I'm {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}}. I'm writing because {{reason}}. {{yourCompany}} {{offer}}. Would a short call next week be useful? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

See it filled inExample

The first cold email, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: fuel cards at nordfeld

Hi Maya,

I'm Alex at Harrow Line. I'm writing because Nordfeld just opened a second warehouse in Ohio, and a new site usually means new fuel cards. Harrow Line puts every vehicle on one card with its own spend limit. Would a short call next week be useful? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

The first email from an AI agent

When to use itAn AI agent writes for your company. The first sentence says so, and names the company.

Why it works

The disclosure sits in the first line, not in small print under the signature. A disclosure nobody reads is not a disclosure.
It names the company the agent works for, so the reader knows whose brand is on the email.
The rest has the shape of any good first email: a reason, one ask, a way out.

What not to do

A human first name and no mention of AI. A disguise fails twice: once for the email, and again for the company named in it.
Putting the disclosure in the signature, where nobody reads it.
A way out that depends on the agent reading the reply correctly. Any reply should stop the next email, by rule.

Grade the example

Template

Subject: {{topic}} across your {{place}}
From: The AI agent, for {{yourCompany}}

Hi {{firstName}}, I'm {{yourName}}, an AI agent working with {{yourCompany}}. I'm writing because {{reason}}. {{yourCompany}} {{offer}}. Would a 20-minute review be useful? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

See it filled inExample

The first email from an AI agent, filled inExample

From: Dylan, AI agent for Harrow Line
To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: fuel across your ohio sites

Hi Maya, I'm Dylan, an AI agent working with Harrow Line. I'm writing because Nordfeld just opened a second warehouse in Ohio, and a new site usually means new fuel cards. Harrow Line puts every vehicle on one card with its own spend limit. Would a 20-minute review of your fuel spend be useful? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

The companies and the people are invented.

Asking for a meeting

When to use itYou know this is the right person and the reason is strong, so you ask for a meeting at two real times.

Why it works

Two real times, written the way a calendar shows them: the day, the date, the time and the zone. Saying yes takes one word.
The ask is small and exact: 20 minutes at a named time, not "some time to connect".
The reason comes before the ask, so the meeting has a purpose the reader can see.
It still offers a way to say no. A meeting request without one reads like pressure.

What not to do

"Next Thursday at 10.30am-ish?" A loose time makes the reader do the work.
Asking for a meeting and a referral and a reply to a question, all in one email.
Attaching a deck. Plain emails carry no attachments, and a first email should not need one.

Grade the example More on this template

Template

Subject: 20 minutes on {{topic}}

Hi {{firstName}},

I'm {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}}. I'm writing because {{reason}}. {{yourCompany}} {{offer}}. Would {{time1}} or {{time2}} work for 20 minutes? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

See it filled inExample

Asking for a meeting, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: 20 minutes on fuel cards

Hi Maya,

I'm Alex at Harrow Line. I'm writing because Nordfeld just opened a second warehouse in Ohio, and a new site usually means new fuel cards. Harrow Line puts every vehicle on one card with its own spend limit. Would Thursday, Oct 22, 10:30 Eastern or Friday, Oct 23, 14:00 Eastern work for 20 minutes? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

The second email: one new thing

When to use itYour first email got no reply, and you have one new fact worth a second email.

Why it works

It sits in the same thread as your first email, so the reader sees what came before. That is a real follow-up, not a fake Re: on a first email.
It adds one new thing instead of repeating the first email, so there is something new to answer.
It says again who is writing and keeps the way out, because the reader may never have opened the first email.
One question, with an easy answer either way.

What not to do

"Just following up" or "circling back" with nothing new to say.
A new subject line that hides that this is the same pitch.
Guilt lines such as "I guess you're busy".

Grade the example More on this template

Template

Subject: {{topic}} at {{company}}

Hi {{firstName}}, it's {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}} again. I'm writing once more because {{reason}}. One thing I left out: {{detail}}. Is this worth a short call, or is the timing wrong? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

Send it as a reply to your first email, so the subject and the thread stay the same.

See it filled inExample

The second email: one new thing, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: fuel cards at nordfeld

Hi Maya, it's Alex at Harrow Line again. I'm writing once more because Nordfeld's Ohio site opens soon, and fuel cards are easier to set up before the first trucks arrive. One thing I left out: each card can be limited to fuel only, so a lost card buys nothing else. Is this worth a short call, or is the timing wrong? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

The last email: close the loop

When to use itYou have written twice with no reply. This email says it is the last, and it is.

Why it works

It says this is the last email, and then it is. A promise to stop only counts if you keep it.
It leaves a door open for later instead of pushing for now.
It restates the reason in one line, for a reader who never opened the first two.

What not to do

Calling it the last email and then sending another one.
A "breakup" line meant to sting, such as "I'll assume this isn't a priority".
Writing again after a no, from another address or another colleague.

Grade the example More on this template

Template

Subject: {{topic}} at {{company}}

Hi {{firstName}}, it's {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}}, with my last note on this. I wrote because {{reason}}, and I don't want to fill your inbox. Would it be fine if I wrote again in {{month}}? If you'd rather I didn't, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

Send it in the same thread as the first two emails.

See it filled inExample

The last email: close the loop, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: fuel cards at nordfeld

Hi Maya, it's Alex at Harrow Line, with my last note on this. I wrote because Nordfeld just opened a second warehouse in Ohio, and I don't want to fill your inbox. Would it be fine if I wrote again in March? If you'd rather I didn't, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

Finding the right person

When to use itYou have a reason to write to the company, but you are not sure who owns the topic.

Why it works

It asks for a name, not a meeting. That is a smaller ask, and it is easy to answer.
It still gives the reason, so whoever it is forwarded to knows why you wrote.
One question and one way out.

What not to do

Writing to five people at the same company on the same day.
Pretending someone referred you when nobody did.

Grade the example

Template

Subject: who looks after {{topic}}?

Hi {{firstName}},

I'm {{yourName}} at {{yourCompany}}. I'm writing because {{reason}}, and I'm not sure who at {{company}} looks after {{topic}}. Is that you, or is there someone better to write to? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, {{yourName}}

See it filled inExample

Finding the right person, filled inExample

To: Maya, Nordfeld
Subject: who looks after fuel cards?

Hi Maya,

I'm Alex at Harrow Line. I'm writing because Nordfeld just opened a second warehouse in Ohio, and I'm not sure who at Nordfeld looks after fuel cards. Is that you, or is there someone better to write to? If not, reply "no" and I won't write again.

Best, Alex

The companies and the people are invented.

What goes in the fields?

Fill in every one before you send. An empty field is the first thing a reader sees, and the grader marks it.

{{firstName}}: Their first name.
{{company}}: Their company.
{{yourName}}: Your name, or the AI agent's name if an agent sends it.
{{yourCompany}}: Your company.
{{reason}}: Why you write to this person now: a new site, a new leader, a new market. Something true about them.
{{offer}}: What your company does, in one line and in their terms.
{{topic}}: What the email is about, in two or three lowercase words.
{{detail}}: One fact the first email left out.
{{time1}}: A real time you can meet: the day, the date, the time and the zone.
{{time2}}: A second real time, on another day.
{{month}}: When you could write again, if they would like that.
{{event}}: What just happened at their company, in a few words.
{{place}}: Where what you sell applies to them: their sites, their region, their team.

What makes a cold email template work?

Five sentences carry four things: who is writing, for whom, why this person now, and how to say no. Every template here keeps that shape:

Who is writing, and for whom, in the first line. From an AI agent, the first sentence says it is an AI.
A reason that belongs to this person, this month: a new site, a new leader, a new market.
One small ask. Two asks make the reader choose; one lets them answer.
An obvious way to say no, and you keep the promise it makes.

The rest is restraint: short sentences, a lowercase subject, no hype words, no attachments and few links. How Dylan writes shows one first email line by line.

What should a cold email never do?

Fake a conversation. No "Re:" on a first email, and no "just following up on my last note" when there was no last note.
Hide who is writing. An AI agent says it is one, in the first line. Why Dylan says he is an AI.
Sell instead of describe. Words like revolutionary, seamless or game-changer, and promises like "guaranteed", get cut.
Carry a payload. Plain emails have no attachments, few links and no tracking pixels. Cold email deliverability in 2026.
Ignore a no. In the United States the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide says subject lines must not deceive and opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days, and the law makes no exception for business-to-business email. This is not legal advice.

Do these templates come with reply rates?

No. We publish no reply rate for any template on this page: we have no data on them, and a template is only as good as the reason you put in it. For numbers on whole sequences, Belkins' 2026 follow-up study reports its own clients' campaigns. Belkins builds Dylan.

The cold email grader checks an email against the rules these templates follow. The score is how closely your email follows the rules Dylan writes by. It is not a prediction of replies.

Sources

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