# Cold outreach email prompt: free ChatGPT template > An honest cold email prompt for ChatGPT: verified facts about the prospect only, who you are and why you're writing, one easy question and a clear opt-out. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/cold-outreach-email-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Sales](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-sales) · [Sales](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-sales) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this for a first email to someone who doesn't know you, when you have a real reason to think you could help them. Most AI cold emails fake familiarity ("Loved your recent post"), invent research and bury the ask. This prompt uses only facts you've checked about the prospect, says plainly who you are and why you're writing, asks one low-effort question and makes it easy to say no or opt out. ## The prompt Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every `[BLANK]` with your own details. It uses the four parts from [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Role, Context, Task and Format. Copy prompt ```text Role: You are [SENDER] at [COMPANY], writing a first email to someone we haven't spoken with before. Context: We help [WHO WE HELP] with [WHAT WE DO]. What I know about this prospect, verified: [PROSPECT FACTS]. Use only these facts about them. Don't pretend we've met, don't claim to have read or seen anything not listed, don't use "Re:" or "Following up" in the subject, and don't invent results, customers or deadlines. Task: Write a short first email that says who I am, why I'm writing to them specifically, and asks one easy question: [ASK]. Include a plain line offering to stop, such as "If this isn't relevant, reply 'no thanks' and I won't email again." Format: Subject line under 7 words, honest about the topic. Body under 90 words. No emoji, no flattery, no pressure. Sign with my name, company and contact details. ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[SENDER]`** Your name and role. Cold email from a real, named person reads differently from "The Team." **`[COMPANY]`** Your company name. **`[WHO WE HELP]`** The kind of business you serve, specifically. **`[WHAT WE DO]`** What you do for them, in one plain phrase. No superlatives. **`[PROSPECT FACTS]`** Two or three things you've actually checked, such as what their website says. If you can't list any, the email has no reason to exist yet. **`[ASK]`** One small question they can answer in a line, not a request for a 30-minute call. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [Build a Custom GPT That Writes Sales Follow-Up Emails](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/custom-gpt-sales-follow-up-email-writer). Northwind Scheduling Software is the made-up company in the sales lessons. A rep is writing to a made-up lawn care owner whose website asks customers to call or text to book. Copy example ```text Role: You are Alex, a sales rep at Northwind Scheduling Software, writing a first email to someone we haven't spoken with before. Context: We help small service businesses like cleaning companies, salons, lawn care crews and repair shops with online scheduling: customers book themselves and get reminders. What I know about this prospect, verified: Dan Mercer owns Greenway Lawn Co., a lawn care company; their website says "Call or text to book" and has no online booking; the site lists a crew of four. Use only these facts about them. Don't pretend we've met, don't claim to have read or seen anything not listed, don't use "Re:" or "Following up" in the subject, and don't invent results, customers or deadlines. Task: Write a short first email that says who I am, why I'm writing to them specifically, and asks one easy question: whether letting customers book online is something they've thought about for next season. Include a plain line offering to stop, such as "If this isn't relevant, reply 'no thanks' and I won't email again." Format: Subject line under 7 words, honest about the topic. Body under 90 words. No emoji, no flattery, no pressure. Sign with my name, company and contact details. ``` ## What a good answer looks like - An opening that says who you are and why you picked them, using only your verified facts. - One question that's easy to answer in a line. - A clear, friendly way to opt out, and a promise to honor it. - No fake reply threads, no flattery and no claims about other customers' results. ## How to check it before you use it An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the [Reply Faster lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out. - Check every claim about the prospect against your verified facts. If the email says "I saw your team is growing" and you didn't give that, delete it. - Check the claims about you too: features, customers and results must be real and specific, or left out. - Follow the commercial email rules where you and the prospect are; many require your real identity, a working opt-out and a postal address. If you're unsure, ask someone who knows those rules. - Keep a list of everyone who said no or opted out, and honor it in every tool you send from. ## Why this prompt works Honesty is the strategy here, not just good manners. A specific reason for writing and an easy way out read like a person who did their homework, which is what earns a reply. The "verified facts only" rule keeps the AI from inventing that homework, which is a quiet form of [hallucination](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/hallucination). ## Practice it in the free lesson **[Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format)**: Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-writing-101) ## Terms used here [Prompt constraints](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/prompt-constraints) · [Hallucination](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/hallucination) · [CRM](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/crm) ## Related prompts - [Sales follow-up after demo prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/sales-follow-up-after-demo-prompt): Write a follow-up after a sales demo from your call notes: the features that fit, price only if asked, one next step. A ChatGPT… - [Discovery call prep prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/discovery-call-prep-prompt): Prep for a discovery call with a ChatGPT prompt that separates what you know from what you're assuming, then gives open… - [Lead qualification prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/lead-qualification-prompt): Sort leads into Hot, Warm and Nurture with your own written rules. This ChatGPT prompt quotes the words behind each rating and… - [LinkedIn post prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/linkedin-post-prompt): A ChatGPT prompt for a LinkedIn post in your voice, built on a real moment in your work and one clear point, with no invented… ## Frequently asked questions **Should I follow up if they don't reply?** One short, polite follow-up is common. Make it shorter than the first email, add something useful rather than "just checking in," and stop there unless they reply. Anyone who says no or opts out gets no more emails. [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)