A cold email wins on credibility, a named mutual connection, politeness and a clear, low-entitlement ask.
Lead the subject line with the name they knowSubject lines truncate on mobile, so the mutual connection goes first and your own name last.
Never name a connection you do not actually knowAssume the recipient texts that person immediately; nine times out of 10 they barely remember you, and you are gone.
Your cold email is an audition for everything afterA vague ask, a hyperlinked "here", or instant familiarity reads as a lack of awareness and gets archived.
Executive SummaryAI
Tim Ferriss explains that reaching out to someone above your pay grade starts with credibility in the subject line, using the Tom Cruise example of a person you would need to route through others.
He puts the mutual connection first in the subject line — "for Tom Cruise via mutual connection, Tim Ferriss" — because subject lines get truncated on mobile, and warns that anyone you name will be texted, so you had better actually know them.
For people without a billion downloads, he describes volunteering for organizations with name cache such as Ty, the Indus entrepreneur and the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs, which is how he met Jack Canfield of chicken soup for the soul, still a friend 25 years later and the person who introduced him to the agent who sold the four hour work week after 26 rejections.
In the body he insists on a line or two saying who you are rather than links or attachments, because busy people get a thousand emails a day and face phishing attacks, including a fake "you're invited to the Tim Ferriss podcast" scam that ends in screen access and a hijacked Facebook page held for ransom.
He closes by making the ask explicit, offering a phone or Google Voice number with a promise of no more than 10 minutes, displaying zero entitlement, and following up only once after at least a week.
Key Quote
“So if they just see for Tom Cruise from Tim Ferriss, it's going to be like, who the fuck is Tim Ferriss? Archive.”
— Tim Ferriss
Key Quote
“if you're going to mention mutual connections, and I'm shocked by how many people violate this, you better actually know, assume the person you're emailing is going to immediately text those people.”
— Tim Ferriss
Key Quote
“So your, your job number one is don't do anything stupid.”