This is pretty great and a variation of what I do. One thing I’d add: pretty much every high worth contact has a registered agent. You can typically find the address on terms of service page. For significantly higher conversion (+25%,) send them a handwritten note, with a copy of the original email, certified return receipt to said registered address, “care of” contact.
If you want an almost guaranteed response, here’s the formula:
1) do online research on “their thing,” eg yacht, F1, watches, horses, latest venture, etc.
2) go on Fiver and hire a caricature artist in the US to draw your contact details n 8.5” x 11” parchment paper. Vet multiple artists for quality and speed (cost will be -$6.) and once an artist is commissioned , send them your contact’s head shot and direct them to include “their thing” in the drawing. Instruct them to mail you the original + digital copy of your original. (Your instinct will be to use AI to generate the image. Don’t do that.)
3) go to ikea.com and buy a $2 8.5x 11 frame. Buy multiple for cheaper and establish a process.
4) Once orders arrive, frame the drawing, include it with your email print out and handwritten note.
5) send certified return receipt with your contact details.
6) Expect contact to email you immediately upon reception of parcel with image of drawing and much gratitude. They’ll probably hang in their office, and send you a photo of it hanging.
This rarely fails. It shows intention, extra effort, and genuine contribution. Contact will do the math and realize the synthesis of effort is a million X the cost. Massive impression they’ll remember forever. Friend for life regardless of outcome.
If you want an almost guaranteed response, here’s the formula:
1) do online research on “their thing,” eg yacht, F1, watches, horses, latest venture, etc.
2) go on Fiver and hire a caricature artist in the US to draw your contact details n 8.5” x 11” parchment paper. Vet multiple artists for quality and speed (cost will be -$6.) and once an artist is commissioned , send them your contact’s head shot and direct them to include “their thing” in the drawing. Instruct them to mail you the original + digital copy of your original. (Your instinct will be to use AI to generate the image. Don’t do that.)
3) go to ikea.com and buy a $2 8.5x 11 frame. Buy multiple for cheaper and establish a process.
4) Once orders arrive, frame the drawing, include it with your email print out and handwritten note.
5) send certified return receipt with your contact details.
6) Expect contact to email you immediately upon reception of parcel with image of drawing and much gratitude. They’ll probably hang in their office, and send you a photo of it hanging.
This rarely fails. It shows intention, extra effort, and genuine contribution. Contact will do the math and realize the synthesis of effort is a million X the cost. Massive impression they’ll remember forever. Friend for life regardless of outcome.
They’ll tell this story to others… “there’s this guy, Andy, he sent me this caricature of me aboard my yacht working on ghost kitchens. We spoke and I hired him for GTM. He’s made all the difference.” The story will elevate you out of obscurity. It’s the kind of creative you can’t buy.
The problem with this is that it won’t be authentic to the person sending the email (at least for me). I think it’s very important for these gestures to be an authentic expression of the person sending the email. In addition, the presentation is only 10%, the meat and potatoes is still the contents of the trade being proposed and the trade being something that adds value
That’s fair. Intention here is not to come across as argumentative. I genuinely appreciate your post because it’s very structured, I see it’s effective and affective. I’m going to use it in fundraising and hiring campaigns.
Maybe the difference is I genuinely enjoy doing this extra stuff. And I’ve done it for a very long time, as far back as 2002 (this is not an appeal to seasoned authority.) It’s active, creative, thoughtful, and not scalable. It indirectly communicates “the person that sent this does things others don’t. Or won’t.”
Nice work Andy. Let's not forget that most billionaires/execs don't have time to read lengthy messages, so it's essential to get to the point right away.
I usually write freely when I make the first draft of the email then ruthlessly cut and shorten emails on the 2nd run through, focusing on the 4 principles. The 2nd draft ends up being a lot shorter
Excellent read! Go you 👏🏽
This is pretty great and a variation of what I do. One thing I’d add: pretty much every high worth contact has a registered agent. You can typically find the address on terms of service page. For significantly higher conversion (+25%,) send them a handwritten note, with a copy of the original email, certified return receipt to said registered address, “care of” contact.
Wowwwww that is genius!!
If you want an almost guaranteed response, here’s the formula:
1) do online research on “their thing,” eg yacht, F1, watches, horses, latest venture, etc.
2) go on Fiver and hire a caricature artist in the US to draw your contact details n 8.5” x 11” parchment paper. Vet multiple artists for quality and speed (cost will be -$6.) and once an artist is commissioned , send them your contact’s head shot and direct them to include “their thing” in the drawing. Instruct them to mail you the original + digital copy of your original. (Your instinct will be to use AI to generate the image. Don’t do that.)
3) go to ikea.com and buy a $2 8.5x 11 frame. Buy multiple for cheaper and establish a process.
4) Once orders arrive, frame the drawing, include it with your email print out and handwritten note.
5) send certified return receipt with your contact details.
6) Expect contact to email you immediately upon reception of parcel with image of drawing and much gratitude. They’ll probably hang in their office, and send you a photo of it hanging.
This rarely fails. It shows intention, extra effort, and genuine contribution. Contact will do the math and realize the synthesis of effort is a million X the cost. Massive impression they’ll remember forever. Friend for life regardless of outcome.
If you want an almost guaranteed response, here’s the formula:
1) do online research on “their thing,” eg yacht, F1, watches, horses, latest venture, etc.
2) go on Fiver and hire a caricature artist in the US to draw your contact details n 8.5” x 11” parchment paper. Vet multiple artists for quality and speed (cost will be -$6.) and once an artist is commissioned , send them your contact’s head shot and direct them to include “their thing” in the drawing. Instruct them to mail you the original + digital copy of your original. (Your instinct will be to use AI to generate the image. Don’t do that.)
3) go to ikea.com and buy a $2 8.5x 11 frame. Buy multiple for cheaper and establish a process.
4) Once orders arrive, frame the drawing, include it with your email print out and handwritten note.
5) send certified return receipt with your contact details.
6) Expect contact to email you immediately upon reception of parcel with image of drawing and much gratitude. They’ll probably hang in their office, and send you a photo of it hanging.
This rarely fails. It shows intention, extra effort, and genuine contribution. Contact will do the math and realize the synthesis of effort is a million X the cost. Massive impression they’ll remember forever. Friend for life regardless of outcome.
They’ll tell this story to others… “there’s this guy, Andy, he sent me this caricature of me aboard my yacht working on ghost kitchens. We spoke and I hired him for GTM. He’s made all the difference.” The story will elevate you out of obscurity. It’s the kind of creative you can’t buy.
The problem with this is that it won’t be authentic to the person sending the email (at least for me). I think it’s very important for these gestures to be an authentic expression of the person sending the email. In addition, the presentation is only 10%, the meat and potatoes is still the contents of the trade being proposed and the trade being something that adds value
That’s fair. Intention here is not to come across as argumentative. I genuinely appreciate your post because it’s very structured, I see it’s effective and affective. I’m going to use it in fundraising and hiring campaigns.
Maybe the difference is I genuinely enjoy doing this extra stuff. And I’ve done it for a very long time, as far back as 2002 (this is not an appeal to seasoned authority.) It’s active, creative, thoughtful, and not scalable. It indirectly communicates “the person that sent this does things others don’t. Or won’t.”
Make it a great week!
Wow cringe.
Nice work Andy. Let's not forget that most billionaires/execs don't have time to read lengthy messages, so it's essential to get to the point right away.
Great read Andy!
Higher signal to noise than I was expecting. Thanks for putting it out there so succinctly!
This is on another level.
This is awesome.
Great article. Any length you should target for these emails? And do you worry about them running too long?
I usually write freely when I make the first draft of the email then ruthlessly cut and shorten emails on the 2nd run through, focusing on the 4 principles. The 2nd draft ends up being a lot shorter
Great piece! Do you send follow-up emails?
Occasionally, I usually send 2 follow ups before quitting , usually my first email contains all the context so I just follow up until I get a response
Makes perfect sense. I get offered shitty trades every week 🤣