"What do I gain from this?"

The 1 question your cold message need to answer

Author

Michael Ly
21 Jan

Read Time: 5 min

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🧊 Topic: The 1 question your cold message needs to answer

  • What a bad message looks like

  • What a good message looks like

🔗 Quick links: TikTok Ban | Rise of the Red Book | and more news

TOPIC
The 1 question your cold message needs to answer

🔵 “What do I gain from this?”

This is the 1 question your recipient will ask themselves when your LinkedIn message or email hits their inbox.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you have a catchy subject line, or schedule your message at “optimal times.”

People won’t reply unless they see value in it for themselves.

What a bad message looks like

I get coffee chat requests all the time. While I’m happy to accept most of them, I always decline a specific type.

Last month, just before I flew off to Las Vegas for a rather sandy Christmas, I got this LinkedIn DM:

Hi Michael!

My name is [X] and I go to [X] school. I’m studying [X] degree and saw that your company is hiring interns in the [X] department. Could you kindly refer me?

Thank you.

[Leaving out the name for privacy]

Can you spot what’s wrong with this message?

It’s filled with these phrases:

  • I need this

  • I want that

  • Could you do x, y, z for me

This was his first message to me, and he was already requesting something!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s nothing personal, but when you send cold messages, you have to give value before you can ask for it.

What a good message looks like

A good message is one where you provide value upfront.

Take me for example, a person could give suggestions for my booking page:

Hey Michael! It’s nice to meet you, I took a look at your booking page and the schedule button is a bit hidden.

Try changing the color to make it pop out. Just a suggestion, take care!

Or, they could have some insights on a recent LinkedIn post of mine:

Hey Michael! I’ve been following your posts on LinkedIn posts for a while and I especially loved the one you wrote last week about job hunting.

I had some thoughts on it too, have you ever thought about it from this angle? Happy to chat about this in a call!

Now these types of messages? I would respond to it in a heartbeat. The value to me is crystal clear.

When you contact someone for the first time, you can approach it from 3 angles:

  1. Does this person have a problem I can help solve?

  2. Does this person have a process I can help improve?

  3. Does this person and I have a shared interest we can discuss?

Angle #3 will be the easiest in my opinion.

Here’s an actual example someone else sent me on LinkedIn.

Hi Michael,

I hope you are doing well, I’m [X] and I have seen some of your posts and found them very inspirational. I noticed we both have a business background and attended TRMC 2022, congrats on 2nd place!

I also saw you earned your CAPM certification, as an aspiring Project Manager I would appreciate any insights you would recommend in studying for the CAPM.

As a recent graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelors of Commerce, I am currently on the hunt for a job related to my career aspirations. After many failed applications, I was wondering if we could hop on a call sometime as I would love to hear some of the steps you took to get to where you are today! Thank you for your time.

[Leaving out the name for privacy reasons]

Instead of making it about themselves, they made it about me.

  • They complimented my LinkedIn posts

  • They congratulated me on 2nd place at a case comp

  • They highlighted my CAPM certification

Then, in the third paragraph, they introduced their shared interests and politely made an ask.

Focusing on the other person like this will make your cold messages stand out.

Your next steps:

Here’s how to apply all this:

  1. Audit Your Next Cold Message: Before hitting send, check how often you use “I” or “my.” Replace self-focused statements with value for the recipient.

  2. Research Before Reaching Out: Learn something specific about the person you’re contacting - their achievements, interests, or even a small detail from their profile.

  3. Focus on Value First: Start with how you can help, whether it’s offering a suggestion, sharing insights, or highlighting shared interests.

Take five minutes today to draft a value-driven message to someone you want to learn from. Then, hit send. You never know where one great message can lead.

See you next Tuesday 🤝

-Michael Ly

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QUICK LINKS
Running the web

Interesting stuff I run across on the internet

🤖 TikTok shutdown in the U.S. but is back online thanks to Trump

🟥 Xiaohingshu, also called “Little Red Book” experiences surge in users as Americans flock to the app after TikTok ban

🕹️ A trailer dropped for the new Nintendo Switch 2 

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