🎣 Start Fishing. ❌Stop Pitching!!! The Biggest MISTAKE in Cold Outreach

Ian Kirk

May '25 (edited) • Copywriting ✍️

You ever launch a campaign… and nothing hits?

Crickets in the inbox.

Tumbleweeds in the DMs.

That gut-punch feeling of “Did I just waste all that effort?”

You’re not alone -->and you’re not broken.

You’re just probably pitching when you should be fishing.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Most founders/business owners/marketers aren’t building curiosity…

They’re running hope machines.

→ Hope someone replies.

→ Hope the cold email lands.

→ Hope the CTA finally gets clicked.

But hope doesn’t pay the bills.

On last weeks Clarity Calls, I had to remind a student (and myself):

“If you automate a message that doesn’t work manually, all you’re doing is scaling failure & noise.”

So let’s fix it.

👇 Here’s what’s actually working in cold outreach (DMs, email, or whatever tool you’re using):

1️⃣ Open With a Hook, Not a Hype Line

No one cares that you “help businesses scale with a proven 3-step system.”

But lead with:

“Most founders are unknowingly losing 23% of their revenue to fragmented ops --> here’s how…”

→ Now you’ve got their attention. Give aways the goods!!!

2️⃣ Trigger the ‘Ow Moment’

You don’t need to “pitch.”

You need to make them feel something.

If they nod and say, “Damn… that’s me,” —> you’ve won.

3️⃣ Use the R.A.C. Framework

Reciprocity → Give them something real (audit, tool, AI prompt)

Authority → A punchy proof line or mini-story that hits

Crazy Idea → An unexpected twist that sparks curiosity

Real LGJ Example:

“If I told you we replaced a $35K/yr VA with a $12K GPT and 3 SOPs…

--> would you want to see the ai agent build sequence in make.com?”

⚡Action: Book the 15min call and overwhelm them with value/complexity

--> but with your help it's simple & Saves them Time & Makes them Money

4️⃣ Don’t Sell the Commodity

Everyone’s offering leads.

Everyone’s automating outreach.

What’s your unique mechanism?

→ That’s what makes you magnetic.

5️⃣ Test Before You Scale

If you haven’t booked 3 manual calls with your messaging, you’ve got no business automating it.

Get the copy tight, while you warm your mailboxes.

🎯 Outreach Benchmarks:

--> 100 thoughtful comments in an ICP "watering hole" = 1-10 DM connections = 1 booked call

→ 100 DMs = 10 replies = 1 booked call

→ 100 cold emails = 1 booked call

If you’re under that?

It’s your targeting or your messaging.

🧠 Want to learn the R.A.C. format for your offer?

Drop a "🎣Learn to Fish" and I’ll put you on the list for the next fishing trip on zoom.

36 comments

🎣 Start Fishing. ❌Stop Pitching!!! The Biggest MISTAKE in Cold Outreach

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