@stacksjs/defaults 0.75.108 → 0.75.110

package/ai/skills/stacks-marketing-cold-email/PLAYBOOK.md

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+> Adapted playbook. The [shared Stacks workflow](../stacks-marketing/WORKFLOW.md) governs implementation, current facts, and authorization.
+
+
+# Cold Email Writing
+
+You are an expert in cold outbound. Your goal is to write emails that sound like they came from a sharp, thoughtful human - not a sales machine following a template - and to make sure they reach the inbox, work alongside the other channels, and turn replies into meetings.
+
+## Before Writing
+
+**Check for product marketing context first:**
+Read the established product context described in [the shared workflow](../stacks-marketing/WORKFLOW.md) before asking questions.
+
+Understand the situation (ask if not provided):
+
+1. **Who are you writing to?** - Role, company, why them specifically
+2. **What do you want?** - The outcome (meeting, reply, intro, demo)
+3. **What's the value?** - The specific problem you solve for people like them
+4. **What's your proof?** - A result, case study, or credibility signal
+5. **Any research signals?** - Funding, hiring, LinkedIn posts, company news, tech stack changes
+
+Work with whatever the user gives you. If they have a strong signal and a clear value prop, that's enough to write. Don't block on missing inputs - use what you have and note what would make it stronger.
+
+---
+
+## Writing Principles
+
+### Write like a peer, not a vendor
+
+The email should read like it came from someone who understands their world and isn't trying to sell them something. Use contractions. Read it aloud. If it sounds like marketing copy, rewrite it.
+
+### Every sentence must earn its place
+
+Cold email is ruthlessly short. If a sentence doesn't move the reader toward replying, cut it. The best cold emails feel like they could have been shorter, not longer.
+
+### Personalization must connect to the problem
+
+If you remove the personalized opening and the email still makes sense, the personalization isn't working. The observation should naturally lead into why you're reaching out.
+
+See [personalization.md](references/personalization.md) for the 4-level system and research signals.
+
+### Lead with their world, not yours
+
+The reader should see their own situation reflected back. "You/your" should dominate over "I/we." Don't open with who you are or what your company does.
+
+### One ask, low friction
+
+Interest-based CTAs ("Worth exploring?" / "Would this be useful?") beat meeting requests. One CTA per email. Make it easy to say yes with a one-line reply.
+
+---
+
+## Voice & Tone
+
+**The target voice:** A smart colleague who noticed something relevant and is sharing it. Conversational but not sloppy. Confident but not pushy.
+
+**Calibrate to the audience:**
+
+- C-suite: ultra-brief, peer-level, understated
+- Mid-level: more specific value, slightly more detail
+- Technical: precise, no fluff, respect their intelligence
+
+**What it should NOT sound like:**
+
+- A template with fields swapped in
+- A pitch deck compressed into paragraph form
+- A LinkedIn DM from someone you've never met
+- An AI-generated email (avoid the telltale patterns: "I hope this email finds you well," "I came across your profile," "leverage," "synergy," "best-in-class")
+
+---
+
+## Structure
+
+There's no single right structure. Choose a framework that fits the situation, or write freeform if the email flows naturally without one.
+
+**Common shapes that work:**
+
+- **Observation → Problem → Proof → Ask** - You noticed X, which usually means Y challenge. We helped Z with that. Interested?
+- **Question → Value → Ask** - Struggling with X? We do Y. Company Z saw [result]. Worth a look?
+- **Trigger → Insight → Ask** - Congrats on X. That usually creates Y challenge. We've helped similar companies with that. Curious?
+- **Story → Bridge → Ask** - [Similar company] had [problem]. They [solved it this way]. Relevant to you?
+
+For the full catalog of frameworks with examples, see [frameworks.md](references/frameworks.md).
+
+---
+
+## Subject Lines
+
+Short, boring, internal-looking. The subject line's only job is to get the email opened.
+
+- 2-4 words, lowercase, no punctuation tricks
+- Should look like it came from a colleague ("reply rates," "hiring ops," "Q2 forecast")
+- No product pitches, no urgency, no emojis, no prospect's first name
+
+See [subject-lines.md](references/subject-lines.md) for the full data.
+
+---
+
+## Follow-Up Sequences
+
+Each follow-up should add something new - a different angle, fresh proof, a useful resource. "Just checking in" gives the reader no reason to respond.
+
+- 3-5 total emails, increasing gaps between them
+- Each email should stand alone (they may not have read the previous ones)
+- The breakup email is your last touch - honor it
+
+See [follow-up-sequences.md](references/follow-up-sequences.md) for cadence, angle rotation, and breakup email templates.
+
+---
+
+## Before You Send
+
+Copy only matters if it reaches the inbox. Before the first send:
+- Send from **secondary domains**, never your primary one, with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC set up and mailboxes warmed for 3-4 weeks.
+- **Verify every list** right before upload and keep bounces under 2%.
+- **Turn off open and click tracking.** Measure replies.
+- Include a plain-text **opt-out line and your postal address** in every email.
+
+Domain and mailbox math, the Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft rules, monitoring, and stop-loss thresholds are in [deliverability.md](references/deliverability.md).
+
+---
+
+## Beyond Email
+
+Most outbound that works in 2026 runs on more than one channel:
+- **LinkedIn**: profile, limits, the engage-then-connect sequence, message copy, and the automation decision. See [linkedin-outreach.md](references/linkedin-outreach.md).
+- **Cadence**: how email, LinkedIn, calls, video, and ads fit together by tier, and the rule that a reply on any channel stops all of them. See [multichannel-cadence.md](references/multichannel-cadence.md). Call scripts are in the sales-enablement skill.
+- **Plays**: value-first teardowns for services, product-led outbound for self-serve SaaS, problem-led outbound with a free sample, and founder-led outreach. See [outbound-plays.md](references/outbound-plays.md).
+
+## When They Reply
+
+Classify every reply (positive, information request, objection, not now, referral, out of office, unsubscribe), answer positive replies within minutes, and book with two proposed times plus a link. What an agent can handle alone and what needs a human is in [reply-handling.md](references/reply-handling.md).
+
+---
+
+## Quality Check
+
+Before presenting, gut-check:
+
+- Does it sound like a human wrote it? (Read it aloud, and check for the AI tells below)
+- Would YOU reply to this if you received it?
+- Does every sentence serve the reader, not the sender?
+- Is the personalization connected to the problem?
+- Is there one clear, low-friction ask?
+
+---
+
+## What to Avoid
+
+- Opening with "I hope this email finds you well" or "My name is X and I work at Y"
+- Jargon: "synergy," "leverage," "circle back," "best-in-class," "leading provider"
+- Feature dumps. One proof point beats ten features
+- AI tells, which prospects spot in the first line and delete:
+  - Contrast reveals ("It's not about X, it's about Y") and "no X, no Y, no Z" lists
+  - A claim followed by a comma and more restating clauses
+  - Self-answered questions ("The result? 40% more meetings.") and colon reveals. A real question you want them to answer is fine
+  - Stock phrases: "Here's the thing," "I'll be honest," "Quick question" as an opener, "Say goodbye to," "Unlock," "Take it to the next level"
+  - Em dashes
+  - For the full blacklist, use the **stacks-marketing-copywriting** skill's AI-tells reference
+- HTML, images, or multiple links
+- Fake "Re:" or "Fwd:" subject lines
+- Identical templates with only {{FirstName}} swapped
+- Asking for 30-minute calls in first touch
+- "Just checking in" follow-ups
+
+---
+
+## Data & Benchmarks
+
+The references contain performance data if you need to make informed choices:
+
+- [benchmarks.md](references/benchmarks.md) - Reply rates, conversion funnels, expert methods, common mistakes
+- [deliverability.md](references/deliverability.md) - Sending domains, mailboxes, mailbox-provider rules, warmup, monitoring, stop-loss rules
+- [linkedin-outreach.md](references/linkedin-outreach.md) - LinkedIn profile, limits, sequence, copy, automation risk
+- [multichannel-cadence.md](references/multichannel-cadence.md) - Cadences by tier, cross-channel rules, calls, video, direct mail, ads
+- [outbound-plays.md](references/outbound-plays.md) - Value-first teardown, product-led, problem-led, and founder-led plays
+- [reply-handling.md](references/reply-handling.md) - Reply types, speed, booking, early objections, agent permissions
+- [personalization.md](references/personalization.md) - 4-level personalization system, research signals
+- [subject-lines.md](references/subject-lines.md) - Subject line data and optimization
+- [follow-up-sequences.md](references/follow-up-sequences.md) - Cadence, angles, breakup emails
+- [frameworks.md](references/frameworks.md) - All copywriting frameworks with examples
+
+Use this data to inform your writing - not as a checklist to satisfy.
+
+---
+
+## Tool Integrations
+
+For setup, see the [tools registry](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/REGISTRY.md), including its sales outbound quick start. Tools most used with this skill:
+
+| Job | Tools | Guides |
+|-----|-------|--------|
+| Email sending and sequences | Instantly, lemlist, Outreach | [instantly.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/instantly.md), [lemlist.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/lemlist.md), [outreach.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/outreach.md) |
+| LinkedIn steps | HeyReach, lemlist (both carry LinkedIn terms-of-service risk) | [heyreach.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/heyreach.md) |
+| Verification before send | Truelist, Hunter | [truelist.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/truelist.md), [hunter.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/hunter.md) |
+| CRM and reply logging | HubSpot, Attio, Close | [attio.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/attio.md), [close.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/close.md) |
+| Booking | Calendly, SavvyCal | [calendly.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/calendly.md), [savvycal.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/integrations/savvycal.md) |
+
+Instantly's webhooks (reply received, lead interested, bounced, unsubscribed) are the simplest way to drive the cross-channel stop and reply triage from an agent.
+
+---
+
+## Related Skills
+
+- **stacks-marketing-prospecting**: For building and qualifying the prospect list, signals, enrichment, verification, and account research - the natural upstream step before cold-email
+- **stacks-marketing-copywriting**: For landing pages and web copy
+- **stacks-marketing-emails**: For lifecycle/nurture email sequences (not cold outreach)
+- **stacks-marketing-social**: For LinkedIn and social posts
+- **stacks-marketing-product-marketing**: For establishing foundational positioning
+- **stacks-marketing-revops**: For lead scoring, routing, pipeline management, and the outbound stage model
+- **stacks-marketing-sales-enablement**: For cold call scripts, voicemails, and deal-stage objections
+- **stacks-marketing-loops**: For running outbound on a schedule (signal sweeps, reply triage, domain health, sequence reviews)

package/ai/skills/stacks-marketing-cold-email/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: stacks-marketing-cold-email
+description: Use when writing and planning B2B cold outbound that gets replies, from cold emails and follow-ups to sending setup, LinkedIn, multichannel cadences, and reply handling. Covers marketing planning and its Stacks implementation.
+license: MIT
+compatibility: Bun >= 1.3.0, TypeScript
+allowed-tools: Read Edit Write Bash Grep Glob
+---
+
+# Marketing Cold Email
+
+Read [the shared Stacks workflow](../stacks-marketing/WORKFLOW.md), then
+[PLAYBOOK.md](PLAYBOOK.md) before doing this task. Load the supporting references
+only for the branch the playbook routes to.
+
+This ports `cold-email` from
+[coreyhaines31/marketingskills](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/skills/cold-email).
+[NOTICE.md](NOTICE.md) records the snapshot and [LICENSE](LICENSE) retains the
+upstream MIT notice.
+
+## Stacks integration
+
+Keep marketing recommendations distinct from application API facts. Use the
+framework skill for any model, action, route, stx page, campaign job, or payment
+change. Use the user's existing brief and authorization; a playbook example
+does not supply a product fact or authorize sending, spending, or publishing.
+
+Platform limits and benchmarks in the snapshot need current primary-source
+verification before use. Return the requested artifact with consequential
+assumptions and evidence, then verify any implementation through its real
+behavior. Use TypeScript and Bun for executable helpers.

package/ai/skills/stacks-marketing-cold-email/evals/evals.json

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+{
+  "skill_name": "stacks-marketing-cold-email",
+  "evals": [
+    {
+      "id": 1,
+      "prompt": "Write a cold email to VP of Marketing at mid-size B2B SaaS companies. We sell a content analytics platform that shows which blog posts actually drive pipeline. Our main proof point: customers see 3x increase in content-attributed revenue within 90 days.",
+      "expected_output": "Should check for product-marketing.md first. Should write like a peer, not a vendor. Should use one of the structure frameworks (observation→problem→proof→ask or similar). Subject line should be 2-4 words, lowercase, internal-looking. Every sentence should earn its place. Personalization should connect to the prospect's problem, not just their name. Should use the 3x revenue proof point as social proof, not a feature claim. CTA should be low-friction (not 'book a demo'). Should provide 2-3 variations. Should include a quality check against the guidelines.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Checks for product-marketing.md",
+        "Writes like a peer, not a vendor",
+        "Uses a structure framework from the skill",
+        "Subject line is short, lowercase, internal-looking",
+        "Every sentence earns its place (concise)",
+        "Personalization connects to prospect's problem",
+        "Uses proof point as social proof",
+        "CTA is low-friction",
+        "Provides 2-3 variations"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 2,
+      "prompt": "Help me write a cold email to CTOs at enterprise companies. I sell cybersecurity training. My current email has a 2% open rate and 0% reply rate.",
+      "expected_output": "Should diagnose the current email's likely problems based on 2% open rate (subject line issue) and 0% reply rate (body/relevance issue). Should apply voice calibration for CTO audience (respect their time, technical credibility, executive-level language). Should provide a completely new email following structure frameworks. Subject line should be 2-4 words, look internal. Should adapt tone for enterprise CTOs - more formal than startup audience but still peer-like. Should provide the email plus analysis of why each element works.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Diagnoses problems from the performance data",
+        "Identifies subject line as likely open rate issue",
+        "Applies voice calibration for CTO audience",
+        "Subject line is short, lowercase, internal-looking",
+        "Adapts tone for enterprise audience",
+        "Uses structure framework from the skill",
+        "Explains why each element works"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 3,
+      "prompt": "write me a follow-up sequence. prospect didn't reply to my first email about our HR software. how many should I send and how far apart?",
+      "expected_output": "Should trigger on casual phrasing. Should apply the follow-up sequence guidance: 3-5 follow-ups recommended. Each follow-up should add something new (new angle, new proof point, new value) - not just 'bumping' or 'checking in.' Should provide timing recommendations between emails. Should provide actual follow-up email copy for each touch, with different angles. Should include a breakup email at the end. Should note that each follow-up should be shorter than the previous.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Triggers on casual phrasing",
+        "Recommends 3-5 follow-up emails",
+        "Each follow-up adds something new",
+        "Does not use 'just bumping' or 'checking in' language",
+        "Provides timing between emails",
+        "Provides actual copy for each follow-up",
+        "Includes a breakup email",
+        "Follow-ups get progressively shorter"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 4,
+      "prompt": "Review this cold email and tell me what's wrong: 'Dear Sir/Madam, I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to reach out to introduce our innovative cloud-based platform that leverages AI to streamline your business operations. We have helped over 500 companies transform their workflows. I would love to schedule a 30-minute call to discuss how we can help your organization. Best regards, John'",
+      "expected_output": "Should apply the quality check framework. Should identify multiple problems: 'Dear Sir/Madam' (no personalization), 'I hope this email finds you well' (filler), 'innovative cloud-based platform' (jargon/buzzwords), 'leverages AI to streamline' (vague vendor language), 'transform their workflows' (means nothing), '30-minute call' (too much ask for cold email), entire email is about the sender not the prospect. Should rewrite following the principles: peer tone, observation→problem→proof→ask structure, every sentence earns its place, personalization connected to their problem, low-friction CTA.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Identifies lack of personalization",
+        "Identifies filler phrases",
+        "Identifies jargon and buzzwords",
+        "Identifies vendor language vs peer language",
+        "Identifies CTA as too high-friction",
+        "Notes email is sender-focused not prospect-focused",
+        "Provides a rewritten version",
+        "Rewrite follows cold email principles"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 5,
+      "prompt": "What are the best subject lines for cold emails? I want to maximize open rates.",
+      "expected_output": "Should apply the subject line guidelines: short (2-4 words), lowercase or sentence case, internal-looking (should look like it came from a colleague, not a vendor). Should provide examples following these principles. Should explain why these work (bypass promotional filters, trigger curiosity, don't look like marketing). Should warn against common bad subject lines (ALL CAPS, emojis, clickbait, long subjects). Should note that subject line gets them to open but body gets them to reply.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Applies subject line guidelines (2-4 words, lowercase, internal-looking)",
+        "Provides specific examples",
+        "Explains why the format works",
+        "Warns against common bad subject line patterns",
+        "Notes distinction between open rate and reply rate"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 6,
+      "prompt": "Can you help me set up an automated email drip campaign for leads who download our whitepaper?",
+      "expected_output": "Should recognize this is a lifecycle/nurture email sequence, not cold outreach. Should defer to or cross-reference the emails skill, which handles drip campaigns, lead nurture sequences, and lifecycle emails. Cold email is specifically for unsolicited outbound outreach to prospects who haven't opted in. Should make this distinction clear.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Recognizes this as lifecycle/nurture email, not cold outreach",
+        "References or defers to emails skill",
+        "Explains the distinction between cold email and lifecycle email",
+        "Does not attempt to design a nurture sequence using cold email patterns"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    },
+    {
+      "prompt": "Write a cold email to a VP of Finance at a 200-person company pitching our expense-report tool.",
+      "expected_output": "Should write a short peer-style cold email following the skill's principles and avoid AI tells: no contrast reveals ('It's not about X, it's about Y'), no 'no X, no Y, no Z' lists, no self-answered questions ('The result?'), no 'Here's the thing' or 'Quick question' opener, no em dashes. One low-friction ask.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "No contrast reveal or negation list",
+        "No self-answered question",
+        "No 'Here's the thing' / 'Quick question' opener",
+        "No em dashes",
+        "One low-friction ask"
+      ],
+      "files": [],
+      "id": 7
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 8,
+      "prompt": "We're about to start cold email for our agency. We bought a Google Workspace inbox on our main domain and plan to send 300 emails a day from it next week with open tracking on. Anything we should change?",
+      "expected_output": "Should load the deliverability reference and flag the setup as unsafe: never send cold email from the primary domain; buy secondary domains redirected to the main site; authenticate SPF, DKIM and DMARC aligned to the From domain; spread volume across 2-3 mailboxes per domain at roughly 20-30 sends per mailbox per day (300/day needs about 10-15 mailboxes across several domains); warm new mailboxes for 3-4 weeks before full volume; verify the list and keep bounces under 2%; turn off open and click tracking; plain text with no link in the first email; include an opt-out line and postal address. Should mention the Gmail/Yahoo/Microsoft rules and complaint thresholds (under 0.1%, never 0.3%) and set stop-loss rules.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Says not to send from the primary domain",
+        "Recommends secondary domains with SPF, DKIM and DMARC",
+        "Splits volume across multiple mailboxes with a per-mailbox cap",
+        "Requires a 3-4 week warmup",
+        "Says to turn off open tracking",
+        "Requires list verification and a bounce limit around 2%",
+        "Includes an opt-out line and postal address",
+        "Gives stop-loss thresholds"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 9,
+      "prompt": "Someone replied to our cold email on LinkedIn saying 'interesting, what does this cost?' but our email sequence is still running. What should happen now?",
+      "expected_output": "Should load the reply handling and multichannel cadence references. Should stop every sequence for that contact on all channels immediately (a reply on any channel stops all channels), classify the reply as an information request, answer the pricing question briefly and honestly or give a range, then propose two specific meeting times plus a booking link as a fallback. Should respond within minutes during business hours, log reply type, channel, sequence and step in the CRM, and keep a human sending this kind of reply unless an agent has proven accuracy.",
+      "assertions": [
+        "Stops the email sequence and all other channels for that contact",
+        "Classifies it as an information request",
+        "Answers the question briefly before asking for a meeting",
+        "Proposes two specific times plus a booking link",
+        "Emphasizes responding within minutes",
+        "Logs the reply in the CRM with channel and sequence step"
+      ],
+      "files": []
+    }
+  ]
+}

package/ai/skills/stacks-marketing-cold-email/references/benchmarks.md

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+# Benchmarks, Data & Expert Methods
+
+## Core Performance Metrics
+
+Almost every public cold email benchmark comes from a vendor that sells sending, data, or agency services, and each measures differently (some count auto-replies as replies, some don't). Use these as ranges, and judge yourself against your own baseline.
+
+| Metric | Average | Good | Excellent | Source |
+|--------|---------|------|-----------|--------|
+| Reply rate | ~3.4% | 5.5%+ (top quartile) | 10%+ (top decile) | Instantly, 2025 sends (published 2026) |
+| Reply rate (signal-based, small segments) | - | 2-3× your static-list rate | - | Inferred from several 2025-26 vendor datasets; claims of 15-25% are unverified |
+| Share of replies from email 1 | ~58% | - | - | Instantly 2026 |
+| Meetings booked | 0.5-1% of contacts | 1-2% | 2.5%+ | Reachoutly, Cleverly |
+| Bounce rate | - | under 2% | under 1% | Mailbox-provider guidance; see deliverability.md |
+| Spam complaints | - | under 0.1% | - | Google sender guidelines |
+
+**Don't use open rate.** Apple Mail Privacy Protection opens tracked emails automatically, many filters treat the tracking pixel as a spam signal, and one large sender dataset found reply rates roughly doubled with open tracking off. Measure replies, positive replies, and meetings.
+
+## Realistic Funnel Model
+
+1,000 contacts → ~34 replies (3.4%) → ~10-15 positive (30-45% of replies) → ~5-8 meetings → 1-2 customers. Roughly **100-200 contacts per meeting** on a static list; signal-based segments often need 30-60 (an estimate from the ranges above, not a measured benchmark).
+
+## Performance Levers (ranked by impact)
+
+1. **Hook type** - Timeline hooks outperform problem hooks by 3.4x in meetings
+2. **Personalization depth** - Up to 250% more replies
+3. **Brevity** - 25-75 words optimal, 83% more replies under 75 words
+4. **Targeting precision** - ≤50 contacts per campaign = 2.76x higher reply rates
+5. **Follow-up strategy** - First follow-up adds 49% more replies
+6. **Reading level** - 3rd-5th grade = 67% more replies
+7. **Send timing** - Thursday peaks at 6.87% reply rate
+
+## Declining Effectiveness Trend
+
+Reply rates fell from 7-8% (2020-2022) to roughly 3.5-5.8% (2024-2025 datasets). Drivers: inbox saturation (10+ cold emails/week, 20% say none relevant), stricter anti-spam (Google's threshold: 0.1% complaints), AI email flood (more volume, less quality signal). Writing craft matters more, not less - gap between average and excellent is widening.
+
+## Response Rates by Seniority
+
+- **Entry-level:** Highest engagement at 8% reply, 50% open
+- **C-level:** 23% more likely to respond than non-C-suite when they engage (6.4% vs 5.2%)
+- **CTOs/VP Tech:** 7.68% reply
+- **CEOs/Founders:** 7.63% reply
+- **Heads of Sales:** 6.60% (most targeted role, highest saturation)
+
+## Industry Variation
+
+**Highest responding:** Nonprofits (16.5%+), legal (10%), EdTech (7.8%), chemical (7.3%), manufacturing (6.1%).
+**Lowest responding:** SaaS (3.5%), financial services (3.4%), IT services (3.5%).
+
+## Top 15 Mistakes (ranked by impact)
+
+1. **Too long** - 70% of emails above 10th-grade level. Under 75 words = 83% more replies
+2. **Too self-focused** - "We are a leading..." signals sales pitch. Count I/We sentences
+3. **No clear value prop** - 71% of decision-makers ignore irrelevant emails
+4. **Generic templates** - {{FirstName}} isn't personalization. Recipients detect instantly
+5. **Feature dumping** - "Great reps lead with problems" (Lavender). One proof point beats ten features
+6. **False personalization** - "Loved your post!" without specifics is transparent
+7. **Asking too much too soon** - 30-min call in first email = "proposing on first date"
+8. **Pushy language** - "Act Now" stacking increases spam flagging by 67%
+9. **No CTA** - Without a clear next step, momentum dies
+10. **"Just checking in" follow-ups** - "I never heard back" = 12% drop in bookings
+11. **Wrong tone for audience** - Founder ≠ RevOps lead ≠ sales leader
+12. **Jargon/buzzwords** - "Leverage synergistic platform" → "We help you book more meetings"
+13. **Unsubstantiated claims** - "300% more leads" without proof triggers skepticism
+14. **Too many contacts per company** - 1-2 people = 7.8% reply; 10+ = 3.8%
+15. **Fake urgency** - Fake "Re:" / "Fwd:" / countdown timers destroy trust
+
+## Cultural Calibration
+
+| Factor       | US              | UK                       | Germany/DACH         | Scandinavia             |
+| ------------ | --------------- | ------------------------ | -------------------- | ----------------------- |
+| Tone         | Direct, casual  | Polite, professional     | Precise, data-driven | Fact-based, egalitarian |
+| Length       | Shorter, blunt  | Longer, insight-led      | Detail-oriented      | Concise but substantive |
+| Social proof | Outcome numbers | Research-led credibility | Technical precision  | Shared values           |
+
+North America: 4.1% response. Europe: 3.1%. Asia-Pacific: 2.8%. Shorter, more direct sequences work better in US. UK needs more insight/personality. GDPR affects European tone.
+
+## Expert Quick Reference
+
+| Expert         | Core Method                                                     | Best For                                        |
+| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
+| Alex Berman    | 3C's: Compliment → Case Study → CTA                             | High-ticket B2B services, agencies              |
+| Josh Braun     | "Poke the Bear" - neutral questions exposing invisible problems | Empathy-driven consultative selling             |
+| Kyle Coleman   | Systematic research + AI personalization at scale               | Bridging mass outreach and deep personalization |
+| Becc Holland   | Psychographic personalization, Premise Buckets                  | Combining personalization with relevance        |
+| Will Allred    | Data-driven coaching, Mouse Trap, Vanilla Ice Cream             | Any context; universal frameworks               |
+| Justin Michael | 1-3 sentence hyper-brevity, quote their own words               | High-velocity SDR teams at scale                |
+| Sam Nelson     | Agoge Sequence - Triple on Day 1 (email + LinkedIn + call)      | Multi-channel, tiered personalization           |

package/ai/skills/stacks-marketing-cold-email/references/deliverability.md

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+# Cold Email Deliverability
+
+The best cold email does nothing if it lands in spam. Deliverability is set up before the first send and watched every week after. This reference covers the sending setup, the mailbox providers' rules, volume limits, warmup, monitoring, and when to stop.
+
+Numbers here come mostly from sending-infrastructure vendors and mailbox providers' own guidelines. Mailbox providers change enforcement without notice, so treat the volume figures as starting points and let your own placement tests decide.
+
+## The rules from Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft
+
+| Provider | What it requires | Enforcement |
+|----------|------------------|-------------|
+| **Gmail** | SPF and DKIM for everyone; for bulk senders (about 5,000+ messages a day to personal Gmail), also DMARC, alignment, one-click unsubscribe on marketing mail, and spam complaints under 0.3% | Since November 2025, non-compliant mail gets permanent rejections rather than temporary deferrals. Once you're classified as a bulk sender, the status is permanent |
+| **Yahoo** | Matches Google's requirements | Since 2024 |
+| **Microsoft** (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live) | SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for senders above 5,000 a day | Since May 5, 2025, non-compliant mail is rejected (`550 5.7.515`) |
+
+Google's bulk-sender rules apply to mail sent to personal Gmail accounts, not to Google Workspace business addresses. A cold program under 5,000 a day isn't technically a "bulk sender." Follow the rules anyway: they describe what every filter rewards, and the complaint threshold applies to everyone.
+
+**Complaint rate:** keep spam complaints under 0.1% and never reach 0.3%. Practitioners report Workspace sending degrading well before 0.3%.
+
+## Sending setup
+
+**Never send cold email from your primary domain.** One bad campaign can damage the domain your customers, invoices, and password resets depend on.
+
+1. **Buy secondary domains** that are obviously yours (`getacme.com`, `acmehq.com`, `tryacme.com`). Redirect each to your main site.
+2. **Authenticate every domain:** SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (start at `p=none` with reporting), aligned to the From domain. Add a custom tracking domain only if you track clicks (see Tracking, below).
+3. **Create 2-3 mailboxes per domain**, each a real-looking person with a name, photo, and signature. Never use aliases of a single mailbox; both Google and Microsoft treat that as abuse of their terms.
+4. **Only buy mailboxes from properly licensed tenants.** In late 2025 Google reportedly suspended large numbers of resold Workspace mailboxes built on education, nonprofit, or legacy accounts. Cheap "reseller" inboxes are disposable at best.
+5. **Match the provider to your prospects where you can.** Google-hosted mailboxes for audiences on Google Workspace (most startups and SaaS), Microsoft-hosted for enterprise audiences on Microsoft 365. Vendors report better inbox placement when the two match. Check a prospect's mail host from their MX record.
+
+### Volume math
+
+| Setting | Starting point |
+|---------|----------------|
+| Sends per mailbox per day | 20-30 (Google-hosted); test lower for Microsoft-hosted, where 2026 operator reports range from single digits to dozens |
+| Mailboxes per domain | 2-3 |
+| Daily volume | Mailboxes × sends per mailbox |
+
+Example: 500 sends a day ≈ 20 mailboxes at 25 each ≈ 7-10 domains. Follow-ups count toward the daily volume.
+
+Plan for spares. Keep 10-20% extra domains warmed and idle, so a burned domain can be swapped out without stopping the program.
+
+## Warmup
+
+New mailboxes need 3-4 weeks of ramp before full cold volume:
+- **Weeks 1-2:** warmup only, plus a handful of real emails to people likely to reply.
+- **Weeks 3-4:** start cold sends at 5-10 a day per mailbox and increase gradually.
+- **After that:** keep light warmup running in the background.
+
+Warmup networks still help new mailboxes, but a mailbox whose only engagement is warmup traffic is a recognizable pattern. Real replies are the strongest reputation signal there is, which is one more reason to write emails people answer.
+
+## The email itself
+
+- **Plain text.** No images, no HTML templates, no attachments.
+- **No link in the first email,** and at most one link in later ones. Never use link shorteners.
+- **Turn off open tracking.** Apple Mail Privacy Protection makes opens meaningless, and the tracking pixel itself is a spam signal. One large sender dataset found reply rates roughly doubled when open tracking was off. Measure replies instead.
+- **Turn off click tracking** unless you need it, and then only with a custom tracking domain.
+- **Under about 80 words** for the first email.
+- **Vary the copy.** Identical bodies across thousands of sends look like bulk mail. Segment-specific copy and real personalization fix this naturally. Keep spintax as a last resort.
+- **Opt-out line.** A plain-text line ("If this isn't relevant, reply 'no' and I won't follow up") plus your postal address in the signature. CAN-SPAM requires both; see the stacks-marketing-prospecting skill's compliance reference.
+
+## Verify before you send
+
+Bounces are the fastest way to damage a domain. Keep them under 2% per campaign; under 1% is best in class. A single day with several percent bounces can trigger a review at Google.
+
+- Verify every list before upload, and re-verify anything older than about a week.
+- Handle catch-all domains with a policy. See the stacks-marketing-prospecting skill's sourcing and enrichment reference.
+- Pause any campaign automatically when its bounce rate passes 2%.
+
+## Monitoring
+
+| Check | How | When |
+|-------|-----|------|
+| Inbox placement | Seed tests (MailReach, GlockApps, or your sending tool's built-in test) | Before every new campaign and weekly |
+| Domain reputation | Google Postmaster Tools; Microsoft SNDS | Weekly |
+| Bounce rate | Sending tool, per campaign and per mailbox | Daily |
+| Spam complaints | Postmaster Tools; replies containing "spam" or "stop" | Weekly |
+| Blocklists | A blocklist checker for each sending domain | Weekly |
+| Authentication | DMARC aggregate reports | Monthly |
+
+## Stop-loss rules
+
+Decide these before launch and enforce them automatically where your tool allows:
+
+| Trigger | Action |
+|---------|--------|
+| Bounce rate above 2% on a campaign | Pause the campaign and re-verify the list |
+| Inbox placement below ~70% on a mailbox or domain | Pull it from rotation, return it to warmup, investigate |
+| Spam complaints approaching 0.1% | Pause, cut volume, review targeting and copy |
+| Domain appears on a major blocklist | Stop sending from it; delist or retire it |
+| Reply rate under ~1% after 300+ sends | Stop the campaign; the targeting or offer is wrong, and more volume makes it worse |
+
+## Common mistakes
+
+- Sending from the primary domain
+- Buying the cheapest reseller mailboxes and losing all of them at once
+- Skipping verification "because the data provider verified it"
+- Leaving open tracking on and optimizing for a number that isn't real
+- Scaling volume to fix a low reply rate
+- Running warmup and cold sends at full volume from day one
+
+## Tools
+
+| Job | Options |
+|-----|---------|
+| Sending and mailbox rotation | Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist, EmailBison, Salesforge |
+| Domain and mailbox provisioning | Inframail, Maildoso, Mailforge, Truelist Outbound (managed domains, mailboxes, and a dedicated IP with an enforced ramp), Zapmail, or Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 directly |
+| Placement testing | GlockApps, MailReach, or your sending tool's built-in test (Instantly has one) |
+| Reputation | Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS |
+| DMARC monitoring | EasyDMARC, dmarcian, Valimail |
+| List verification | Bouncer, MillionVerifier, NeverBounce, Truelist, ZeroBounce, and others |
+
+Setup guides: [tools registry](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/1efedbc5148b54b2f0f6c6c9fe0be62e151c7fff/tools/REGISTRY.md).