claude-code-arcane 1.0.0

package/skills/cold-email/references/deliverability-guide.md

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+# Deliverability Guide
+
+A cold email that lands in spam is worse than no email at all — it damages your sender reputation for future sends. Get deliverability right before you worry about copy.
+
+---
+
+## The Deliverability Stack
+
+Email deliverability is a layer cake. Every layer has to be correct:
+
+```
+Domain reputation      (is your domain trusted by inbox providers?)
+        ↓
+Authentication         (SPF, DKIM, DMARC — are you who you say you are?)
+        ↓
+Sending infrastructure (IP reputation, sending limits, ramp-up)
+        ↓
+List quality           (are you sending to real, active addresses?)
+        ↓
+Email content          (does the content look like spam?)
+        ↓
+Engagement signals     (opens, replies, not-spam clicks)
+```
+
+Fix problems from the bottom up. No point perfecting copy if your domain is blacklisted.
+
+---
+
+## Domain Setup
+
+### Use a Dedicated Sending Domain
+
+Never send cold email from your primary company domain (`acme.com`). If your cold email domain gets flagged or blacklisted, you lose your main domain's email reputation.
+
+**Setup options:**
+- `mail.acme.com` — subdomain of main domain
+- `acme-hq.com` — separate domain with similar name
+- `getacme.com` / `tryacme.com` — common pattern for SaaS
+
+**Rules for the sending domain:**
+- Set up a proper website (even a simple redirect to main site) — bare domains look suspicious
+- Match the company name visually — unrelated domains look like phishing
+- Get a G Suite / Microsoft 365 mailbox on it — shared hosting email servers have worse reputation
+
+### SPF Record
+
+SPF (Sender Policy Framework) tells receiving servers which IP addresses are allowed to send email from your domain. Without it, your emails look unauthenticated.
+
+**DNS TXT record:**
+```
+v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
+```
+
+Replace `_spf.google.com` with your sending provider's SPF include. Check your provider's documentation for the exact value (Google Workspace, SendGrid, Mailgun, etc. all have their own).
+
+**Important:** Only have ONE SPF record per domain. If you have multiple, they conflict and authentication fails.
+
+### DKIM
+
+DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a cryptographic signature to your emails, proving they weren't tampered with in transit.
+
+Setup is done through your email provider — they give you a DNS TXT record to add. It looks like:
+
+```
+google._domainkey.yourdomain.com  IN  TXT  "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0..."
+```
+
+The public key in that record lets receiving servers verify your email's signature.
+
+### DMARC
+
+DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together and tells receiving servers what to do when authentication fails.
+
+**Starter DMARC record (monitoring mode):**
+```
+_dmarc.yourdomain.com  IN  TXT  "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com"
+```
+
+`p=none` means monitor but don't block — good to start with. Once you've confirmed SPF and DKIM are working cleanly, move to `p=quarantine` or `p=reject`.
+
+### Verify Everything
+
+Use **mail-tester.com**: send a test email to their address, then check your score. 9/10 or higher means your authentication is clean. Below 7/10 means something is broken.
+
+---
+
+## Domain Warmup
+
+A brand new domain has no sending reputation. Email providers don't trust it. If you start sending 200 emails/day on day one, you will be flagged.
+
+Warmup = building reputation gradually by sending low volumes and getting positive engagement.
+
+### Warmup Schedule
+
+| Week | Emails/Day | Focus |
+|------|-----------|-------|
+| 1 | 5-10 | Real conversations only — send to colleagues, get replies |
+| 2 | 20-30 | Small cold outreach batches — highly targeted, good lists |
+| 3 | 40-60 | Expand slightly — maintain >30% open rate |
+| 4 | 80-100 | Normal volume — watch bounce and spam complaint rates |
+| 5+ | Up to 200 | Full volume — monitor daily |
+
+**Warning signs that warmup is failing:**
+- Open rate drops below 20%
+- Bounce rate above 3%
+- Spam complaint rate above 0.1%
+- Emails landing in Gmail Promotions tab
+
+**Manual warmup vs tools:** Tools like Lemwarm, Warmup Inbox, or Mailreach automate warmup by sending emails to a network of inboxes that automatically open and engage. These help build reputation faster. They're worth it for new domains.
+
+---
+
+## List Quality
+
+Sending to bad email addresses destroys your sender reputation. Every hard bounce tells inbox providers your list is dirty.
+
+### Before Sending
+
+1. **Verify email addresses** — Use a verification tool (NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, Hunter's verify, etc.) before importing any list. Remove invalid, catch-all, and risky emails.
+
+2. **Target bounce rate:** Keep it below 2%. Above 5% is dangerous territory.
+
+3. **Remove catch-all domains carefully** — Catch-all domains accept any email regardless of whether the mailbox exists. Your emails won't hard-bounce, but they may go nowhere.
+
+4. **Never buy lists** — Purchased lists are old, dirty, unverified, and frequently include spam traps (addresses placed by inbox providers to catch spammers). One spam trap hit can blacklist your domain.
+
+### Ongoing Hygiene
+
+- Remove anyone who hasn't opened in 90 days from your sequence (move to a re-engagement campaign or suppress)
+- Remove unsubscribes immediately — required legally and good for reputation
+- Remove bounces from all future sends automatically
+
+---
+
+## Content That Hurts Deliverability
+
+Spam filters evaluate content alongside authentication and reputation. These patterns trigger filters:
+
+### Spam Trigger Words to Avoid
+
+High-risk words and phrases (use sparingly or avoid):
+- "Free" (especially in subject lines)
+- "Guaranteed" / "100% guaranteed"
+- "No obligation"
+- "Act now" / "Limited time"
+- "Congratulations"
+- "You've been selected"
+- "Click here"
+- "Earn money" / "Make money"
+- "Risk-free"
+- "Special offer"
+- Excessive exclamation points!!!
+- ALL CAPS words
+
+These don't automatically spam-filter you, but they're additive — the more of them in a single email, the higher the spam score.
+
+### Content Rules
+
+| Do | Don't |
+|----|-------|
+| Plain text or minimal HTML | Heavy HTML with complex tables, images |
+| One link max per email | 5+ links — looks like phishing or newsletter |
+| Personalized subject lines | Batch-blasted "LAST CHANCE" subject lines |
+| Unsubscribe link | No unsubscribe mechanism |
+| Consistent from name | Rotating from names |
+| Short emails | Wall-of-text emails |
+
+### The HTML Question
+
+Plain text emails consistently get better deliverability than HTML emails for cold outreach. They look like real emails from real people — because they are.
+
+If you need to include your company logo and a fancy template: don't. Save that for newsletters to opted-in subscribers. Cold email = plain text, signed like a person.
+
+---
+
+## Sending Limits by Platform
+
+| Platform | Safe Daily Volume | Notes |
+|----------|------------------|-------|
+| Google Workspace (paid) | 500/day | Shared across all outgoing |
+| Google Workspace + Warmup | Up to 2000/day | After full warmup |
+| Microsoft 365 | 10,000/day | Generous, but still subject to reputation |
+| SendGrid | Depends on plan | IP reputation matters at scale |
+| Mailgun | Depends on plan | Good for transactional, OK for cold |
+| Lemlist / Instantly / Apollo | Platform-managed | Warmup built in, use their sending infrastructure |
+
+For cold outreach at scale (>500/day), dedicated sending platforms are better than Google/Microsoft direct — they're designed to manage reputation across many users.
+
+---
+
+## Checking Your Reputation
+
+If you suspect deliverability problems, check these:
+
+1. **Mail-tester.com** — Authentication and content score (10/10 is perfect)
+2. **MXToolbox Blacklist Check** — Check if your domain or IP is on any blacklists
+3. **Google Postmaster Tools** — Shows your domain reputation with Gmail (spam rate, auth failures)
+4. **Microsoft SNDS** — Similar to Google Postmaster for Outlook/Hotmail
+
+**If you're on a blacklist:**
+- Stop sending immediately from that domain
+- Identify the cause (bad list, spam complaints, warmup failure)
+- Follow the blacklist's delisting process (each has its own)
+- Consider using a new domain while the old one recovers
+
+---
+
+## Legal Requirements
+
+Cold email has legal requirements in most markets. Breaking them isn't just unethical — it's fined.
+
+| Regulation | Where | Key Requirements |
+|-----------|-------|-----------------|
+| CAN-SPAM | USA | Honest subject line, physical address, unsubscribe mechanism |
+| CASL | Canada | Requires express or implied consent — much stricter than CAN-SPAM |
+| GDPR | EU/EEA | Legitimate interest basis required; no soft opt-in |
+| PECR | UK | Similar to GDPR; ICO enforcement |
+
+**Minimum compliance for most cold email:**
+- Include your company name and physical address in every email
+- Provide a working unsubscribe link or reply-to-unsubscribe instruction
+- Honor unsubscribes within 10 business days (CAN-SPAM) or immediately (GDPR best practice)
+- Don't use misleading subject lines or from names
+
+**Disclaimer:** This is practical guidance, not legal advice. For EU/Canada outreach, consult a lawyer who specializes in email marketing law — GDPR and CASL are stricter than most people realize.

package/skills/cold-email/references/follow-up-playbook.md

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+# Follow-Up Playbook
+
+Full cadence guide, angle rotation, and breakup email templates. The goal: stay persistent without becoming noise.
+
+---
+
+## The Core Problem with Follow-Ups
+
+Most follow-up emails are a form of wishful thinking: "Maybe they missed it. I'll send it again." They didn't miss it. They read it, didn't feel urgency, and moved on. Another "just checking in" doesn't create urgency — it signals that you have nothing new to offer.
+
+The only follow-up worth sending is one that adds something: a new angle, a new proof point, a new question, or a new frame.
+
+---
+
+## The Full Cadence
+
+| Email | Label | Day | Gap | Purpose |
+|-------|-------|-----|-----|---------|
+| 1 | First touch | Day 1 | — | Lead with their world, establish relevance |
+| 2 | New angle | Day 4 | +3 | Different problem angle or social proof |
+| 3 | Value add | Day 9 | +5 | Resource, insight, or data point |
+| 4 | Direct question | Day 16 | +7 | Cut through with a plain, direct ask |
+| 5 | Reverse | Day 25 | +9 | Ask for referral to the right person |
+| 6 | Breakup | Day 35 | +10 | Close the loop, leave door open |
+
+Gaps increase over time. You're persistent but not desperate.
+
+6 emails is the upper limit for most cold outreach. For very high-value accounts (ABM-style), you might go to 8. For volume prospecting, 4-5 is often more practical.
+
+---
+
+## Email-by-Email Guide
+
+### Email 1: First Touch
+Already covered in `frameworks.md`. The anchor of the sequence.
+
+**What it needs:**
+- Specific, relevant opener
+- Clear connection between their situation and what you do
+- One ask, low friction
+
+---
+
+### Email 2: New Angle (Day 4)
+
+This is where most sequences fail — they send a "following up" reminder. Don't.
+
+Email 2 should approach the problem from a different angle than Email 1. If Email 1 was about their hiring signal, Email 2 might be about the operational risk that follows from rapid hiring. Different angle, same direction.
+
+**Angle options for Email 2:**
+- Different pain point in the same domain
+- Social proof / customer story that's highly relevant to their context
+- An industry trend that makes the problem more urgent
+- A specific, relevant statistic you haven't mentioned yet
+
+**Template structure:**
+```
+[New angle or observation — 1-2 sentences]
+[Expand on why it matters for their situation — 1-2 sentences]
+[Soft CTA — question or invitation]
+```
+
+**Example:**
+> A lot of the teams I talk to at your stage are hitting the same wall: the ramp time on new SDRs has stretched from 3 months to 5+ months because the playbook that worked at 5 reps doesn't scale to 15.
+>
+> It's not a hiring problem — it's an enablement infrastructure problem that doesn't become visible until you're already in it.
+>
+> Is that a challenge you're actively working on, or is it on the radar for later?
+
+---
+
+### Email 3: Value Add (Day 9)
+
+Give something useful before asking again. This builds goodwill and separates you from the other 30 emails in their inbox that only ask.
+
+**What counts as value:**
+- A relevant guide, benchmark report, or template (if you have one)
+- A specific insight about their market or competitor landscape
+- A practical suggestion based on what you know about their situation
+- A useful question that helps them think about their problem differently
+
+**Template structure:**
+```
+[Reference to something specific about them — 1 sentence]
+[The value: insight, resource, or useful observation — 2-3 sentences]
+[Low-friction CTA: "useful?" or "happy to elaborate" or specific ask]
+```
+
+**Example:**
+> We just published a benchmark of SDR ramp times across 40 SaaS companies by stage — the data is pretty surprising (the fastest don't hire the most experienced reps, they do onboarding completely differently).
+>
+> Thought of your situation when reviewing it. Happy to share the relevant section if useful — no strings, just might be helpful context for where you're headed.
+
+---
+
+### Email 4: Direct Question (Day 16)
+
+By Email 4, subtlety has run its course. Sometimes the most effective move is to ask a direct, plain question. No setup, no story.
+
+This email is short. Often just two or three lines.
+
+**Options:**
+- Ask what's getting in the way
+- Ask if your assumption about their problem is wrong
+- Ask if the timing just isn't right
+- Ask who the right person to talk to is
+
+**Template structure:**
+```
+[One direct question — sometimes that's all this email needs to be]
+[Optional: one sentence of context if needed]
+[Nothing else]
+```
+
+**Example:**
+> Is SDR ramp time actually a priority for you right now, or is the timing just off?
+>
+> No judgment either way — just helps me know whether it's worth staying in touch.
+
+Or even shorter:
+> Am I reaching the wrong person here — is there someone else on your team who owns sales enablement?
+
+---
+
+### Email 5: Reverse / Referral (Day 25)
+
+If you haven't reached the right person, this email shifts to asking for the referral. If you have reached the right person but they haven't replied, the referral ask sometimes unlocks a conversation because it's a different and lower-commitment request.
+
+**Template structure:**
+```
+[Acknowledge you may not be reaching the right person — 1 sentence]
+[Who you're actually looking for — specific role or function — 1 sentence]
+[Referral ask — 1 sentence]
+```
+
+**Example:**
+> I might be reaching out to the wrong person — the conversations I typically have are with whoever owns sales onboarding and enablement, which may not be you.
+>
+> If there's a name you could point me toward, I'd really appreciate it. And if it is you — totally understand if the timing isn't right.
+
+---
+
+### Email 6: Breakup (Day 35)
+
+The last email. Its job is to close the loop professionally and leave the relationship in a better place than if you'd just gone silent.
+
+The breakup email often generates the highest reply rate of the entire sequence — people don't like unanswered threads.
+
+**What makes a good breakup:**
+- Signals clearly that this is the last one (without being dramatic about it)
+- Leaves the door open — no hard feelings
+- Offers one final path to action (reply, referral, or reconnect later)
+- Keeps it under 5 sentences
+
+**Template:**
+```
+[Signal this is your last email — 1 sentence]
+[Genuine offer to reconnect when timing changes — 1 sentence]
+[Referral ask as a final option — 1 sentence]
+[Warm close — 1 sentence]
+```
+
+**Example:**
+> I'll stop cluttering your inbox after this one.
+>
+> If scaling your outbound motion ever becomes a priority, happy to pick this back up — just reply here and I'll be there.
+>
+> If there's someone else at [Company] who owns this, a name would be genuinely helpful.
+>
+> Either way, good luck with the Berlin expansion.
+
+**What to avoid in the breakup:**
+- Passive-aggressive tone ("I've tried to reach you several times now...")
+- Fake urgency ("This is your last chance to...")
+- Asking for feedback on why they didn't reply (annoying, not useful)
+
+---
+
+## Angle Rotation Guide
+
+Never repeat the same angle twice. Here are enough angles for a full 6-email sequence on any B2B topic:
+
+| Angle | Description | Example |
+|-------|------------|---------|
+| Trigger event | The specific reason you reached out | "Saw the funding announcement..." |
+| Adjacent pain | A related problem they also likely have | "The challenge after that usually is..." |
+| Social proof | Customer story or result | "We helped a team in your situation..." |
+| Industry trend | External force making the problem more urgent | "EMEA data residency rules are tightening..." |
+| Data/benchmark | A specific number that reframes the problem | "The average ramp time in your segment is 4.2 months..." |
+| Counterintuitive insight | Something most people in their role get wrong | "Most teams solve this by hiring more, which makes it worse..." |
+| Resource offer | Something genuinely useful, no strings | "We just published a guide on exactly this..." |
+| Direct question | Plain, honest ask | "Is this even a priority right now?" |
+| Referral ask | Ask for the right person if not them | "Am I talking to the right person here?" |
+| Breakup | Close the loop | "I'll stop after this one..." |
+
+Sequence design tip: never use two heavy asks back to back. Pattern: trigger → social proof → value → direct → referral → breakup works better than ask → ask → ask → ask → ask → breakup.
+
+---
+
+## Short Sequence Variations
+
+### 3-Email Sequence (High-Volume SDR)
+1. Day 1: OPPA framework (trigger + problem + proof + ask)
+2. Day 5: Value add (resource, insight, or data point)
+3. Day 12: Breakup
+
+### 4-Email Sequence (Balanced)
+1. Day 1: First touch
+2. Day 4: New angle / social proof
+3. Day 10: Direct question
+4. Day 20: Breakup
+
+### 6-Email Sequence (ABM / High-Value Accounts)
+Full sequence as described above.
+
+---
+
+## What Never to Send
+
+- **"Just following up"** — Adds nothing. Deletes itself.
+- **"Did you see my last email?"** — They saw it. This is passive-aggressive.
+- **"I wanted to make sure this didn't get lost"** — Patronizing.
+- **"I know you're busy but..."** — Everyone's busy. Don't invoke it.
+- **A forwarded copy of the original email** — They have the original. This is lazy.
+- **Back-to-back emails on the same day** — Unless it's a clear error correction.

package/skills/cold-email/references/frameworks.md

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+# Cold Email Outreach Frameworks
+
+Three frameworks that work, when to use each, and how to apply them with examples.
+
+---
+
+## How to Use This Guide
+
+A framework is a structure, not a script. Use it to organize your thinking, then write in your own voice. If an email sounds like it was written from a template, the framework failed.
+
+Each framework works best in specific situations — the mismatch between framework and context is why most cold emails fall flat.
+
+---
+
+## Framework 1: Observation → Problem → Proof → Ask (OPPA)
+
+**Best for:** Prospects where you have a specific, real observation (trigger event, signal, public info). This is the most versatile framework and the default for most B2B cold email.
+
+**What it does:** Starts with something real and specific about them, connects it to a problem they likely have, brings in credibility, and asks a focused question.
+
+### Structure
+
+```
+[Observation]: Something specific and true about them right now.
+[Problem]:     The logical challenge or risk that creates.
+[Proof]:       One concrete piece of evidence you can solve it.
+[Ask]:         A single, low-friction question or request.
+```
+
+### How to Write Each Part
+
+**Observation** — This must be:
+- Specific (not "I see you're in the software industry")
+- Recent (not something from 2 years ago)
+- Relevant to the problem you're about to raise
+- Non-creepy (public info: LinkedIn, press, job postings, tech stack signals)
+
+Good observations:
+- "Saw the announcement that you're opening a Berlin office."
+- "Noticed you're hiring 4 SDRs simultaneously — unusual to scale the team that fast."
+- "Your last three blog posts have all been about compliance — guessing that's a pressure point right now."
+
+**Problem** — This should feel like something they already know is true, not something you're trying to convince them of.
+
+- ❌ "Companies like yours struggle with X."
+- ✅ "That scale-up usually surfaces a bunch of process gaps that are invisible when you're smaller."
+
+**Proof** — Keep it tight. One result, one customer name (if allowed), or one specific claim. Not a list.
+
+- ❌ "We work with 300+ companies and have won 7 awards."
+- ✅ "We helped a similar-sized team in fintech cut SDR ramp time by 40% in the first quarter."
+
+**Ask** — One ask. Low friction. Makes it easy to say yes or no.
+
+- ❌ "Would you be open to a 45-minute product walkthrough with our sales team?"
+- ✅ "Worth 15 minutes to compare notes on how you're handling this?"
+
+### Full Example
+
+**Subject:** your Berlin expansion
+
+> Congrats on the Berlin announcement — Series B followed by a new market in the same quarter is a big move.
+>
+> The part that usually bites teams at this stage: the go-to-market motion that worked for your home market rarely translates directly, especially if you're dealing with different buyer personas and a cold pipeline.
+>
+> We've helped three B2B SaaS teams with exactly this transition — the fastest got pipeline moving in Germany within 90 days. Happy to share what worked.
+>
+> Worth a 20-minute call to compare notes?
+
+---
+
+## Framework 2: Question → Value → Ask (QVA)
+
+**Best for:** Situations where you don't have a strong trigger event, but you understand the prospect's world well enough to lead with a sharp insight or question. Good for segmented outreach to a persona with a known, common pain.
+
+**What it does:** Opens with a question that creates cognitive engagement — they can't help but answer it in their head. Then delivers value before asking for anything.
+
+### Structure
+
+```
+[Question]:  A question they're probably already asking themselves.
+[Value]:     An insight, reframe, or resource that helps them — before they've agreed to anything.
+[Ask]:       Low-friction request to continue the conversation.
+```
+
+### How to Write Each Part
+
+**Question** — Not a rhetorical sales question ("Are you struggling with X?"). An actual, thoughtful question they'd ask at a team meeting.
+
+- ❌ "Are you struggling to hit your pipeline targets?"
+- ✅ "What's your current approach to EMEA expansion — inside sales, channel, or hybrid?"
+
+The question works because it's specific enough that only a relevant person can answer it, and answering it in their head pulls them into the email.
+
+**Value** — Give something before asking for anything. This is the differentiator. Options:
+- A useful insight from your experience working in their space
+- A specific data point or benchmark they probably don't have
+- A framework or reframe that's genuinely useful
+- A short, actionable observation about their situation
+
+This doesn't need to be long. Two sentences of genuine value beats two paragraphs of soft selling.
+
+**Ask** — Same rules as OPPA. One ask, low friction, specific.
+
+### Full Example
+
+**Subject:** EMEA expansion approach
+
+> Quick question — are you planning to open EMEA with a field sales team, or running it remotely from the US for the first 12 months?
+>
+> I ask because we've seen both approaches play out across about 30 SaaS companies doing this move, and the one that consistently underperforms is the "remote first, hire local later" model — not because of the sales motion, but because of the support/onboarding gap that follows when you close enterprise deals in a timezone you don't cover.
+>
+> Happy to share a quick breakdown of what the fastest-scaling teams do differently if that's useful. 15 minutes?
+
+---
+
+## Framework 3: Trigger → Insight → Ask (TIA)
+
+**Best for:** When you have a very specific, time-sensitive trigger event and want to move fast. Great for sales teams with intent signals, tech stack changes, funding news, leadership changes, or industry regulatory shifts.
+
+**What it does:** Names the trigger directly, provides a non-obvious insight about what that trigger means, and asks a focused question while the timing is relevant.
+
+### Structure
+
+```
+[Trigger]:  Name the specific event/signal you observed.
+[Insight]:  Something non-obvious about what that trigger typically means/leads to.
+[Ask]:      Direct, time-aware request.
+```
+
+### How to Write Each Part
+
+**Trigger** — Be specific and direct. Don't be coy about why you're reaching out.
+
+- ❌ "I was browsing LinkedIn and happened to notice..."
+- ✅ "Saw the funding announcement this morning."
+
+**Insight** — The non-obvious part is what separates this from lazy trigger-based outreach. You're not just saying "congrats on the funding" — you're showing you understand what that trigger means operationally.
+
+Pattern: "That usually means [specific operational challenge] that most [their role] underestimate."
+
+- ❌ "Congrats! We'd love to help you grow."
+- ✅ "Series A typically means the first real pressure to build repeatable pipeline — and most companies at this stage haven't yet figured out which channels actually scale."
+
+**Ask** — Frame the timing as genuine, not manufactured urgency.
+
+- ❌ "Act now before it's too late!"
+- ✅ "First 60 days post-funding is when this gets set up or doesn't — worth a quick call?"
+
+### Full Example
+
+**Subject:** post-Series A pipeline
+
+> Saw the Series A close — congrats.
+>
+> The next 90 days are when pipeline architecture either gets built properly or gets bolted together in a way that causes problems at Series B. Most founders don't realize until 18 months later that they're paying for shortcuts made now.
+>
+> We work specifically with post-Series A B2B SaaS teams setting up their outbound motion for the first time. Happy to do a no-strings 20-minute call on what works and what doesn't at your stage.
+>
+> Useful?
+
+---
+
+## Choosing the Right Framework
+
+| Situation | Use |
+|-----------|-----|
+| Strong trigger event (funding, hiring, news, tech change) | TIA |
+| Good persona understanding, no specific trigger | QVA |
+| Mix of trigger + problem knowledge | OPPA |
+| Referral or warm intro context | OPPA with referral opener |
+| Re-engaging a past prospect | QVA with callback to previous context |
+
+## Combining Frameworks
+
+These frameworks aren't rigid. In practice, the best emails blend elements:
+- TIA trigger + OPPA proof
+- QVA question + TIA timing
+- OPPA observation + QVA value
+
+What you can't blend: two questions, two proof points, or two asks. One of each, always.
+
+---
+
+## Subject Line Frameworks
+
+Subject lines have their own logic — separate from the email body.
+
+### The Blank Subject
+Two or three words, no capitalization, feels like an internal message.
+- `quick question`
+- `cold outreach`
+- `your q3 pipeline`
+
+### The Named Trigger
+Specific enough to signal you did research, vague enough to create curiosity.
+- `your Series A`
+- `Berlin office`
+- `your ATS stack`
+
+### The Shared Context
+Implies a pre-existing relationship or shared frame.
+- `re: EMEA expansion`
+- `following up on the hiring spike`
+
+### The Named Person (Referral)
+Only use if the referral is real — never fake this.
+- `[Mutual Name] suggested I reach out`
+- `[Name] mentioned you're building out your SDR team`
+
+### Never Use
+- `Quick question about your [product category] strategy!`
+- `Revolutionize your [function] with [product name]`
+- `[FIRST NAME], we have a special offer for you`
+- Emojis
+- ALL CAPS
+- Question marks (feels like an ad)