The Cold Email That Landed $100K in Ads
Published on
Sam Parr
@thesamparr·Oct 10
I sold The Hustle's first ads. About $100k worth.
Here's the 1st cold email I sent that got a sale. It was Wealthfront.
Maybe sent emails to 20 diff brands, 5-8 showed interest. We had 93,535 subscribers.
I charged them $26 per 1,000 sends. https://t.co/Lj6eIT8j40
This is a cool story.
Sam Parr sold The Hustle’s first $100K in ads with one killer cold email. No fancy deck, no media kit. Just a simple, human note to Wealthfront.
Why This Email Works
- Opens with a personal connection (he actually used the product)
- Quickly builds credibility (mentions The Hustle’s audience size and fit)
- Suggests a low-risk test (a “small experiment”)
- Ends with an easy, friendly CTA (“Thoughts?”)
- Adds trust with a polite PS and LinkedIn link
Real-World Examples
- Superhuman’s CEO Rahul Vohra personally emailed early users to get 60%+ reply rates
- Airbnb’s founders cold-emailed photographers to help upgrade listings, kickstarting growth
- Morning Brew used similar 1:1 outreach to land early sponsorships before scaling
Sometimes big deals start with small, genuine emails.
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