The Cold Email That Made $100K

Sam Parr shared the first cold email that kicked off The Hustle’s ad sales. One simple, personal email to Wealthfront brought in serious cash — and it’s a masterclass in how to sell without sounding like a salesperson.

Why This Email Works

• Starts with a genuine personal connection (“I use your product and love it”)
• Clearly matches audiences (“your demo = our readers”)
• Makes an easy ask (“small experiment to try it out”)
• Adds credibility (mention of 100K daily readers + LinkedIn link)
• Keeps it short, conversational, and human

Real-World Proof

• The Hustle sold $100K worth of ads from cold outreach
• 20 emails sent → 5–8 replies → 1 deal closed
• 93,535 newsletter subscribers charged $26 CPM

A killer reminder: authenticity + relevant data + low-friction ask = conversion gold.