The Cold Email That Made $100K
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by
Sam Parr
Sam Parr
@thesamparr·Dec 22
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/L7uEYaG5Di

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.
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