“Just following up on my previous email” – with that line, you might’ve just buried your chances of working together.
I know, everyone says it. I used to say it too – until I found myself on the other side of the inbox. Back in the day, we went door-to-door knocking on studio offices, trying to land a job. Or built a network using the Yellow Pages.
Now? We all work from home, and the last edition of the Yellow Pages came out in January 2019.
The world’s changed. Cold outreach doesn’t work the way it used to. Meetups don’t turn into projects overnight. And AI might take over any second (kidding… mostly). But call me an optimist – I still believe outreach works. Just not the way we remember. It’s no longer a direct-conversion tool, but one of the hundred touchpoints you need to land a project. And ignoring it? That’s just bad strategy.
I get hundreds of pitches a week, and right now, I’m in the middle of doing outreach myself. So I’m not just giving advice – I’m living it.
Here are 5 things that will at least get your email read. Maybe even replied to. (No promises, but still.)
1. Keep it short. Period.
No one reads long emails. Everyone is drowning in content. Respect the reader’s time more than your own. Ask yourself: Would I want to read this email?
Feel the contrast?
Make your message easy to read — and even easier to click on your work. The perfect cold email is a couple of paragraphs.
Structure is simple:
short subject line
greeting + name
who you are + your studio
what you do
links to your work
maybe socials in the footer
You can mention a project they did – but only if it’s genuine. Personally, I cringe at fake compliments. I’d rather read “Hey, we’re [X], we do [Y], and we’d love to help” than wade through flattery that sounds like it came from a robot.
Example:
“Hi {Your Future Partner Name},
I’m Alex from BEST EVER STUDIO. We specialize in high-end post-production for commercials, branded content, and original series — from editing and color to VFX and finishing.
I came across your recent work and thought our services might resonate with what you’re doing.
Here’s a quick look at some of our latest projects: {Magic Link}
If you ever need extra hands or want to explore a collab, we’d love to connect.
Best, Alex
Executive Producer
BESTEVERSTUDIO.COM”
A few days ago, I got an email from a VFX studio.
Guess what was missing?
Links.
No reel, no work samples, not even in the signature. Not in the body. Not anywhere.
How am I supposed to understand what you do? Don’t do that. Always include links to your portfolio. Always.
2. Portfolio matters. A lot.
Sometimes people just attach a PDF. Better than nothing, but let’s be honest: opening a PDF on your phone is punishment, not discovery.
Invest in a clean, easy-to-navigate website.
It doesn’t have to be custom — a polished Squarespace, Webflow (our choice), or Readymag will do just fine.
3. Use a CRM. Always.
Don’t start outreach without a CRM. I made that mistake once – I spent a week digging through email threads, manually organizing contacts, and remembering who I had sent what to. Not fun.
You don’t need Salesforce. A Notion or a spreadsheet is enough.
Basic fields:
Name
Company
City (I personally don't have this field)
Email
LinkedIn Profile
Lead Status (you define your funnel)
Last Activity Date
What you sent
I’ve tried everything from Excel to Airtable and landed on HubSpot.
My current app stack consists of Apollo, Hunter, Superhuman, and HubSpot.
4. No more “Just following up.”
Here’s the surprise: don’t send follow-ups like
“Just following up on my previous email" or “Just checking if you had a chance to look over my proposal.”
I used to send those too, until I became the one receiving them.
If your contact didn’t reply, there’s a reason. Don’t clog their inbox with reminders. Instead, share something new. A fresh project, a recent case study.
That’s 10x more effective – and doesn’t feel annoying.
5. Make it a habit.
Outreach isn’t a one-off. Even if they like you, they’ll forget you. You’ll get buried in the mental drawer labeled “maybe someday.”
Want to stay top-of-mind? Keep showing up.
Something like:
“Hi {Your Future Partner Name}!
We just launched a new project — check it out: {Magic Link}.
Always happy to connect if something resonates!”
Oh, and obviously: make sure your links work.
You’d think that’s a given… but just last week I replied to a web studio pitch, followed up, and got nothing back. Their site? Broken link.
So you get the idea.
At the end of the day, outreach is about timing. You just have to be in the right inbox, at the right moment.
Think of it like a good sourdough! You can throw together flour and water and call it bread… But a real crust, deep flavor, and that satisfying crackle? That takes time, care, and good tools.
Bread ASMR 😋
Curious to hear, what mistakes have you made in your outreach journey? Or what works best for you?
Let me know in the comments!
Good luck!