How to get a reply to an email from Paul Graham?

đź‘‹ I'm Krishna Lohia. You can read more about me here.


I’m not kidding, have a look here.

Cold Email- A way to start a conversation with people to whom you’ve never spoken before.

So, how does it work? How do you get answers to your cold emails from people who you aspire to be like?

P.S. I got my first internship at an early-stage startup via Cold Email. Read it here.

TL;DR

First, understand what you want to ask?

Having clarity here will lead to higher chances of a reply.Is it career advice? Is it for getting work? Is it for having a meeting? Is it for feedback on something?

After you figure this out, jump to the next step.

Having a good subject line.

Why should someone open your email if it reads “ Applying for a job” — they get tons of emails like this all day.

Stand out from the crowd. Keep it something eye-catching but not creepy.

This was the subject line of one of the emails to Ankur Warikoo (Co-Founder of Nearbuy).

And, guess what? He replied, not that he doesn’t respond to his emails, but this subject line just increased the chances of getting a response.

The essential part to not losing the reader when they open an email is introducing yourself.

Clearly introduce yourself.

E.g.:Hello (Sir/Mam/Name), I’m Krishna Lohia, 19, a first-year student studying in Mumbai. To not waste your time, I will keep this short.

This was the email I wrote to Paul Graham.

The key to writing an email and getting a response is keeping it short and simple while asking what you want to know.

Some examples of cold emails to people, check out what made them effective.

Lastly, know that many people won’t reply to your email not because they are rude but because they may have other priorities.

Keep trying and follow up on the emails.

Use these tools to find people’s email id: