AI prompt template

AI prompt for a sourced first line in cold email

A good first line states a fact the reader can check. The prompt writes one only from a quote you supply, and returns nothing rather than a compliment.

Run it on your own site All prompt templates →

When to use it

You have one fact and its quote from step one and need the opening sentence.
You are tired of first lines that say “loved your recent post”.
You will fill the line per contact at scale and cannot read each one.

The prompt

Paste it into the model you use, then replace each bracketed input.

Write one first line for a cold email to a [ROLE]. Use only the fact, quote and page below; never add a detail, a number or a compliment that is not in them.

Fact: [FACT]
Quote: [QUOTE]
Page: [PAGE]

Rules:
- One sentence, under 25 words, plain statement of what the page says, naming the page.
- No praise, no "I noticed", no "I hope".
- If the quote does not support the fact, return exactly: not found
- Then, on a new line, give the quote you relied on.

Input	What to put there
`[FACT]`	The fact as notes.
`[QUOTE]`	The verbatim quote that supports it.
`[PAGE]`	The page address.
`[ROLE]`	The reader’s role.

Why it works

It cannot add anything, because the only inputs are the fact, the quote and the page.
Banning praise removes the line every sender writes.
The refusal path means a weak fact produces no line instead of a bad one.

An example

Illustrative. The companies and pages below are invented.

Input

FACT: hiring a Policy Administrator
QUOTE: "Policy Administrator, commercial lines, reporting to the Head of Operations"
PAGE: marloweinsurance.example/careers
ROLE: Head of Operations (illustrative)

Output

Your careers page lists a Policy Administrator for commercial lines reporting to you.
Quote relied on: "Policy Administrator, commercial lines, reporting to the Head of Operations"

Variants

Three options to choose from

Write three first lines for a cold email to a [ROLE], each under 25 words, using only the fact, quote and page below and nothing else. No praise. If the quote does not support the fact, return "not found".

Fact: [FACT]
Quote: [QUOTE]
Page: [PAGE]

With the date

Write one sentence stating the fact below and its date, naming the page. Use only what is below; never invent a date. If no date is given, leave it out.

Fact: [FACT]
Date: [DATE]
Page: [PAGE]

Limits

What are the limits of the write a sourced first line prompt?

The line is only as good as the fact. A trivial fact, such as a founder’s name, will produce a correct but pointless line. Prefer facts that tell you what the reader is dealing with.

Research an account from its own pages

A prompt that turns a prospect’s own pages into sourced notes for a cold email: what they do, what changed, who owns the problem, each with a quote.

Write honest subject lines

A prompt for plain cold email subject lines drawn from the email’s own fact: no fake Re:, no urgency, no clickbait, with a length limit.

Audit an email for unsourced claims

A prompt that checks every claim in a cold email against the sources you supply, flags what is unsupported, and flags deceptive or spam-like wording.

Cold email templates

Templates by situation and by role.

Research and writing, with a quote behind every fact

Outlevo runs these steps for each company it finds, and shows the page each fact came from.