outreach
Outreach — Start a Conversation, Not a Pitch
"I know who I should talk to. I just don't know what to say."
The problem
You have a list of people you should talk to. But every time you open a message box, you freeze. You don't want to sound salesy. You don't want to be spam. So you write nothing — or you write something so generic it gets ignored.
Most outreach advice is about sequences and templates: "3-step follow-up cadence," "cold email formula that converts." That's cargo-cult sales. It treats people as leads to process, not humans to connect with.
The real problem is you haven't figured out what you're actually asking for. You're trying to "sell" or "pitch" when you should be trying to learn. Until you know what you want from the conversation, every message will feel wrong.
The leading word: bridge
An outreach message is a bridge from the recipient's world to a conversation with you. It starts on their side — their problem, their situation, their context — and offers a reason to cross.
If the bridge doesn't start on their side, they never step onto it. If it starts on your side ("I built X, want to see?"), you're asking them to build the bridge themselves.