x-dm

On X the DM is the last step, not the first. The people worth messaging get cold DMs every day, and most of them land in message requests, unread. The ones that get opened come from a name the reader already recognises, because it has been in their replies.

Before writing, get the specifics

Ask, in one batched question:

1. Who: handle, what they do.
2. The history: have they seen the user's name? Replies, quotes, a mutual follow. If the answer is "none", the first job is two weeks of /x-comment on their posts, not a DM. Say so.
3. The reason, now: a post they wrote, a thing they shipped, a question they asked in public. Not "they fit my ICP".
4. What the user wants: a conversation, a collab, a sale, a job. Be honest internally, even if the message does not lead with it.