How should I word a cold email or LinkedIn message to a company that might hire us for video?

One line about you, in the reader's language, and one question about them: "We make video for [their sector]. Curious, do you have a video supplier at the moment?" Then stop. No apology for writing, no second service, no showreel link, no joke. Introduce yourself as a specialist in the thing they do, send each batch to one sector about one service, and put proof in your profile and on your site where they'll look if the question lands.

What reply rate is normal for cold outreach from a video production company?

The working benchmark members use on Den Lennie's coaching calls is one to three replies in a hundred for cold outreach. Under that, the message is the problem: too long, too apologetic, or asking the reader to judge whether you're worth engaging. One member tracking replies by sector saw nine per cent in his strongest sector against about two in another; replies rose when he led with a specialist introduction and fell when he put two services in one message.

Field Guides / Marketing

How to write a cold outreach message that gets a reply

Q: What do I say when a prospect replies that they already have a video supplier?

Say that's good to hear, leave one loop open and ask what they're working on: "Most companies your size have someone in place. If a job comes up that's [the one thing you specialise in] and they can't cover it, I'm a phone call away. What are you working on at the moment?" Don't apologise for asking and don't sell them on staying connected. Then read their company again, properly, even after a no: the next angle may be a different kind of video from the one you asked about.

A cold outreach message that gets a reply is one line about you, in the reader's language, and one question about them. The question I give members is "Do you have a video supplier at the moment?" Then stop typing. No apology for writing, no second service, no showreel, no joke. On our calls the working benchmark for cold outreach is one to three replies in a hundred; one member tracking by sector saw replies rise to nine when he led with a specialist introduction.

Why do cold outreach messages get ignored?

Cold outreach messages get ignored because they're too long, too nice, and they ask the reader to decide whether you're worth engaging. A long, apologetic message gives the reader nothing to work with.

A member put his outreach messages up on screen for me on a group call. Plenty of requests were going out and almost nothing was coming back. The people were right, so it wasn't the targeting. The first message ran to a paragraph of reassurance before it got anywhere: low pressure, no pressure, easy, chill. What I told him was that he'd overcooked it. It's very easy to say no to someone who's being that nice. Someone had come back to him with two lines, and he'd replied with a mini essay.

The second pattern is apology. A message that opens with something like "I'm sure you've got plenty of people already" asks permission to exist. You're a peer with something useful, writing to someone who may need it, and the message should read that way.

The third is the closing line. An outreach email I reviewed ended "does that sound good to you?". A line like that hands the reader a judgement to make about you. Ask them something about their business instead.

How to write a cold outreach message: the method, step by step

The method is seven steps: pick one sector and one service, find the right person, look for two minutes, write two lines, stop, answer the reply, and log it.

Pick one sector and one service for this batch. When a member started tracking his replies by who he was writing to, his strongest sector came back at nine per cent and another at about two. When he put two of his services in one message, replies dived, so he keeps it to one service per message now. His own read: the less clever he got, the better it worked.
Find the person who buys video. Go to the company page, open the people tab, and look for the marketing or communications manager, or the owner at a smaller business. If you're connecting on LinkedIn first, send the request with a personal note (the LinkedIn connecting guide has the note and the accept rates).
Look for two minutes before you write. Their website, their last post, their open roles. You're after one observation that shows you looked. Three examples: they've got no video on the site, the last film on there is years old, they're hiring for a dozen roles with nothing that shows what it's like to work there.
Write two lines: who you are in their language, and one question about them. Introduce yourself as a specialist in the thing they do. Then the question.

Copy and paste: the first message after they accept, or a first message to someone in your market

Hey [first name], thanks for connecting. We make video for [their sector: aged care providers, industrial manufacturers, independent schools]. Curious, do you have a video supplier at the moment?

[Your name]

Stop. That question mark is what leaves them something to answer. Save the personality for your content. If they look you up, your profile and your site do the selling.
Answer the reply, whichever one it is. The two replies you'll get most are "we have someone" and "send me some more information". Scripts for both are in the next section.
Log it and put the next touch in the diary. Name, company, date, what you sent, what came back, next step. No reply gets one short follow-up with something useful in it, on the cadence in the follow-up email guide.

Copy and paste: the cold email, when email is the channel

Subject: Hey

Hi [first name],

We make video for [their sector] and I was on your site this morning. [One observation: I noticed you don't have any video on it. / The last film on there is from 2023. / You've got twelve roles open and nothing that shows what it's like to work there.]

We've done this kind of work for [two names they'd recognise, or "three businesses like yours in [region]"]. Two short examples are here: [link].

Do you have a video supplier at the moment?

[Your name]
[Phone]

"Hey" is the subject line from my old outreach course, where it opened better than anything longer. Start there and test your own.

What do you say when they reply "we already have someone"?

When they say they already have someone, say that's good to hear and leave one loop open. Don't apologise for asking and don't sell them on staying connected.

The instinct is to back out with an apology and a paragraph about how you'd love to keep in touch. That over-sells the relationship before there's one. Say it's good to hear, leave one loop open, and ask what they're working on.

Copy and paste: the reply to "we already have someone"

Good to hear, [first name]. Most companies your size have someone in place. If a job comes up that's [the one thing you specialise in: on the tools in a live plant, a tight turnaround, multi-site] and they can't cover it, I'm a phone call away. What are you working on at the moment?

[Your name]

Then read their company again, properly, even after a no. One member's next angle after a no was the company's long list of open roles: a recruitment video conversation, a different question from the one he'd asked.

What do you send when they ask for more information?

When they ask for more information, move the conversation to email, give them one useful thing from their own site, show proof, and set the next step for when they're ready. Don't send a brochure.

This is the email that matters most, because they've asked. Anchor the fact that they asked, so the email reads as a reply.

Copy and paste: the "send me more information" email

Subject: [Your name] from LinkedIn

Hi [first name],

Thanks for getting back to me. Taking this over to email as you suggested.

I had a look at your site. [One useful thing: a broken link, a page with no call to action, a film with no captions, a testimonial that would make a better video.]

From my end: we make video for [their sector] and have worked with [two names, or two outcomes: a record quarter for one client's recruitment page, a product launch that paid for itself in pre-orders]. Two examples: [link to your case studies page].

The next step, when you're ready, is a fifteen-minute call so I can hear what you're after and tell you what it would take. And if we're not the right fit, I'll point you to someone who can help.

[Your name]
[Phone]

Both "when you're ready" and the referral offer are deliberate: they tell the reader you've got other work on.

How is it different when you're a freelancer writing to a production company?

When you're a freelance camera operator or editor writing to a production company, the shape of the message is the same and the question changes: a producer's problem is who to call when the regulars are booked.

The question comes up from experienced freelancers too: how to word a cold message to a production company that uses freelance crew. It's the two lines above with the question swapped. A producer is after one more reliable name for the day the first three are busy.

Copy and paste: the freelancer's first message to a production company

Hi [first name], I'm a [DOP and camera operator] in [city], mostly [the kind of work you do: corporate interviews, live events, documentary]. Curious, who do you call when your regular ops are booked?

[Your name]
[Showreel link, in your profile rather than the message]

If they reply, the next message is three facts and a date: the kit you own, your day rate or a line that says you'll send it, and the weeks you're free. Then the follow-up is the same cadence as everyone else's: one useful thing, then the next step.

A worked example

Here's the before and after from a live review of one member's first messages, anonymised, with his figures left out. The before lines are written to the pattern from the review, not his words.

	Before	After
First message	Hi [name], thanks so much for connecting, really appreciate it. No pressure at all, I know you're busy and you've probably got plenty of people already. We're a small video outfit and we'd love to stay in touch in case anything ever comes up. Happy to send a showreel if that's useful, and no worries at all if not.	Hey [name], thanks for connecting. We make video for [sector]. Curious, do you have a video supplier at the moment?
Reply to "we have someone"	Totally understand, no worries at all. Would still be great to stay connected and maybe we can help down the track.	Good to hear. If a job comes up that's [the one thing you specialise in] and they can't cover it, I'm a phone call away. What are you working on at the moment?

The after column is a test, agreed on the call. There's no figure for it yet, and I'm not going to invent one.

The mistakes that undo it

Five mistakes undo a cold message even when the targeting is right.

Apologising for writing. "Sorry to bother you", "no pressure at all", "I'm sure you've got people already". Each one lowers the reader's reason to answer.
Two services in one message. Replies fall when the second one goes in. One service, one message.
Jokes with strangers. A line that lands with your mates can misread the room with someone you've never met. Mirror their style.
Leading with the showreel. Proof belongs in your profile and on your site, where they'll look if the question lands. A link in the first message reads as a pitch.
Stopping after one message. Most people reach out once, a few follow up, and most give up. Put the next touch in the diary before you send the first.

The rule of thumb for cold outreach

One line about you in their language, one question about them, then stop.

The benchmark members use on our calls is one to three replies in a hundred for cold outreach. Under that, the message is the problem. To get above it, lead with a specialist introduction and ask about one service.

Hold yourself accountable

Which of these have you taken on or put in place recently?

Your last ten first messages each ended on one question about the reader, with no apology in them.
Every reply you got this week, including the no's, got a second look at the company for a different angle.
Every batch you sent went to one sector about one service.
Every "we have someone" reply got the open-loop answer and a date for the next touch in your log.

Your one move this week

What's the one thing you can commit to implementing this week? If you're not sure, start here.

Open your sent messages and read the last ten first messages you sent to strangers. Count the apologies and the services in each. Rewrite the next ten to two lines and one question, send them to one sector, and log what comes back.

One thing executed every week creates 50 strategic moves a year.

Questions like these come up regularly on our weekly Elite Boardroom calls. If you'd like someone to hold you to account each week, and to learn from a group of peers who run video businesses too, the Boardroom is for you.