Sofie warms people up

Cold DM templates for UI and UX designers.

Five first messages to product teams and founders whose users get stuck, written to get a reply rather than to pitch. Fill in the [brackets] from what they wrote.

Write one for a specific personMonty for designersFollow-up writer

What they care about

  • Activation, retention and fewer support tickets
  • Shipping fast without a design backlog
  • Someone who works well with their engineers

What gets ignored

  • Unrequested teardowns posted publicly
  • Design jargon (“information architecture”, “heuristics”)
  • Assuming they don’t have a designer
1 · They shared a metric or a struggle

Saw your post about [drop-off / activation]. Is it the first session where people get lost, or later on?

Shows you think about their problem the way they do.
104 characters
2 · They shipped a feature

Just tried [feature]. The [specific detail] is a nice touch. Who’s doing design on the team at the moment?

Proof you used it, then a simple question.
106 characters
3 · They just followed you

Thanks for the follow. I help [type of product] get new users to the “aha” faster. What does onboarding look like for [product] today?

Your offer in one line, then it’s about them.
134 characters
4 · They’re hiring a designer

Noticed you’re hiring a product designer. While you search, would a short-term hand on [area] help, or do you want to wait for the right hire?

Offers a bridge, not a replacement.
142 characters
5 · A few days later, no reply

I recorded a 2-minute walkthrough of the first screens of [product], with the one thing I’d test first. Want the link?

Asks before sending anything. Easy yes.
118 characters
Don’t send this

Hey, I did a UX audit of your app and found 23 issues. Let’s hop on a call so I can walk you through them!

Unasked-for criticism plus a big ask. Even if you’re right, it lands as an attack.
Monty

Monty writes these for every good follower, every morning.

Templates are a start. Monty reads your new X followers, finds the product teams and founders among them, and writes a first message from what each one actually posted. You decide and send.

Start a 7-day trial for $0You decide and send every message yourself.

How to use these templates

  1. Pick the moment, not the template. Each one fits a situation: they followed you, posted about a problem, launched, are hiring, or haven’t answered yet. Use the one that matches what just happened.
  2. Fill every bracket with something true. The specific detail is what makes the message worth answering.
  3. Read it out loud. If it doesn’t sound like you, change the words until it does. Then send it yourself.

One specific detail, one easy question, and nothing to sell yet. The pitch comes after they reply.

Want more? What to say in a first DM on X has forty openers sorted by situation, from launches to hiring posts.

Questions

How do I write a cold DM as one of the UI and UX designers?

Start from one specific thing the person wrote or did, ask one easy question, and leave your pitch for later. The templates on this page show five common moments to message product teams and founders whose users get stuck, with the parts to fill in marked in brackets.

Can I send these templates as they are?

Fill in every bracket with something true about the person, then change a few words so it sounds like you. If a template could still go to 500 people after you’ve filled it in, it isn’t personal enough yet.

When should I follow up?

After a few days, with a new angle: something useful, or an easier question. Twice is plenty. The last template on this page is a follow-up.

Does Monty send these for me?

No. Monty finds the people worth messaging among your X followers and writes a first message for each, but you always decide and send it yourself.

More templates

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