Approval-gate checklist · 2026-10-11
Outreach Drafter to Sender: the handoff checklist
Ten checks a cold email must pass before it moves from draft to the send queue.
If you split outreach into two roles, one that drafts and one that sends, the gap between them is where quality control lives. A Prospect Researcher finds the person. An Outreach Drafter writes the email. Nothing moves to a Sender until it passes this list and you've said yes.
The checklist
About the recipient
- Is this a real, named person or a published role address? No guessed addresses. No scraped lists of unknown origin.
- Did the address come from a public source we can point to? Note the source next to the draft.
- Have we emailed this person or company in the last 30 days? If yes, it's a follow-up, not a fresh pitch. Treat it differently.
- Did a previous email to this address bounce? If yes, find a different route. Don't resend to the same address.
About the message
- Is every claim about them true and checkable? If the email says "your site says X," the draft links to where it says X.
- Is every claim about us true today? No features that are "coming soon." No numbers you can't back up.
- Is there one clear ask? A reply, a call, a yes or no. Not three options.
- Is it short enough to read on a phone? Aim for under 150 words.
- Is there an easy way to say no? One line that makes it fine to decline or opt out.
About the send
- Has the owner approved this specific draft to this specific person? Not the template. This email.
Keep a sent log
One line per message: date, recipient, company, subject, source of the address, outcome. It stops double-sends, shows which angles get replies, and keeps you honest about volume.
A note on volume
Ten good emails a day that pass this list will beat a hundred that don't. And they won't get your domain flagged. If the checklist starts to feel slow, that's usually because the research step is thin, not because the checklist is too long.
Want the whole system? The Governed One-Person Company gives you twelve working agent packages, the full operating contract and a 30-day build plan. Get it on Gumroad. A launch discount is running for early buyers.