draft-outreach

anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins · updated Apr 8, 2026

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$npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill draft-outreach
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summary

Research a prospect, then draft personalized outreach based on findings.

  • Researches prospects first using web search by default, enhanced with optional enrichment tools (verified contact info, background) and CRM data (prior relationship context)
  • Generates email drafts with personalized opening, relevant hook, and clear CTA, plus LinkedIn alternatives when email unavailable
  • Supports three delivery modes: auto-create email draft if email connector enabled, output text for manual copy,
skill.md

Draft Outreach

Research first, then draft. This skill never sends generic outreach - it always researches the prospect first to personalize the message. Works standalone with web search, supercharged when you connect your tools.

Connectors (Optional)

Connector What It Adds
Enrichment Verified email, phone, background details
CRM Prior relationship context, existing contacts
Email Create draft directly in your inbox

No connectors? Web research works great. I'll output the email text for you to copy.


How It Works

+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                      DRAFT OUTREACH                               |
|                                                                   |
|  Step 1: RESEARCH (always happens first)                         |
|  - Web search (default)                                           |
|  - + Enrichment (if enrichment tools connected)                  |
|  - + CRM (if CRM connected)                                      |
|                                                                   |
|  Step 2: DRAFT (based on research)                               |
|  - Personalized opening (from research)                          |
|  - Relevant hook (their priorities)                              |
|  - Clear CTA                                                      |
|                                                                   |
|  Step 3: DELIVER (based on connectors)                           |
|  - Email draft (if email connected)                              |
|  - Copy for LinkedIn (always)                                    |
|  - Output to user (always)                                        |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

Output Format

# Outreach Draft: [Person] @ [Company]
**Generated:** [Date] | **Research Sources:** [Web, Enrichment, CRM]

---

## Research Summary

**Target:** [Name], [Title] at [Company]
**Hook:** [Why reaching out now - the personalized angle]
**Goal:** [What you want from this outreach]

---

## Email Draft

**To:** [email if known, or "find email" note]
**Subject:** [Personalized subject line]

---

[Email body]

---

**Subject Line Alternatives:**
1. [Option 2]
2. [Option 3]

---

## LinkedIn Message (if no email)

**Connection Request (< 300 chars):**
[Short, no-pitch connection request]

**Follow-up Message (after connected):**
[Value-first message]

---

## Why This Approach

| Element | Based On |
|---------|----------|
| Opening | [Research finding that makes it personal] |
| Hook | [Their priority/pain point] |
| Proof | [Relevant customer story] |
| CTA | [Low-friction ask] |

---

## Email Draft Status

[Draft created - check ~~email]
[Email not connected - copy email above]
[No email found - use LinkedIn approach]

---

## Follow-up Sequence (Optional)

**Day 3 - Follow-up 1:**
[Short, new angle]

**Day 7 - Follow-up 2:**
[Different value prop]

**Day 14 - Break-up:**
[Final attempt]

Execution Flow

Step 1: Parse Request

Input patterns:
- "draft outreach to John Smith at Acme" → Person + company
- "write cold email to Acme's CTO" → Role + company
- "reach out to [email protected]" → Email provided
- "LinkedIn message to [LinkedIn URL]" → Profile provided

Step 2: Research First (Always)

Use research-prospect skill internally:

1. Web search for company + person
2. If Enrichment connected: Get verified contact info, background
3. If CRM connected: Check for prior relationship

Must find before drafting:

  • Who they are (title, background)
  • What the company does
  • Recent news or trigger
  • Personalization hook

Step 3: Identify Hook

Priority order for hooks:
1. Trigger event (funding, hiring, news) → Most timely
2. Mutual connection → Social proof
3. Their content (post, article, talk) → Shows you did research
4. Company initiative → Relevant to their priorities
5. Role-based pain point → Least personal but still relevant

Step 4: Draft Message

Email Structure (AIDA):

SUBJECT: [Personalized, <50 chars, no spam words]

[Opening: Personal hook - shows you researched them]

[Interest: Their problem/opportunity in 1-2 sentences]

[Desire: Brief proof point - similar company result]

[Action: Clear, low-friction CTA]

[Signature]

LinkedIn Connection Request (<300 chars):

Hi [Name], [Mutual connection/shared interest/genuine compliment].
Would love to connect. [No pitch]

LinkedIn Follow-up Message:

Thanks for connecting! [Value-first: insight, article, observation]

[Soft transition to why you reached out]

[Question, not pitch]

Step 5: Create Email Draft

If email connector available:
1. Create draft with to, subject, body
2. Return draft link
3. Note: "Draft created - review and send"

If not available:
1. Output email text
2. Note: "Copy to your email client"

Capability by Connector

Capability Web Only + Enrichment + CRM + Email
Personalized opening Basic Deep With history Same
Verified email No Yes Yes Yes
Background details Public only Full Full Full
Prior relationship No No Yes Yes
Auto-create draft No No No Yes

Message Templates by Scenario

Cold Outreach (No Prior Relationship)

Subject: [Their initiative] + [your angle]

Hi [Name],

[Personal hook based on research - news, content, mutual connection].

[1 sentence on their likely challenge based on role/company].

[Brief proof: "We helped [Similar Company] achieve [Result]".]

Worth a 15-min call to see if relevant?

[Signature]

Warm Outreach (Have Met / Mutual Connection)

Subject: Following up from [context]

Hi [Name],

[Reference to how you know them / who connected you].

[Why reaching out now - their trigger].

[Specific value you can offer].

[CTA]

Re-Engagement (Went Dark)

Subject: [Short, curiosity-driven]

Hi [Name],

[Acknowledge time passed without being guilt-trippy].

[New reason to reconnect - their news or your news].

[Simple question to re-open dialogue].

[Signature]

Post-Event Follow-up

Subject: Great meeting you at [Event]

Hi [Name],

[Specific memory from conversation].

[Value-add: article, intro, resource related to what you discussed].

[Soft CTA for next conversation].

Email Style Guidelines

  1. Be concise but informative — Get to the point quickly. Busy people skim.
  2. No markdown formatting — Never use asterisks, bold (text), or other markdown. Write plain text that looks natural in any email client.
  3. Short paragraphs — 2-3 sentences max per paragraph. White space is your friend.
  4. Simple lists — If listing items, use plain dashes. No fancy formatting.

Good:

Here's what I can share:
- Case study from a similar company
- 15-min intro call this week
- Quick demo if helpful

Bad:

**What I Can Offer:**
- **Case study** from a similar company
- **Intro call** this week

What NOT to Do

Generic openers:

  • "I hope this email finds you well"
  • "I'm reaching out because..."
  • "I wanted to introduce myself"

Feature dumps:

  • Long paragraphs about your product
  • Multiple value props at once
  • No clear CTA

Fake personalization:

  • "I noticed you work at [Company]" (obviously)
  • "Congrats on your role" (without context)

Markdown in emails:

  • Using bold or italic asterisks
  • Headers or formatted lists that won't render

Instead:

  • Lead with something specific you learned
  • One clear value prop
  • One clear ask
  • Plain text formatting only

Channel Selection

IF verified email available:
  → Email preferred (higher response rate)
  → Also provide LinkedIn backup

IF no email:
  → LinkedIn connection request
  → Follow-up message template for after connection

IF warm intro possible:
  → Suggest mutual connection outreach first

Company Configuration [CUSTOMIZE]

## Outreach Settings

- My name: [Your Name]
- My title: [Your Title]
- My company: [Company Name]
- Value prop: [One sentence - what you help with]

## Signature
[Your preferred email signature]

## Proof Points
- [Customer 1]: [Result]
- [Customer 2]: [Result]
- [Customer 3]: [Result]

## CTA Options
- Default: "Worth a 15-min call?"
- Softer: "Open to learning more?"
- Specific: "Can I send over a quick demo?"

## Tone
- [Professional / Casual / Direct]
- Industry-specific language: [Yes/No]

Example

Input: "draft outreach to the Head of Engineering at Notion"

Research finds:

  • Name: David Tibbitts
how to use draft-outreach

How to use draft-outreach on Cursor

AI-first code editor with Composer

1

Prerequisites

Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:

  • Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
  • Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
  • Active project directory or workspace where you want to add draft-outreach
2

Execute installation command

Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:

$npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill draft-outreach

The skills CLI fetches draft-outreach from GitHub repository anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins and configures it for Cursor.

3

Select Cursor when prompted

The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:

◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│ • Amp
│ • Antigravity
│ • Cline
│ • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│ • Cursor
│ • Windsurf
4

Verify installation

Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:

.cursor/skills/draft-outreach

Reload or restart Cursor to activate draft-outreach. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /draft-outreach) or your agent's skill management interface.

Security & Verification Notice

We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.

Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.

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Use Cases

User Story & Requirements Generation

Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs

Example

Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios

Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage

Competitive Analysis

Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps

Example

Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities

Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days

Roadmap Prioritization

Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs

Example

Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale

Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster

Stakeholder Communication

Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations

Example

Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement

Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
  • Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
  • Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
  • Stakeholder contact information and communication channels

Time Estimate

30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install product management skill
  2. 2.Start with user story generation for known feature
  3. 3.Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
  4. 4.Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
  5. 5.Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
  6. 6.Build template library for recurring PM tasks
  7. 7.Share effective prompts with product team

Common Pitfalls

  • Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
  • Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
  • Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
  • Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
  • Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements

Best Practices

✓ Do

  • +Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
  • +Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
  • +Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
  • +Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
  • +Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
  • +Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition

✗ Don't

  • Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
  • Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
  • Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
  • Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
  • Don't ignore company-specific context and culture

💡 Pro Tips

  • Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
  • Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
  • Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
  • Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs

When to Use This

✓ Use When

Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.

Learning Path

  1. 1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
  2. 2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
  3. 3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
  4. 4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
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general reviews

Ratings

4.741 reviews
  • Diego Khan· Dec 28, 2024

    draft-outreach reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.

  • Shikha Mishra· Dec 12, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: draft-outreach is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Dev Kapoor· Nov 19, 2024

    I recommend draft-outreach for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.

  • Yash Thakker· Nov 3, 2024

    We added draft-outreach from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.

  • Dhruvi Jain· Oct 22, 2024

    draft-outreach fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.

  • Xiao White· Oct 10, 2024

    Useful defaults in draft-outreach — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.

  • Liam Diallo· Sep 21, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: draft-outreach is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Isabella Flores· Sep 17, 2024

    draft-outreach is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Rahul Santra· Sep 13, 2024

    Registry listing for draft-outreach matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • Tariq Bansal· Sep 5, 2024

    Useful defaults in draft-outreach — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.

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