The Monday Ideation Mega-Prompt

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you are a cold email strategist writing for [MY_ICP]. i need 10 fresh opening hooks for this week's campaigns. here are the constraints:

• voice: [TWO_OR_THREE_WORD_VOICE_DESCRIPTION]
• offer: [ONE_LINE_OFFER]
• core proof point: [SPECIFIC_CREDENTIAL]
• 5 hook types to distribute across the 10 hooks: 2 authority, 2 contrarian, 2 personal story, 2 dream selling, 2 future pacing
• each hook must be under 20 words
• each hook must name a specific pain or specific number in the first sentence
• NO fabricated statistics, NO vague claims, NO 'revolutionary/transform/unlock' type words
• output as a numbered list with the hook type labelled on each

before writing, ask me one clarifying question if you need it. then write all 10.

Why it works: the most common AI output failure is vague, middle-of-the-road hooks because the prompt was vague. this prompt constrains voice, proof, count, distribution, and length so the output has to be specific.

Customize: TWO_OR_THREE_WORD_VOICE_DESCRIPTION = your actual voice (e.g., 'british operator, casual, no fluff'). SPECIFIC_CREDENTIAL = the one number that earns trust (2,000+ customers, 250,000+ inboxes, whatever yours is).

Before / After

Before: Write me 10 cold email hooks for my SaaS.

After: you are a cold email strategist writing for B2B SaaS founders at $1-5M ARR. i need 10 fresh opening hooks for this week. voice: british operator, casual, no fluff. offer: infrastructure audit for agencies losing deliverability. core proof point: 2,000+ customers and 250,000+ inboxes under management. [continue with the full prompt]

The Tension-First Prompt

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write me 5 opening hooks for [ICP_LABEL] that each open with one of these tensions:

1. an industry assumption they believe that's no longer true
2. a number they don't know about themselves
3. a pain they've been told to ignore
4. a tactic they think is cutting-edge but isn't anymore
5. a question they haven't asked themselves yet

each hook: under 20 words. no fabricated stats. name a specific pain or number in the first sentence. output as a numbered list with the tension type labelled.

Why it works: forces the AI to start with a structural tension rather than a generic opening. you get 5 hooks built on 5 different structural foundations.

Customize: swap the 5 tensions above for the ones most relevant to your ICP. the structure matters more than the exact tension list.

Before / After

Before: Write hooks about cold email.

After: write 5 opening hooks for cold email agency owners. tension 1: assumption — 'subdomains burn your master domain.' tension 2: unknown number — 'behavioural fingerprint'...

The Angle-Refresh Prompt

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