No One’s Answering Anymore What Changed—and What to Do Next

You know ... I used to get excited about building an email list. New people to reach out to and offer value.

Each new email subscriber presented a new world of possibility.

 

So I’d spend hours crafting a message to my subscribers that felt… valuable and personal.

I'd try and keep them short, but not soulless.

 

And then I'd wait.

 

Crickets!

 

Maybe a couple auto-replies.

One "not interested."

Mostly nothing.

 

Why? Because we're being hammered with messages on every possible platform. 

 

There was a time when I used to read emails from start to finish ... but I'm pretty sure I now delete about 90% of my emails just based on what I see in the subject line.

I don't think outreach is dead.

But I do think it’s been abused to death.

 

We’ve trained our brains to distrust anything that smells like a cold pitch.

Because most of it isn’t actually about us.

It’s someone trying to extract value, attention, or time—without offering anything real first.

 

WHY TRADITIONAL OUTREACH IS BROKEN

Let’s break it down:

• Everyone has inbox PTSD

• Personalization isn’t personal anymore

• AI made it faster—but not better

• Value is vague (or hidden behind a calendar link)

The world is noisy.

Cold messages are generic.

And no one has time for another “quick 15-minute call to explore synergies.”

 

SO WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

Here’s the part most people skip:

You don’t need to do more outreach.

You need to seek to gain enrolment.

 

Here’s what’s working now:

🌱 Become someone worth replying to.
People reply to people they trust, admire, or are curious about. Build that. Slowly. Publicly.

 

🧠 Create content that answers the questions they’re already asking.
The more useful your stuff is, the less "pitch" you need. Your ideas start doing the outreach for you.

 

💬 Earn the right to DM.
Comment before you message. Share their stuff. Quote their ideas. Make yourself visible before you get into their inbox.

 

🎯 Be wildly specific .
Vague pitches get ignored. Tailored, honest offers stand out. One thoughtful message beats 100 “Hey Firstname”s.

 

🪄 Make your message feel like a gift, not a grab.
Give them something useful—an insight, a pattern you noticed, a short video made just for them. (Yes, it takes effort. That’s why it works.)

 

TL;DR: THE NEW RULES

• Cold outreach isn’t dead. Lazy outreach is.

• You’re not entitled to someone’s attention—you earn it.

• Lead with value. Stay human. Play the long game.

If you’ve been ghosted lately… you're not alone.

But maybe it’s not you.

Maybe it’s the game that changed—and no one sent you the memo.

 

This is it.

 

See you in their inbox (the right way).

 

Ciao for now,
Ash

 

P.S. Watch for the upcoming video on my Youtube Channel—I'm going to break down what to do instead of cold emails (because the old way? It’s done).