Adds variation to an approved cold email without changing what it says: spintax for greetings, bridges, the ask and sign-off in your sequencer's own syntax, never on facts, numbers or legal lines. It checks braces and merge fields, catches fallback mistakes that ship literal words, and prints three samples to read.
Sales and BDcategory
No scriptsinstructions only, sends nothing
Any AI appupload, or copy and paste
Free, no signup
Upload the file to Claude, ChatGPT Business or Gemini Enterprise. On ChatGPT Plus, the free Gemini app or Grok, copy and paste it instead.
Nothing hidden: this is the whole file. Want it with your agency's details filled in, or formatted for ChatGPT, a Gemini Gem or Grok? Use the copy tool on the Cold Email Pack page.
---
name: email-variants-spintax
description: "Turns an approved recruitment cold email into safe variants and spintax for the agency's sequencer, so hundreds of sends are not identical, while keeping the meaning, the facts and the merge fields intact; also checks the syntax before it goes in. Use when a recruiter asks \"add spintax\", \"write variants of this email\", \"make my emails less repetitive\", \"Instantly spintax\", \"RANDOM syntax\", or \"check my merge tags\"."
license: MIT
metadata:
author: Work Insiders
version: "1.0"
pack: cold-email-pack
---
# Email variants and spintax
Sending the same 80 words to 400 people is a pattern filters notice. Variation spreads that out. You add it without changing what the email says, so every reader still gets the approved message.
If `references/agency-profile.md` exists, read the Cold email lines: sequencer and words never used.
## Two kinds of variation, used for different jobs
1. **Spintax (for deliverability):** small swaps inside one email, so each send differs a little. Greetings, connecting phrases, the ask's wording, sign-off. Same meaning every time.
2. **Variants (for testing):** whole different versions of a line or email, for example two subject lines or two angles, split evenly so the recruiter can learn which works. Plan these with ab-test-plan.
Never use spintax to test. Never use variants to dodge filters.
## Syntax by sequencer
Ask which sequencer they use and use only its syntax:
- **Instantly:** `{{RANDOM | Hi | Hey | Hello}}`
- **EmailBison:** `{Hi|Hey|Hello}`
- **Any other tool:** ask the recruiter to paste one line from that tool's help page showing its spintax and merge-field format, then follow it exactly. Do not guess.
Merge fields stay in the tool's own format (for example `{{firstName}}` in Instantly). Never put a merge field inside a spintax option unless the tool's help says it works.
## What to spin
- Greeting: 3 options.
- The bridge words between sentences: 2 or 3 options each.
- The ask: 2 or 3 wordings with the same request ("Want the profiles?" / "Should I send the profiles?" / "Happy for me to send the profiles?").
- Sign-off: 2 options.
- The opt-out line: 2 options with the same meaning.
## What never to spin
- The signal, the proof point, any number, the offer, company or role names.
- Reply words the reader is asked to type: reply "yes" stays "yes".
- The legal lines (mailing address, opt-out meaning).
- Anything that changes tone to pushy or casual beyond the approved version.
Start light at launch: the ask, the sign-off and the opt-out line. Spin the body more once a version has passed about 2,000 sends. No nesting (spintax inside spintax). Keep options about the same length; one bad option in a set of five ships broken in a fifth of sends. Spintax will not rescue a tired email; a falling reply rate needs a new angle. Every combination must read like a normal email; read three random combinations aloud before handing it over.
## Syntax check before it goes in
Check every email for:
- Matched braces, no stray `|`, no empty option.
- Every merge field spelled exactly as the list column, and no custom field named the same as a built-in one (for example a custom `COMPANY` in EmailBison).
- No spintax inside the subject line unless the tool supports it.
- A piped token is never used as a fallback: in EmailBison `{a|b}` is spintax, so `{personalization|there}` would send the literal word to half the list.
Then print three filled-in samples with real-looking values so the recruiter can read what readers will get.
## Output
The email with spintax in the right syntax, the list of spun spots, the three samples, and a pass on the syntax check. If the recruiter wants test variants too, hand to ab-test-plan.
## Rules
- Variation never adds a claim, a number or an urgency the approved email did not have.
- Keep each option as short as the original. Spintax that doubles the length defeats the email.
The agency profile it reads (fill this in so it uses your real details)
# Agency profile
Fill this in once. Every skill in the pack reads it, so every output comes out in your agency's voice with your real terms. Delete any line you do not want the AI to use. Leave a line blank rather than guessing.
## Who we are
- Agency name:
- Recruiter name and title (for sign-offs):
- Phone:
- Mailing address (needed for US commercial email):
- Years in business:
- Specialties (roles we fill):
- Markets (cities, regions or "US remote"):
- Industries we know best:
## Terms
- Direct hire fee basis (e.g. % of first-year base):
- Guarantee period and type (free replacement / pro-rata refund / credit; conditions, e.g. fee paid within terms):
- Contract markup or bill rate approach:
- Exclusive or retained options:
- Payment terms (e.g. net 30 from start date):
- Introduction period (how long a candidate we introduce stays ours):
- Contract-to-hire conversion fee:
- Concessions we allow, and their limits:
## Proof points we can share
- Placements, time to fill, or retention figures we are happy to quote:
- Client names we may mention (only with permission):
## How we work
- ATS:
- Do we text candidates? (yes/no):
- Name the client in first candidate messages? (yes/no):
- Blind profiles: always / new clients only / never:
- Include pay expectation in submittals? (yes/no):
- Job post apply instructions:
- EEO statement:
## Cold email
- Sequencer we use (e.g. Instantly, Smartlead, EmailBison, lemlist, Apollo):
- Sending domains (lookalikes only, never our main domain):
- Mailboxes and the sender names on them:
- Countries we email (sets which email and data laws apply):
- Opt-out line we use (e.g. "Reply 'no' and I won't email again."):
- Booking link (sent only after someone replies yes):
- Where our current clients, opt outs and do-not-contact list are kept:
## Words we never use
-
Yes. It is part of the free Work Insiders Cold Email Pack, MIT licensed, so you can edit and share it.
Does Email Variants and Spintax work in Gemini?
Yes. Upload it in Gemini Enterprise or drop the folder into Gemini CLI's skills folder. In the regular Gemini app, paste its instructions into a Gem.
Can I trust it with my data?
It has no scripts and sends nothing anywhere. Whatever you paste goes only to your AI assistant, under that assistant's own data terms, so remove candidate details you do not need first. It can still steer how the assistant answers, so read it before you use it.
Written by Work Insiders for agency recruiters. Fill in the agency profile before you use it so it never invents fees or proof points. How we make money.
