Cold Emails Content

Your email should contain the following four elements:

Subject line: clear and simple so the contact can get the gist of email without actually opening it (long ones make it truncated, hence skipping)
Greeting: “Hello”: Follow the professional polite etiquette. Respect the titles.
Introduction: “My name is Inigo Montoya.”: My name is NAME. I am a POSITION from AFFILIATION. I am writing to WHAT DO YOU WANT.
Context/Connection: “You killed my father.”: Provide SPECIFIC context, personal connection, background information in your email. Do your homework!
Call for action: “Prepare to die.”: Spell out what you expect the recipient to do after reading the email. Make it ACTIONABLE (e.g., set up a short meeting, answer a question, or prepare to die).

Warning

Don’t demand, make it a preference. See Casey Fiesler’s cold email template

Other Points

Use a proper profile picture
Use your name in English for full sender name and ID
(my take) Consistent format: write in a notepad and then paste without style (ctrl+shift+v)
Highlight the key points by making it italic/bold
For undergrad students, your email is a writing sample. ZERO errors, clear and structured
Sign off with “sincerely”, name, your contact info
If you can attach your CV and Test Scores as a link, it will be better. This will reduce storage space.¹

My notes:

make sure to read the PI’s website for email instruction (note that if they have a special email title and you don’t follow, they will never see your email)
make sure to check for the cultural way of writing names; do not use first name instead of last name (some unis write last-first, and if you are not familiar with the culture, you might use the first name)
if necessary, put your starting date (fall, summer, etc) in the intro or in the subject
schedule emails to reach at 08:00-ish (PI’s time zone obviously)

Ref: