Peer-to-peer emails to devtool companies that already use or overlap with your project. The goal of the first email is always a single ask: a 15-minute call, or "is sponsorship worth exploring?" Never quote a price as a quote in the opening email — anchor to a rate card only as "estimate / reference only" and let the call do the pricing.
- Personalize or don't send. Replace every
[bracket]field. The line that references their product must be specific (a feature, a recent post, a release) — a generic compliment reads as spam and gets flagged. - One ask per email. Cold email that asks for a call and a logo and a retainer gets ignored. First email = call only.
- Sequence, don't blast. Send the opener, then Follow-up #1 after 3–4 business days, then Follow-up #2 after 7–10 days, then the close-out. Stop after the close-out. Three touches with no reply = move on.
- All prices are estimates. If you mention a number, label it "estimate / reference only" and point to the full rate card.
- For LinkedIn / X / 微信 / Discord, use the short-form templates in dm-template.md — those channels punish long copy.
- Audit your deliverability. Cold email that lands in spam does nothing. Use a warmed sending domain, set SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and keep the first email under ~150 words with no attachments and no tracking pixel.
Pricing reference for slot tiers (all estimate / reference only, not a quote): see rate-card.md. Ground rules and verified case studies: ../docs/case-studies.md. Platform data: ../data/platforms.yml.
Subject: [their-product] + [your-repo] — a sponsorship worth 15 minutes?
Hi [first-name],
I maintain [your-repo] ([your-repo-url]) — [one-line what it does], with [star-count] GitHub stars and ~[monthly-visitors-or-downloads] monthly [visitors / npm downloads / Docker pulls].
I'm reaching out because [their-product] shows up in how people use [your-repo] — specifically, [one concrete overlap: e.g. "your CLI is the default in our quickstart" / "teams running [your-repo] on [their-cloud] are our fastest-growing segment" / "you shipped [feature] last month, which unblocks the [x] use case we get asked about most"].
That overlap is exactly what a README/docs sponsorship is designed to reach: developers at the moment they're choosing tooling. I keep a rate card (estimate / reference only — [rate-card-link] or [../templates/rate-card.md]) and would rather walk you through it live than dump numbers here.
One ask: a 15-minute call to see if sponsorship is worth exploring for [their-company]. If it's not a fit, I'll say so on the call — no hard sell.
If easier, here's my calendar: [scheduling-link]. Otherwise just reply.
Thanks for [their-product]. We use it for [specific thing you actually use].
— [your-name] [your-title / maintainer of your-repo] [your-email] · [your-github]
Subject（主题）: [their-product] 与 [your-repo] —— 是否值得聊一次赞助合作？
[first-name] 您好，
我是 [your-repo]（[your-repo-url]）的维护者，[一句话说明项目用途]， 目前 GitHub [star-count] stars，月均 [月访问量 / npm 下载量 / Docker 拉取量]。
之所以联系贵司，是因为在 [your-repo] 的使用场景里，[their-product] 经常出现——具体来说，[一处具体的交集：例如"我们的快速上手文档默认接你们的 CLI"／ "在 [their-cloud] 上跑 [your-repo] 的团队是我们增长最快的用户群"／ "贵司上月发布的 [feature] 正好打通了我们被问得最多的 [x] 场景"]。
这种交集正是 README / 文档站赞助投放的价值点：在开发者选型当下触达他们。 我有一份报价参考表（仅供参考，非正式报价——见 [rate-card-link] 或 [../templates/rate-card.md]），更希望在电话里当面过一遍，而非直接丢数字。
一个请求：能否约 15 分钟通话，看看赞助合作对 [their-company] 是否值得推进。 若确实不合适，我会在电话里直说，不会强推。
方便的话这是我的日历：[scheduling-link]；或者您直接回复即可。
感谢 [their-product]，我们在 [你确实在用的具体场景] 用到它。
—— [your-name] [your-repo] 维护者 [your-email] · [your-github]
Subject: re: [their-product] + [your-repo] — a sponsorship worth 15 minutes?
Hi [first-name],
Bumping this in case it slipped past — I know DevRel/growth inboxes are loud.
Short version: [your-repo] reaches [star-count] stars and ~[monthly-metric] monthly [visitors / downloads] at exactly the tool-selection moment, and [their-product] is already in that workflow. I'm asking for 15 minutes to see if a README/docs sponsorship makes sense. No deck, no prep on your side.
Calendar: [scheduling-link]. Or reply with a time that works.
— [your-name]
中文版（同一邮件线程，简短）：
[first-name] 您好， 怕邮件被淹没，再跟进一次。简短说：[your-repo] 有 [star-count] stars、月均 [monthly-metric] [访问量／下载量]，覆盖的正是开发者选型当下，而 [their-product] 已在这条工作流里。想约 15 分钟看看 README／文档站赞助是否合适，无需您准备。 日历：[scheduling-link]；或回复您方便的时间。 —— [your-name]
Subject: [their-product] × [your-repo] — try one month, on a discount?
Hi [first-name],
Last note from me on this. Instead of asking you to commit to a call cold, here's a lower-risk path: a one-month test slot on the [README top banner / docs sidebar] at roughly [discounted-rate] (estimate / reference only — that's about [X]% under the standard monthly anchor in my rate card). You'd get logo placement + a release-note mention for the [upcoming-version] release on [release-date], and we both find out if the audience converts before either of us signs anything longer.
If that's interesting, I can have the slot live within [N] days of a yes. If it's not, no problem — I'll stop here and won't keep pinging.
— [your-name]
Notes on the discount: Offer ~15–25% off the monthly anchor for a single test month (this is not the annual 12-month deal, which is 8–10× monthly with 15–20% off — see rate-card.md). Frame the test month as "we both learn whether the audience converts" so the discount reads as a trial, not desperation.
Subject: Great — here's how we get [their-company] live on [your-repo]
Hi [first-name],
Excellent — let's get it done. Here's the sequence so nothing stalls:
Step What I need from you When 1. Confirm slot & dates Which slot ([README top banner / bottom logo / docs ad / release note]) and start/end dates Now 2. Logo + link SVG/PNG logo (transparent, ≤[width]px wide) + target URL + alt text Within [N] days 3. Invoice / payment I'll send an invoice via [GitHub Sponsors / Open Collective / direct] — confirm billing contact + PO number if needed Within [N] days 4. Go-live I push the logo to the sponsors endpoint; you verify the live render On start date 5. Report I send a post-slot traffic/engagement snapshot (note: GitHub Traffic is admin-only, 14-day rolling, self-reported — see media kit) End of slot A few specifics:
- Slot type: you said [slot] — confirmed at [monthly-rate] (estimate / reference only; final in the invoice).
- Billing: via [platform — e.g. GitHub Sponsors 0% personal / up to 6% org; Open Collective fiscal host]. Bank/region and tax (W-8BEN for non-US) handled at the platform.
- Logo render: the README renders a dynamically-generated logo grid from a sponsors endpoint, so you never need me to edit the README manually — I just add your entry to the JSON. (This is the Vue/Vite/Astro pattern.)
Reply with the slot + dates and the logo and I'll have the invoice out today.
— [your-name]
Subject: re: [their-product] × [your-repo] — thanks, and one ask
Hi [first-name],
Totally understand — timing and budgets shift, and [their-product] being in the workflow doesn't mean sponsorship is the right lever right now. Thanks for the straight answer.
Two small things, then I'll close out:
- Feedback (optional, 30 seconds): was it budget, audience fit, slot type, or just "not now"? It genuinely helps me price the next slot right — no need to be diplomatic.
- Affiliate option (no upfront cost): if a paid slot is off the table but you'd still pay for converted users, I'm open to a fixed + affiliate hybrid — a small retainer + commission on signups attributable to the README/docs placement (estimate: 10–30% recurring or $5–$50 flat per converted user, volume-dependent — see rate-card.md). Zero risk if nothing converts.
Either way, the door stays open. If Q[next-quarter] looks different, my rate card and calendar ([scheduling-link]) don't move.
— [your-name]
Subject: closing the loop on [your-repo] sponsorship
Hi [first-name],
I've sent a couple of notes and don't want to clutter your inbox, so this is my last one on this thread. If [their-product] × [your-repo] sponsorship becomes interesting later — different quarter, a launch, a DevRel campaign — my rate card (estimate / reference only) and calendar ([scheduling-link]) are always live.
Thanks again for [their-product]. Genuinely useful to us.
— [your-name]
| Touch | When | Channel | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opener (#1 or #2) | Day 0 | 15-min call | |
| Follow-up #1 | Day +3–4 (same thread) | Re-state the 15-min ask | |
| Follow-up #2 | Day +7–10 | Discounted 1-month test slot | |
| Close-out | Day +14–16 | Door stays open, stop here |
Stop after the close-out. Pestering a non-responder burns the relationship for the next time budgets open. Re-engage only with a genuine new trigger (their funding round, your major release, a mutual contact intro).