Anyone interested in seeing the cold email i sent that generated a response from David Heinemeier Hansson?

I have been promoting my book https://gum.co/preorder-git-zine and I sent a cold email to DHH of 37 signals. Anyone who knows DHH knows he is an extremely busy person who doesn't like unsolicited emails from people he doesn't know. I mean, he created hey.com just to combat this.
If you are interested in seeing it, kindly indicate interest.

First tip of cold emailing: remove all tracking pixels.

Here is the email I sent:
"Hello David,
I know these emails can be a little awkward so here is the picture of my pal Erwin's cat (who by the way believes that the greatest motor racing rivalry was the Audi Vs Peugeot at Le Mans from 2007 - 2011), just to break the ice.
erwin.jpeg

Now that we are old friends, I will like to ask your advice on something.

I wrote an illustrated book on the core concepts of Git, and I will like to know if it would be a perfect last-minute gift for kids and even newbie adults interested in getting into software development?
The book does such a good job explaining how Git works that Erwin's cat is thinking of becoming a programmer. 😁

I have attached some pages of the book for your reference and would love your thoughts even if you think the book is total rubbish. I will be standing by my email with more pictures of Erwin's cat.

Best regards

Ejay"

That's the screenshot of the snippet of his response.

Here is the breakdown of how I constructed the email:

1. "I know these emails can be a little awkward"

In the first line, I put myself in a vulnerable position by agreeing that sending an unsolicited email to him was awkward and apologizing for it.

2. "...so here is the picture of my pal Erwin's cat (who by the way believes that the greatest motor racing rivalry was the Audi Vs Peugeot at Le Mans from 2007 - 2011), just to break the ice."

This line does two things, I tried to use a silly picture to break the ice (I also made a bet that DHH would be a cat person). The second thing is that I know DHH is an avid motorsports fan and car racer so I quoted something only a fan would be able to connect with (the much talked about rivalry between Audi and Peugeot). With this, I was able to establish some form of commonality between us.

3. "Now that we are old friends, I will like to ask your advice on something."

Now, after paying accolades and establishing the presence of shared interests, and piquing his interest, I dove straight into why I emailed him in the first place.

4. "I wrote an illustrated book on the core concepts of Git, and I will like to know if it would be a perfect last-minute gift for kids and even newbie adults interested in getting into software development? "

This is the main reason why I emailed him, to pick his brains on the book I am writing. I didn't waste any more time.

5. "The book does such a good job explaining how Git works that Erwin's cat is thinking of becoming a programmer. 😁"

I interspersed my serious request with a quirky attempt at humor to keep things light and also keep him reading.

6. "I have attached some pages of the book for your reference and would love your thoughts even if you think the book is total rubbish. I will be standing by my email with more pictures of Erwin's cat."

In my closing, I make a request by asking for his thoughts on my illustrated book and close with still more humor. Never make an ambiguous request, always state exactly what you want.

I guess the email worked because I got a very positive response from DHH which I am happy about.

You can use this email as a template if you want. Another thing, this might sound counter-intuitive but disable your tracking pixel before pressing "SEND" on that cold email. If your email is any good and connects with the recipient, you will get a response, if it isn't, the tracking pixel would only leave you feeling like sh*t seeing your email opened and ignored. In some situations, ignorance is bliss :)

TL:DR If DHH has given my book his stamp of approval, what are you waiting for? Why haven't you preordered your copy?

Go here https://gum.co/preorder-git-zine now for a 50% discounted price that ends on the 19th of December. Gift your kids the best Christmas gift ever.