Email openings are the first few sentences of your cold email that can push your prospects to ignore or reply to your message.
But, many salespeople write self-centered intro lines that don't give a reason for their prospects to finish reading the email and finally reply.
So, how to craft an email opening that grabs attention, incites curiosity, and gets replies?
In this article, get five key email opening tactics with examples, and discover how to create convertible intro lines in seconds!
The first step in writing a cold email opening line is to make it about the prospect. No one has time for impersonal "Dear Sir/Madam" intros anymore.
Instead, use email opening to show your commitment to helping them on a personal level.
You can include their business, allude to their success, a recent post they made, or a shared connection. Your opening line should resonate with the prospect, making them feel valued and recognized.
For example,
"Hi Jane, I was really impressed by your recent quantum computing analysis in 'Tech Digest'."
The ideal email opening line is clear, concise, and brief. Be sharp, direct, and deliver your point directly to catch your prospects' attention.
Avoid industry jargon or complex terminology in your opening line. Your objective is to spark interest and push action - not to impress with terms your prospects don’t understand.
For example,
"Hi James, let me cut to the chase. Your project management software seems outdated."
Prospects need a compelling reason to engage with your email. Your opening line must deliver a clear value proposition to push them to read the rest of your email.
Offer your prospects a solution to their problems, a tool to enhance their efficiency, or information beneficial to their business.
Showcasing tangible benefits right from your email opening piques their interest and grabs attention.
For example,
"Hi Lauren, I've got a hack to slash your content production time by half."
An effective email opening line should not only grab attention but also provoke the prospect to read further.
Include an intriguing fact, pose a thought-provoking question, or make a bold statement that stimulates prospects’ curiosity.
When you push curiosity, you motivate prospects to seek closure, pushing them to reply to your email.
Ensure your statement or question is relevant to the value you're proposing to avoid confusion.
For example,
"Hey Alex, are you aware that 70% of your website visitors leave without engaging?"
Stay away from stiff, corporate language, and lean towards a conversational tone. Your authenticity could be the difference between your email getting trashed or getting a reply.
Use it to showcase your personality, and above all, be honest in your communication.
For example,
"Hi Sarah! I was checking out your website and found a small issue that could have a big impact."
To save you hours of manually writing custom email opening for each lead, you can use lemlist’s AI!
Icebreaker Generator users use the power of AI to get fully customized intro lines in seconds. You can use it in campaigns that have been created manually and or the ones from AI sequence generator that generates complete outreach steps, 100% on autopilot.
Here's how you can do it to increase your productivity & reply chances:
From your list of leads, you’ll have an option to either
-> Immediately generate all icebreakers for all leads from the list by clicking on “Generate all icebreakers
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-> Select the leads you want to create your icebreakers → Click on Generate X icebreakers
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This will turn your {{icebreaker}} custom variable into a fully customized, AI-generated intro line that will push your prospects to read and reply to your email!
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You will also have an option to choose the tone of your icebreaker, and to regenerate until you find the perfect fit for your niche!
Creating compelling email opening lines includes personalization, clarity, value delivery, curiosity, and authenticity. By implementing these 5 characteristics into your cold email approach you can boost your engagement and get more replies.
And if you don’t want to spend tons of hours writing email opening that meets all these criteria, you can simply leverage the power of AI to do it for you. With lemlist’s Icebreaker generator, get fully customized email openings that get replies in seconds.
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