These cold email opening tips will help you captivate and spark curiosity in your recipients so you can funnel more replies with less effort.
(Hidden gem at the end! )
Break the ice with just one email
1 Personalize your cold email
Hearing crickets?
It’s time to ditch the generic ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ openings!
Want to grab attention? Make it about them.
Show you’re invested by referencing bulk mail masters in their business wins, recent social posts, or mutual connections.
Find a unique angle that feels natural and relevant to the goal of your email.
A personalized opening resonates, making them feel seen and valued.
For example,
Don’t stop there, however – tell them exactly what you liked and why you liked it.
Be sure to keep it short!
Something like.
If you can’t find a fitting reference, cut straight to the chase instead…
2 Get to the point
Another way to stand out, is to keep your cold email short, snappy, and crystal clear.
Skip the jargon and aim for curiosity, not confusion.
Keep it simple to catch their interest fast.
Highlight a pain point right out the gate in clear, everyday words.
For example.
3 Offer immediate value
Give them a reason to care from the get-go.
Your opening line needs to promise value: solve a problem, boost efficiency, or offer game-changing info – without any strings attached.
Start strong by showing what’s in it for them to ignite a conversation.
Once they actually engage, you’ve got the green light to pursue them.
For example,
4 Spark curiosity
Ever heard of George Loewenstein’s Information-Gap Theory of Curiosity?
It explains why hooking with a fascinating fact, a gripping question, or a bold statement works. When curiosity is piqued, it’s like a mental itch for closure.
But here’s the key: tie that curiosity to your value proposition.
Align their need to know more with what you offer, and voilà!
You’ve merged neurology and persuasion for a killer email strategy.
For example,
This only works if you’ve done your research and target the right people.
Sally, the remote marketer, will probably not be interested in industrial grade cooling-systems – no matter how ‘cool’ your hook.
5 Be real
Forget corporate formalities and ho-drum email openings.
Be you in that email – write as integration with payment methods you would speak in your cold email.
This is immensely important when your goal is to build a foundation of trust and transparency – which, let’s be honest – it should be.
Here’s an example
We have an list of 25 high-conversion intro lines if you’re in doubt about how to start your email.
lemlist AI icebreakers
You can side-step all this manual labor by crafting personalized cold email openings with AI!
lemlist’s AI icebreaker is one of our favorite built-in tools!
You can use it in campaigns that have database d been created manually and in AI generated sequences so your campaigns can run on auto-pilot!
Here’s a quick overview of the process:
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 icebreaker
Sounds cool?
Our free trial comes with 100 PAYG credits to activate specialized AI features.
Have fun!
Key takeaways
Craft compelling email openers using personalization, clarity, value, curiosity, and authenticity.
Perfecting these 5 elements can significantly boost your response rates!
Want to level up your cold email strategy on all fronts?
Grab our complimentary cold emailing Ebook today.