Mini-Series: How to get your cold emails opened

The first line of your cold email sets the tone. Fill it with small talk, and your leads will ignore you like a cold call during lunchtime.

This is Part 2 of our mini-series on how to boost your cold email open rates. Today, we’re covering intro lines - the DOs and DON’Ts that decide whether your email gets read or trashed. Start strong, show value, and keep it short.

Your intro line has to show value

The initial few words of your intro line are what compel your recipient to either open your email or skip it.

Don’t bore them with small talk - even if you already have a good subject line!

Avoid this

“Hope you’re well.”

“Hope this email finds you well.”

“Hope you had a lovely week.”

Small talk kills momentum.

You’re not writing to your aunt - you’re writing to a decision-maker.

Do this instead

Keep it tight

Your opening line should be a snug 4 to 12 words. It's all about being concise yet impactful.

Make it about them

Focus squarely on the recipient - not yourself or your product.

Deliver value

Value-based intros are 50% more effective than small talk. Show what’s in it for them.

3 high-performing intro lines

“Decided to send you and {{Teammate}} my feedback on {{their Company}}.”

“While chatting with {{mutual Connection}}, your name came up...”

“I noticed something interesting about your role at {{their Company}}...”

Want more? You got it. Check the end of this post for our 16 favorite openers.

Why these work

These openers are personal, signal value, and trigger curiosity.

Following the advice in this mini-series, you should aim for an open rate of 50-90%.

Yours is below 50%? Likely a deliverability issue (more on that in the next part).

Next up: Deliverability

How to avoid the spam folder at all costs.

Stay tuned for Part 3 next week.

Intro line ideas

“Hi {{first Name}}, I’m reaching out to…”

“Your recent post on {{topic}} was insightful...”

“How about I {{create a positive business impact}} for you, for free?”

“While chatting with {{mutual Connection}}, they told me I HAVE to {{talk to you / bring you on as a guest / reach out, etc.}}”

“What if {{CEO first Name}} heard you’d {{created positive business result}} by 50%?”

“Just stumbled across your LinkedIn profile and noticed something unique about you!”

“I love {{common interest}}, and I’m {{activity related to common interest + business pitch}}”

“Hey there FirstName - just kidding, {{first Name}}!”

“I saw {{recent social media interaction}} and thought we should connect.”

“{{Funding amount or milestone}} - well, you did it!”

“{{News in prospect’s industry}} - I would love to hear your take on this.”

“Just saw that you recently became {{name of promoted role}} at {{their Company}}!”

“I noticed yesterday’s conversation about {{topic}} in the {{mutual social media community / forum}}.”

“Just saw that you reacted to my LinkedIn post about {{topic}}.”

“{{first Name}}, it was great to have you at…”

“Following up on my last email {{first Name}},...”