12 attention-grabbing cold email opening line templates
Not thinking a cold email opening line through can cost you a response, a call, or a scheduled demo.
The most common mistake rookies make is to invest time into coming up with a catchy subject line and then fail miserably once the email is opened. What makes a sales rep a top-notch performer is the ability to write attention-grabbing email introductions and to structure their writing in a way that is compelling enough to keep you reading all the way through.
When writing an email opening line, keep in mind that you have around 6 seconds to capture the interest of someone you’ve never met in person. This time shortens for a busy decision-maker. Long story short, you don’t have words to waste. Therefore, start strong.
Since lots of people are struggling particularly with email introductions, we’ve decided to write a short guide on how to write genuinely personalized email opening lines that catch your lead’s attention, make them want to keep reading, and finally, make them wish to respond.
By the end of this blog, you’ll learn:
- Why your email opening line matters;
- How to safeguard your domain and prevent high bounce rates;
- 6 most common mistakes when writing email opening lines;
- 12 email opening line templates for 12 outreach scenarios.
Let’s get started!
Why your email opening line matters
Cold emails can be used for pretty much anything - getting that perfect job or landing a really good deal for your business.
So, even if you’re not a sales rep, selling is a crucial part of our everyday lives. We sell our knowledge, our expertise, our point of view, face-to-face or in writing. However, cold emailing is a specific task and its success depends on various factors.
- How well you targeted and researched your lead;
- How relevant and to-the-point your personalization is;
- If your subject line made your lead curious enough to open the email;
- If your email opening line was compelling enough to keep them interested in reading more;
- Whether you included some kind of a hook;
- If there’s a call to action, etc.
When it comes to email opening lines, their purpose is to build rapport with your lead and to convince them to keep reading. Such an important task for such a short paragraph, isn’t it? But the rules of sales have changed, and not much can we do about it. Relevance and personalization became a straightway to success, and the sooner you abide by the new rules, the faster you’ll begin to see the results.
However, before we move onto the email opening line templates, let’s quickly go through several important points when sending cold emails that could potentially compromise the effort you’ve put in writing a good email sales copy.
Business email verification: Safeguard your domain
Many resources talk about how to find your lead’s business email addresses, as it’s obviously a minimum requirement for cold emailing. However, the second minimum requirement for cold outreach to be anywhere successful are emails being delivered. Despite this, not many mention the importance of email verification and how skipping this step could seriously harm your domain in the long run.
Namely, high bounce rates are one of the top reasons, alongside excessive volume and consistency, complaint rate, and being blacklisted by too many users, for poor email deliverability. High bounce rates represent the percentage of email addresses that didn’t receive your message because it was invalid and therefore returned by a recipient’s mail server. The more times this happens, the higher the chances are for your emails to end in a spam folder instead of the primary Inbox.
While you can solve the above threats by investing time into planning your outreach and making every email matter, there is only one way to lower your bounce rates - and that is to use Sales Engagement Platforms such as Skylead that find and verify business emails for you. In case a business email address is not verified, the platform won’t send the email as it may affect your domain health.
If you’ve never used a Sales Engagement Platform of this kind, check how Skylead assures higher email delivery rates.
6 most common mistakes when writing email opening lines
- You start your email with Hi, my name is;
- Your email is not straight-and-to-the-point from the start;
- Your email introduction talks about how “amazing” you or your company is;
- You opened your email in a generic way;
- There’s no name or last name of the person you are writing to;
- Your email opening line is too long.
12 email opening line templates for 12 outreach scenarios
#1 Connect after you’ve met in person
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
It was really nice chatting with you at {{eventName}} {{timeOfTheEvent}}. I found your point of view on {{topic}} interesting and decided to get in touch with you personally.
[...]
Example
Hello Anna,
It was really nice chatting with you at the 2022 Marketing Trends & Predictions event last Tuesday! I found your point of view on the development of social media marketing for small businesses interesting and decided to get in touch with you personally. [...]
This email opening line works because it specifies right away where you met and what you spoke about. The more precise you are, the more you show that you listened and that you genuinely cared for what someone had to say. Additionally, the tone is friendly, casual, and complimenting. Use this email introduction to connect and network or develop the conversation in the sales direction.
#2 Reach out to a content creator on LinkedIn
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
{{time}} I came across your LinkedIn post on {{topic}} that helped {{lead’sEndResult}}. I have been following you and your content on LinkedIn, and I must tell you that applying your advice {{yourEndResult}}.
Example
Hello Jerry,
A month ago I came across your LinkedIn post on objection handling that helped your Sales Team scale LeadUp by 30% in revenue in just 3 months! I have been following you and your content on LinkedIn, and I must tell you that applying your advice increased my conversion rate by 10%.
[...]
This email opening line works because it shows that you are truly following their content, that you admire their work, and that the lead’s advice was valuable for you too. Use this email introduction to offer a solution that your lead could benefit from or that is complementary to the lead’s business. This approach will do just perfect for your LinkedIn lead generation message, as well.
#3 Investigate on the solution that your lead’s already using
Template
Greetings {{firstName}},
I saw that your company is using {{solution}} for your {{purpose}}, is that correct? I hope you don’t mind me reaching out directly, just wanted to ask you if you could change one thing about {{solution}}, what would it be?
Example
Greetings Martha!
I saw that your company is using GetResponse for your newsletter automation, is that correct? I hope you don’t mind me reaching out directly, just wanted to ask you if you could change one thing about GetResponse, what would it be?
[...]
This email opening line works because it shows you’ve done your research and are reaching out to your lead with facts and concrete reasons. Furthermore, you are not trying to pitch your solution right off the bat, but are investigating customer satisfaction first and building rapport. Use this email introduction to offer your solution that has the competitor’s weakness as a unique selling point.
#4 Use your lead’s review as a reference
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
I saw that you recently reviewed {{lead’sProduct}} on {{reviewWebsite}} and expressed concerned regarding their {{concern}}. I know how frustrating that situation can be, so I wanted to take a moment and introduce {{yourProduct}} that might solve that problem for you.
Example
Hey Jasmine,
I saw that you recently reviewed PopBy on Capterra and expressed concerns regarding their customer support. I know how frustrating that situation can be, so I wanted to take a moment and introduce Meety that might solve that problem for you.
[...]
This email opening line works because you are reaching out to your lead with a verified pain point they are experiencing. You want to see if they would be interested in hearing more about your product because it would directly solve the issue they expressed in the review.
#5 Reach to an attendee of your event/LinkedIn event
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
It was great seeing you at {{eventName}}. I just wanted to thank you personally for participating and ask if you found the event useful for {{company}} and the {{industry}} industry in general. If yes, I have something that might interest you!
[...]
Example
Hello Ross,
It was great seeing you at the Social Selling Strategy For Medium-Sized Businesses Event. I just wanted to thank you personally for participating and ask if you found the event useful for TransFly and the transportation industry in general. If yes, I have something that might interest you!
[...]
To clarify, this email opening line works because it states in detail the event that the lead attended, the company they work for, and their industry. Moreover, it indicates that you did your research and want to offer a solution that might specifically help their business/industry.
#6 Ask a question to pitch a solution
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
I came across your LinkedIn profile as I was researching {{occupation}}. I just wanted to ask {{question}}.
Example
Hello Steve,
I came across your LinkedIn profile as I was researching SEO & Web Content Specialists. I decided to contact you directly as I am curious to know if you’ve ever got valuable results in less than 20min when researching keywords and keyword synonyms?
[...]
This email opening line works because it shows you researched your lead before reaching out to them. You know their niche and the niche’s pain point/rooms for improvement, and you might have a solution that could help them save time and improve their service/product.
#7 Email a lead that commented a post on LinkedIn (or anywhere else)
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
I am writing to you regarding your comment on {{user’sName}} LinkedIn post. I wanted to send a resource that might help you understand {{painPointLeadExpressed}}. If this clarifies a bit the issue you mentioned in the comment, there’s more where that came from!
Example
Hello Jane,
I am writing to you regarding your comment on Josh Duane’s LinkedIn post. I wanted to send a resource that might help you understand where and when to use personalized GIFs and Images, and how to make them. If this clarifies a bit the issue you mentioned in the comment, there’s more where that came from!
[...]
This email opening line works because you are reaching out to your lead with the intent to help them. Additionally, you are offering a resource to solve a problem or issue they expressed in the comment of someone’s LinkedIn post (or anywhere else). Use this email introduction to later pitch your product that has this feature in particular, for example.
#8 Make a reference to a mutual connection (potential collaboration)
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
{{mutualConnection}} from {{company}} spoke highly of you and your professional achievements, your {{achievement}} in particular! That’s why I decided to directly reach out and speak about a potential collaboration.
Example
Hello Jenna,
Marta Jamerson from FlyHigh spoke highly of you and your professional achievements, your development of Sales Techniques for smaller Sales Teams in particular! That’s why I decided to directly reach out and speak about a potential collaboration.
[...]
This email opening line works because mentioning a mutual connection right away is a smart move. It gives you certain credit and whoever sees a familiar name will most likely keep reading. Furthermore, it shows that you know what the lead is doing, what their achievements are, and that those are the ones you are writing them for.
#9 Give value and then offer your service
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
I came across your {{product}} the other day while researching {{solutions}} and immediately spotted a few things that you can change to {{endGoal}} (déformation professionnelle, hehe, sorry!). This tip might help you see this side of your business in a new light.
[...]
Example
Hello Tiphany,
I came across your website the other day while researching Marketing Automation Tools and immediately spotted a few things that you can change to improve your visitor’s experience (déformation professionnelle, hehe, sorry!). This tip might help you see this side of your business in a new light.
[...]
This email opening line works because you are giving value (free gift) to your potential customer even if they don’t decide to hire you for the above service. Use this email introduction to hook your service and show the quality of your work.
#10 Follow up after a cold call
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
Great talking to you today! As promised, I am sending you a quick summary of the topics we covered over the phone this morning.
Example
Hello Kate,
Great talking to you today! As promised, I am sending you a quick summary of the topics we covered over the phone this morning.
[...]
This email opening line is an excellent reminder even if the cold call didn’t go the way you wanted to (and even if it did). This is your second chance to interest your lead into knowing more or you can investigate deeper on their pain points and rooms for improvement.
#11 Create a need to pitch your product
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
When was the last time {{company}} {{yourService}}?
Did you know that -
{{whyLead’sWayIsNotGoodForBusiness}}
What if we changed things up a bit?
Example
Hello Anthony,
When was the last time EightUp organized a team-building event that was more than food and drinks after work hours?
Did you know that -
- 75% of employees find team buildings of this kind useless, draining, and forced to attend?
- Only 10% of employees claim that they actually bonded with someone from another department during the team building of this kind?
- 83% of employees wish they could learn more from team buildings and actually bond with colleagues that are higher up the hierarchy?
What if we changed things up a bit?
[...]
This email opening line works because it shows concrete statistics that the lead’s way of doing certain things is not productive (or maybe even counterproductive). Moreover, you can offer a 180° turn to the way they are doing business.
#12 Reach out to a churned user
Template
Hello {{firstName}},
I have exciting news for you! {{yourCompany}} now has a {{upgrade}}, which allows you to {{benefit}}. Let me briefly present all of its advantages.
Example
Hello Angela,
I have exciting news for you! Skylead now has a native Image and Gif personalization feature, which allows you to include personalized GIFs and Images into your outreach routine with just a few clicks. Let me briefly present all of its advantages.
[...]
This email opening line works in case you reach out to a churned user. It lets them know that now you have something that they named as the reason to stop using your product. It's always good to reach out and try to re-sell them the improved version of your product from the start.
Frequently asked questions
How to personalize these templates for different industries without losing the initial impact?
For personalizing templates across industries, focus on customizing your approach. To do this, weave in sector-specific language and referencing current industry trends or news. This ensures relevance and maintains the original's engaging effect while speaking directly to the recipient's interests and challenges.
How to establish the balance between humor and professionalism in cold emails to maintain credibility?
Balancing humor and professionalism requires a nuanced approach. In other words, consider your audience's industry culture and tailor your humor to be light and relevant to your message. Aim for humor that enhances, rather than undermines, the professional quality of your email, ensuring it's appropriate and adds value.
How to form follow-up strategies when an initial email with a catchy opening line doesn't receive a response?
When a catchy opening line doesn't prompt a response, develop your follow-up email strategy by offering new information or value. Highlight a different aspect of your proposal or share a recent success story related to their industry. This approach can re-engage their interest and demonstrate persistence without being pushy.
Summary
The hardest part of any important task is getting started in the first place, isn’t it?
Now, we gave you 12 email opening line templates to get through to your leads from the very first email.
Use these templates as they are or as an inspiration for your own scenarios.
Additionally, what also worked for our Sales Team was combining these email introductions with personalized GIFs and Images and sending them out to leads found by prospecting on LinkedIn. This practice skyrocketed their reply rates and, to be honest, also did the ability to write good follow-ups after no response.
And in case you are searching for a solution that will find and verify business emails for you, has a native feature for personalizing GIFs and Images (and includes them into your emails with just one click), and that can speed up your outreach process by 60%, sign up for Skylead's 7-day free trial and see it for yourself how much we rock!
