You’re probably under the impression that we need to be extra formal and ‘cautious’ in our communication in today’s digital world. While we’re not suggesting you treat your prospect like a blood relative, we ARE suggesting you stand out in some way.

For one thing, just about everyone who emails them tends to be ‘overly professional.’ If you want to stand out, you will need to send friendly but professional email opening lines to boost your reply rate.

This is precisely what we will discuss in this article.

What Makes A Good Email Opener?

Before we get to the best email opening lines that you can use, here are a few mistakes that you ought to avoid while writing an email opening line.

• Being overly general: If you are writing to someone with the hope that they will read it and reply, you need to be specific with what you want. Generalizing your opener will lead to lack of clarity and value.
• Being Unoriginal: Your prospects get tons of emails every day. Being unoriginal in your email openers and starting the email the same way everyone else probably does is a sure-fire method to ensure they never read your email.

Now, let’s take a look at what makes a good email opener.

Crystal Clear

People will choose to read your email (or not) based on your subject line and email opener. In both cases, you need to be clear with what you want. They need to know precisely why you are writing to them. Based on this, they will choose to go through the rest of your email.

Value Adding & Relevant

Value and relevance go hand-in-hand. Ultimately, people will only give you the time of day if they can benefit from you. So, if you want your prospects to reply to you, your email opening sentence must be relevant to who they are and what they do.

Doing this will set a good tone for the rest of the email and boost your chances of getting a reply to this email…and many more.

Short And Sweet

When you write an email opener, a subject line, etc., keep it short and straightforward. Long, drawn-out paragraphs will put them off from reading the rest of the email.

Tips To Write Awesome Email Opening Lines

Now that you know what mistakes to avoid and what a good email opening line looks like, here are a few tips to spruce up your email openers:

Use A Personal Or Mutual Connection

People tend to reply to warm emails more than cold emails. If you and your prospect have a mutual friend, be sure to mention this in the first sentence. They are more likely to trust you if they think you have a solid connection with someone they know.

For example –

“Hey (name), I’m friends with (name of mutual connection) and he suggested I talk to you about (reason)”

Use Common Background

If you are familiar with your prospect (and you should be) in terms of – body of work, pain points, etc., be sure to mention that in your opening line.

For example –

“Hey (name), loved your article/post/podcast on (insert subject)…”

Compliment Them

Sending your prospect a specific compliment, i.e, a compliment for something they did specifically (as opposed to a general compliment that anyone can cook up), is an excellent way to stand out.

For example –

“Hey (name), I love how you emphasized (insert idea) in your (insert article name or any other piece of work).”

120 Email Opening Lines You Can Use To Boost Your Reply Rate

There are different types of email openers you can use, depending on the type of email you plan on sending. We can broadly classify them into cold and warm email opening lines.

We shall add multiple examples of email opening lines under each type that you can use to keep your emails fresh.

Cold Email Opening Line

All the tips we have discussed so far especially apply to cold email opening lines. As you probably know, people are more likely to ignore your email if they do not know you.

However, if you have a compelling subject line and opening line, you can get your prospect to read your email and potentially reply.

When we say compelling, we are talking about email openers that are straightforward, short, relevant, and friendly.

Here are a few examples:

1. Hoping to get your advice on (topic)

2. Loved your piece on (topic)

3. I found your competitors (add activity)

4. I helped (reputable company) achieve (something significant)

5. I was going through your (insert content piece)

6. We helped your (insert competitor name) with (task)

7. You’re obviously an expert in this field…

8. We just posted an article on (subject relevant to prospect)

9. I came across your post on (subject)

10. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on (topic)

Warm Email Opening Lines

You can use warm email opening lines to reach out to people who may already know you. You may have a mutual connection, someone may have suggested your name to your prospect, or you may have met them at an event. Follow-up emails come under this category as well.

Here are a few examples:

11. Hey (name), great to see you at (insert event)!

12. Glad we met at (event)

13. Hey (name), good to talk to you again

14. (Mutual connection name) suggested I talk to you about (insert reason)

15. (Mutual connection name) told me about you

16. Hope you had a chance to check my last email

17. Me again. Just checking in!

18. Thanks for taking the time out to talk to me (insert day or date)

19. I wanted to add this to our previous conversation

20. As discussed at (event)…

There are tons of email openers you can use for professional emails, friendly emails, sales emails, follow-up emails, etc. The ones mentioned above cover all the aforementioned types of emails.

However, if those weren’t enough, here are more examples that you can use:

21. Congratulations on (achievement)

22. How did your (project, event, etc.) turn out?

23. I was talking to my friend about your (podcast, event, book, content)

24. It was amazing meeting you again

25. Hope you enjoyed your (vacation, trip, or any other event)

26. Hello from the other side!

27. I will keep this short

28. Hope you enjoyed your weekend

29. Allow me to introduce myself

30. Could I get a quick opinion on (insert topic)

31. Hope you’ve had your coffee today

32. I’m writing to you about (reason)

33. I’m checking in about (reason)

34. I know it has been a busy week

35. If it isn’t too much trouble

36. Meant to contact you about (reason)

37. Loved our discussion about (topic)

38. Thank you for helping me with…

39. Hope I’m not disturbing

40. Hope this is a good time to…

41. Just checking in for an update on (topic)

42. Can you give me an update on…

43. I’ll cut to the chase…

44. What do you think about (topic)?

45. I have a few suggestions for (topic)

46. I read about your company’s (event, achievement)

47. Great talk at (event)

48. I loved your speech at (event)

49. (Mutual connection name) mentioned your expertise in (field)

50. Fellow (common interest) checking in

51. Could you give me some feedback on (topic)?

52. Minding helping me with (problem)?

53. Happy NOT Monday!

54. Your last speech was phenomenal

55. I read your previous post 20 times and…

56. As promised, I’m (insert what you promise to do for your prospect)

57. I worked with (mutual connection) on (project)

58. I’m eager to hear your opinion on (subject)

59. In reference to our last call…

60. How would you deal with (pain point)?

61. What if I told you that…

62. Hey there, it’s (name) here!

63. I noticed this (trend) and was curious to find out your thoughts on it

64. I noticed that your company (insert company update)

65. I have a few ideas on how you can (solve the prospect’s pain point)

66. Great to hear from you again

67. Hey, I’ve been in the industry for…

68. I’m hoping to get feedback from you on (product, service, problem)

69. Thanks for your quick response

70. Thanks for getting back to me quickly

71. Thanks for taking the time to…

72. Thank you for your pointers

73. Thank you for your feedback

74. Appreciate your feedback

75. Appreciate your concern

76. Thank you for your assistance

77. Hope you are having an excellent week

78. Hope you are having an excellent weekend

79. Appreciate your help with…

80. Hope this email finds you in good health

81. How’s surviving the middle of the week going for you?

82. Just a reminder

83. A friendly reminder (for task)

84. To our chief accountants (for multiple recipients)

85. Respected department heads (for multiple recipients)

86. I’m eager to hear your advice on…

87. I’m writing to inquire about…

89. Did you get a chance to go through my previous email?

90. This article made me think of you

91. This video on (topic) reminded me of what you told me…

92. Wanted to circle back to our previous conversation

93. Last email from me. I promise.

94. Hey (name), how’s it going?

95. Good morning/afternoon/evening (name)!

96. Nice to hear from you again.

97. I’m contacting you for…

98. Reaching out to tell you about…(insert news)

Conclusion

There you have it – over 100 email opening lines that you can use immediately. Coming up with a killer email opening line isn’t all that hard now, is it? Once you get the hang of it, come up with your own email openers. Just make sure they are short, straightforward, and relevant to the recipient…and you will see your reply rate shoot up in no time!