For Copywriters: How to Write Addicting Email Opening Sentences that Hook Your Readers (Boost Conversions TODAY)

 

Congrats, you’ve written a killer subject line.

Your email has been opened.

But will your copy be read?

If you want a chance at selling through email, you must grab your readers by their throats and keep them engaged.

This is the job of your opening sentence.

For some reason, opening sentences are rarely talked about in email copywriting.

But they are probably the second most important part (trailing the subject line).

In this blog post…

You’ll learn why email opening sentences are so important to your success, the singular purpose of your first line and 5 ways to effortlessly crank out opening sentences that get read and lead to sales.

 

Why Is Your Email’s Opening Sentence So Important?

Just because you got people to open your email does not mean they’ll read it.

Your opening sentence needs to have the same attention-grabbing power as your subject line.

If you fail to engage your readers in your opening line, they will not read your next sentence.

However, after they have read a few sentences, it’s much more likely they’ll read until the end.

Your first sentence will often determine if they read your email and take action.

 

The Purpose of Your Email Opening Line

I don’t care what any “guru” tells you.

There’s only ONE purpose of your email opening line.

Which is…

To get readers to read your next sentence.

(This is the same goal as your subject line)

I like to keep my opening sentences very short.

Usually, I start my emails with only a few words.

4 examples:

“To be honest…”

“I’m shocked.”

“You won’t believe what happened”

“This is crazy”

You want to keep your intro short because you want to suck readers into your copy (email body).

Think of your emails as a slide.

You want to get readers down your slide as quickly as possible so they can get to your call to action and click your link.

And, to get them sliding down faster than a cheetah, you’ve gotta “grease” this slide.

One of the best ways to create a slippery slide effect, is to keep your intro extremely short.

Keep this in mind while practicing the tips from the next section…

 

5 Ways to Effortlessly Write Addicting Email Opening Sentences That Get Read

Not all opening sentences are treated equally…

Over the last 4 years, I’ve picked up some of the best email opening sentences known to alien-kind.

Switch em up often, so your audience does not get bored of the same ol’, same ol’.

Okay, let’s get to it…

1. Time & Place

The best way to write money-dripping emails is to tell personal stories.

And the easiest way to write personal stories is to start with “time and place” in your email opening sentence.

It’s WICKED easy to do.

3 examples:

1. Yesterday, while out for a walk, I saw something unusual…
2. When I was a child, I loved going to Florida…
3. Last weekend, I had an epiphany…

This has got a few things going for it:

1. It’s super short
2. It’s almost incomplete
3. It piques curiosity
4. It leads to a story

This makes it almost EASIER to read on than to ignore.

The next time you write emails, start with time and place. You’ll experience mind-boggling results.

 

2. Bizarre

What’s “bizarre” grabs our attention like a claw machine.

I like to say bizarre words, phrases and slang within my email opening sentence.

For example:

“I’m watching you”

“I’m in pain”

“I like you”

Again, the goal is to get your readers to read your next sentence. When you start your emails off with something bizarre (and incomplete) you’ll push your readers to the next sentence like a sumo wrestler.

 

3. One Word

Joseph Sugarman used this all the time in his ads.

He would start his opening sentence with just one word.

This is much more powerful when you add power words.

I’ve created an ultimate guide on power words to use in copywriting. You can read it here.

Here are a few sample email opening sentences:  

• “Woah”
• “Ouch”
• “No”

 

4. Start with a Question

This is one of my favorite ways to start emails (and any piece of copy).

Questions are ADDICTING.

They act like giant WARNING signs in our minds.

If you ask a relevant question that your reader desperately wants to know the answer to, it’s almost impossible to ignore.

This can be…

Questions about something they want.

Questions about a mistake they are likely making.

Questions about current events.

And so on…

Just keep it related to your email and what you’re selling.

Here are a few examples:

“Do you want to write faster?”

“Are you making these mistakes in your business?”

“How much money have you wasted on yo-yo diets this year?”

 

5. If/then

Now, this one usually takes more words than the rest of the email opening lines.

However, it’s a proven opening sentence used by 7-figure copywriters & marketers (like Gary Halbert, the world’s greatest copywriter).

You simply start with something your reader wants.

Then...

Follow up with how they can get it.

For example:

If you want to earn 6 figures this year, then this email will show you how.

This type of email opening sentence is ridiculously easy to write and super effective.

In fact, I use it in most of my sales letters (and throughout emails).

 

Conclusion

There you go, Bubba.

Use these 5 email opening sentence tips the next time you write an email.

If you do, I can almost guarantee you’ll boost readership, clicks and sales.

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