Email.
It’s the default marketing communication of our time.
Roughly 100 billion business emails are sent every single day.
That’s 14 for every man, woman and child on the planet.
Most are feebly written, more in hope than expectation of results.
But not yours.
Because starting today, you’re going to have access to this treasure trove of 99 ideas to help you write a throat-grabbingly effective opening line.
Some are generic enough to work in any market.
For others, you’ll need to tweak the nouns or verbs to make them work for you.
Why do they work?
Mostly because they play on deep-seated human psychological traits, from greed to prurience.
Virtually all of them also demand that the reader continue to discover the meaning behind the phrase.
We’ll start with an old trick. But one that still works today.
One-word wonders
1. Sex.
2. Death.
3. Taxes.
4. Kids.
5. Love.
6. Depression.
7. Hate.
8. Fat.
9. Skinny.
10. Riches.
11. Money.
12. Cash.
13. Wealth.
14. Bills.
15. Misery.
16. Sadness.
17. Lies.
18. Sin.
19. Cancer.
20. Cruelty.
21. Dogs.
22. Cats.
23. Horses.
24. Pets.
25. Secrets.
Shockers
26. Your neighbours are having more fun in bed than you.
27. Your next pay rise is not going to put a smile on your face.
28. I know a secret about you.
29. Your boss is lying to you.
30. Your money worries aren’t going to go away.
31. Your staff are lying to you.
32. The Government is stealing from you.
33. Every day complete strangers are watching your every move.
34. That health problem of yours.
Worrying questions
35. Do you know who can access your bank account?
36. How safe are your savings – really?
37. Do you know your chances of avoiding a stroke, heart attack or cancer?
38. When was the last time you checked your credit rating?
39. How safe is your business from a bribery prosecution?
40. Are your employees committing crimes that could land you in court?
41. Ever wonder if your colleagues know more than you do?
42. Do you make these common – but fatal – accounting errors?
43. Is your marketing a moneymaker … or a millstone?
44. Afraid the Internet is leaving you behind?
45. When was the last time you felt truly fulfilled at work?
46. Ever feel you’ve left it too late?
47. Do you ever have too much month and not enough money?
48. Do you like what you see in the mirror?
49. How much money are you wasting every week?
50. Is this easily fixed error costing you money every week?
51. Are you stuck in a rut?
52. Are you a saint or a sinner?
53. On a scale of one to ten, how happy are you with your current job?
Chatty
54. Let’s be honest.
55. Can I ask you something?
56. Is it just me, or…?
57. Picture this.
58. I had to tell you about this.
59. This is too good to keep to myself.
60. You are going to freak when you hear this.
61. I’m not going to lie to you.
62. Ever had the feeling…?
63. I guess this won’t surprise you.
64. We’re kind of alike, you and me.
65. You’re a surfer like me, so get this.
66. Believe it or not…
Counter-intuitive
67. I really don’t care if you read this or not.
68. You’re almost certainly not going to reply to this.
69. I hate emails like this one.
70. Statistics show only idiots respond to emails from strangers.
71. Don’t you DARE stop reading.
72. I fell asleep writing this email.
73. Normally I don’t contact people like you.
74. Honestly? I’m not sure this is right for you.
Cheating-bastard subject lines*
75. Did you get my last email?
76. About our meeting?
77. That lunch date?
78. Following up
79. Request for a quotation
80. Your website
81. Your blog
82. Guest post
* I’m not advocating these, but I see a lot of them.
Storytelling
83. I just got landed with a dumb request.
84. Something happened just now I had to share with you.
85. Three months from now your life could look very different.
86. Sally Miller used to be just like you.
87. They said I shouldn’t email you.
88. I saw your last email, which is why I’m getting in touch.
89. I used to drive an old wreck, until I decided something had to change.
90. My Dad died with these words on his lips.
91. Albert Einstein had this to say about love.
Random
92. Hannibal Lecter would have loved this.
93. Nobody never got nothing by not studying.
94. DO. NOT. DELETE. THIS.
95. Hey, you! Yeah, you! Come closer.
96. Psst!
97. Read this or I WILL drown the puppy.
98. Don’t turn around. ‘They’ might be watching.
99. <insert cool opening line here>
And I’m telling you this because
If you’re not using email to promote your business or products today, you will be tomorrow
Adding to that tide of emails sloshing through the Internet.
Make your opening a zinger and you have a better-than-evens chance that the recipient will be intrigued enough to read on.
