The opening line has one job: prove a human chose this recipient. Everything else in the email is judged through that lens. Fail here and the rest is read as spam no matter how good your offer is.
What earns the next sentence
- Something only true of them: a page, a number, a launch, a job post.
- Something recent: this month beats last year.
- Something you actually looked at, described plainly enough to prove you looked.
Flattery does not count. "I love what you are building" is what everyone writes, so it proves nothing. "Your size guide opens a PDF on mobile" proves you were there.
Generic vs specific
Generic: I came across your website and was really impressed.
Specific: You added a subscribe option in March but the checkout still asks for an account first.
Try it
Take five prospects from your list and write one opening line each, using only things you can see on their site or feed. If you cannot write a specific line in three minutes, drop that prospect from the list.