🧲 3 Ways to Boost Cold DM Opens

If no one’s reading your cold DMs, you should apply one or more of these 3 fixes:

1. Work on your copy

2. Play the numbers right

3. Use the 5-3-1 method

I'll show you when and how to apply each of them.

Fix #1 – Work on your copy

Check a couple of previous issues where we analyzed how to write a hard-pitch cold DM and the DOs and DON'Ts.

To make a long story short, respect these fundamentals:

1. Personalize like you mean it (not just the name) → Show them you took the time to learn something real about them

2. Lead with a clear problem your prospects care about → Be as specific as possible–this shows you know what you’re talking about and increases the credibility of your solution

3. Explain why your solution works → If possible, include a testimonial or other proof of success

4. End with a clear CTA → This should be obvious, but make sure to indicate the next step clearly

Rest assured, all the entrepreneurs I know—including myself—will ignore a cold DM like this:

To be clear, cold DMs like this get ignored not because companies don't need qualified writers, but if you want to break through the noise, you need to put more effort into your cold DMs.

Otherwise, you may end up looking like a charity case instead of a professional

Fix #2 – Play the numbers right

Assuming your copy is fixed, it's time to move on to the harder part.

Cold outreach is a numbers game. You have to play accordingly.

Sending a cold DM 10 times isn’t a winning strategy—it’s a Hail Mary. You need at least 100 sends to have a statistically significant measure of success.

And beyond that, you have to test different hypotheses. 

You should tweak your copy and test variations of:

• Problems relevant to your prospects

• Ways of presenting your solutions

• CTAs

To win the cold outreach numbers game, test different cold DMs—and give each a fair shot. If you give up too early, you lose twice:

1. You spent time without generating any sales

2. You didn’t verify any hypotheses, so you didn’t learn anything of value

Fix #3 – Use the 5-3-1 method

If you apply the first two fixes, but still get only crickets, go with this tactic.

I have to credit Aaron Will for this one.

This works because it optimizes for building rapport first, instead of going straight for the sale.

Your prospect will have a more personal reason to read and reply to your message. After that, you can fine-tune the conversation based on their response and move naturally to talking about a collaboration.

That’s it for now, everyone! We’ll meet again next week to discuss some more of this!

Feel free to reply to this email. It goes directly to me.

Cheers,

Yannick