🧲 Send Cold DMs That People Will Read

Most cold DMs remain unopened.

There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s definitely a numbers game.

But 👇

If you send a cold DM.

Your leads open it.

And they still ignore you…

Then it’s on you. Or better, on your hook.

They gave you a bit of attention, and you wasted it. Not good.

If that’s you, continue reading. Stop wasting leads’ attention. Start writing effective first lines.

1. Start as a friend

Why are you writing to them?

“To sell them my product.”

WRONG! You want to connect with them.

So don’t start as a sales machine. Be human. Even better, be a friend!

If you’ve read one of their articles or listened to their podcast, start from there.

If you don't know who they are, spend five minutes exploring their social profiles.

Mentioning one of their posts or videos is a super easy way to start the conversation in a non-salesy way.

Bonus: Tell them how their content helped you.

For example:

• “Hey Tom, I tried the engagement hack you mentioned in your latest episode. It works!”

• “Hi Lisa, after reading your article, I started writing threads once a day.”

This moves you from a sell-out to a potential friend.

2. Compliment them

Everybody likes honest compliments.

Honesty is crucial here. Generic praises will make your cold DMs look like generic spam.

Highlight one of their recent achievements.

You have one goal: do NOT make them think you're copy-pasting the same line you sent to the previous 20 leads.

For example:

• “10K followers, congrats! You deserve it!”

• “I saw the new product you launched. It looks great!”

• “I love the free templates you’re giving away. They are very valuable, thank you!”

3. Prime your first line for success

Want to stand out even more?

Engage with their posts or newsletters first. Then, slide into their DMs referencing your last interaction.

Even creators with a huge number of followers receive very few replies to their tweets. They spent valuable time writing the thread or newsletter you’re replying to. If you comment a couple of times, they will notice and appreciate you.

Reference one of them in your first cold DM, and you’ll start the conversation showing empathy instead of putting them on the defense against another boring sales guy.

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