Test Description

This test consists of you writing 5 personalized first lines of a sales email(deeper explanation
later)

We will provide you with a spreadsheet of data for 5 different people with various jobs at various
companies.

You are to return a list of 5 first lines, in the format of:

1) …..
2) …..
3) ….
And so on

These first lines will be submitted when applying to the job on Upwork, in the “screening”
section.

Please read the whole section below to get a good understanding of how to write a good
personalized first-line

Spreadsheet with data:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NFCeVCcZxoeUVKNKH0ExErmosgNRpXjh5Y142vqd
NsE/edit?usp=sharing

Looking forward to seeing your response!

[CONT’D]

Writing the perfect personalized first-line

WHO ARE WE WRITING TO?

Decision-makers: C suite executives, managers, business owners.

The goal is to break the ice and make an instant connection with them.

Age and Gender - Varies

Nationality - US/UK/ROW

Prospect = A potential customer

WHAT IS A PERSONALIZED FIRST LINE?

The first line is the opening line of an email.

We have to personalize it for each prospect for 2 reasons:
1. It doesn’t look like it’s sent as bulk mail.
2. Act as an icebreaker with the prospect.

This is how the mail appears.

[Subject]

Hey Leo,
[FIRST LINE]

[BUSINESS PITCH]

Your goal as a writer is to make them read further towards the business pitch part by
writing a friendly remark about them in your first line.

[CONT’D]
WHERE TO FIND THE SUBSTANCE TO WRITE?

In order of preference,

1. Go to their personal LinkedIn profile.

2. Visit their website
3. You’d get their other social links on their website.

WHAT SUBSTANCE YOU SHOULD PICK UP?

1. LinkedIn - go to view all activity, any relevant activity (age <1yr)
2. LinkedIn - if the prospect has a descriptive bio or featured posts.
3. Website - mission, about, case studies, blogs, podcasts, interview
4. Website - go to other social links mentioned - Insta, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
5. Google the prospect’s name along with the company name
It should be a specific and interesting point to like about the prospect. So, when the
prospect reads it he should feel that you know about him and genuinely like him.

[CONT’D]

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR LINE

Gone in 60 seconds? Too long, you’re gone in 3 seconds!

You have only 3 seconds to grab someone’s attention and in 5 seconds the decision is
made whether the CEO would read further or just delete it.

Secondly, remember - facts speak, emotions SHOUT.

PART 1 -

So, your job is to write a line with strong emotion in the first 5-7 words, the words being
crucial to grab attention.

How do you do that?

 1. Start with
LOVE - when it’s a quality/series/ anything ongoing
LOVED - when you’re talking about a singular thing
GREAT - when you can’t use love

(if it isn’t a strong emotion such as love or great, your chance of grabbing
attention reduces greatly)

2. Mention the TOPIC (don’t pick the title - it’s too long, just pick the topic) +
substance ( post, blog, podcasts, vision, etc ) and the source (LinkedIn,
Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Site)

Examples -

Loved your Crypto post on LinkedIn

Great to see your funding news on LinkedIn
Love your security podcast on Spotify
Love your insights channel on YouTube
Loved the nutrition blog post on your site
Great to read Steve’s recommendation on your LinkedIn
Love your brand’s mission
Loved how you helped Apple (case study examples)

PART 2-

Specify something about the thing mentioned in <10 words.

This is to make sure that the reader knows that you have actually gone through it and
not just picked up from the title.

Continuing on our examples,

Loved your Crypto post on LinkedIn, didn’t know Ethereum is home to 1000s of tokens.

Great to see your funding news on LinkedIn, a $3bn valuation is wild.

Love your agency podcast on Spotify, found the episode with Wizard to be the best.
Love your fitness channel on YouTube, the humor makes the videos fun to watch.

Loved the egg nutrition blog post on your site, eggs are definitely a superfood.

Great to read Steve’s recommendation on your LinkedIn; where he recalls how well you
led the team during the 2008 crisis.

Love your brand’s mission of being customer-centric in times where companies are
focused on just profits.

Loved how you helped Apple increase their earpods revenue by 40%.

[CONT’D]

Part 3-

Now, when you have appreciated his work, it’s time to weave the compliment along with
the person. You’ve to end the line within 25 words max. The goal is to break the ice and
evoke a positive resonating emotion.

SEX isn’t the most potent 3 letter word to get someone’s attention.
YOU is.

commYOUnicate your compliments.

“I like your suit” vs “You look great in that suit” - the latter resonates better.

YOU maintains the reader’s attention. It gets a more positive response because it
pushes the pride button and saves them having to translate it into ‘me’ terms.
So, the second sentence should begin with YOU. The reader may directly jump to YOU
as it’s so magnetic to human nature.

What you understand about the person from the first sentence, write a second sentence
about that.

Examples on the next page,

[CONT’D]

Completing our examples -

“Loved your Crypto post on LinkedIn, didn’t know Ethereum is home to 1000s of tokens.
You have a great understanding of the crypto world.”

“Great to see your funding news on LinkedIn, a $3bn valuation is wild. You are beating
the competition out there.

“Love your agency podcast on Spotify, found the episode with Wizard to be the best.
You are nailing it every week.”

“Love your fitness channel on YouTube, the humor makes the videos fun to watch. You
are one of the best fitness trainers I’ve come across.”

“Loved the egg nutrition blog post on your site, eggs are definitely a superfood. You
explain it so well that your reader has no doubts left.”
“Great to read Steve’s recommendation on your LinkedIn; where he recalls how well
you led the team during the 2008 crisis. You are one of the few CEOs who are leaders
in the truest sense.”

“Love your brand’s mission of being customer-centric in times where companies are
focused on just profits. You are setting an example for others.”

“Loved how you helped Apple increase their earpods revenue by 40%. You helping
clients like Apple shows your amazing know-how in the industry.”

Follow this structure. Be simple. Be straight-forward.

So, this is how you write a first line that

- Grabs attention
- Compliments the person
- Makes an instant connection
- Makes the prospect read further
- Makes the prospect reply

THAT’S HOW YOU BOOST YOUR OPEN AND REPLY RATES!