Explore all emails from MODULR

Most email advice tells you to "write a great hook." Cool. Very helpful. That's like telling a chef to "make it taste good." View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/1bd1fc4c-10cc-4568-98b1-b7c496cb98f9/giphy.gif?t=1776360907) Caption: So I did something different. I pulled the 50 highest-scoring emails from our dataset and dissected the body copy hook — the very first lines a reader sees after opening. Not the subject line. The moment someone decides to keep reading or bail. Seven patterns showed up. Here they are, ranked. ### Pattern #1: The Contrarian Opener Challenge a widely-held belief in your first sentence. Readers who agree feel validated. Readers who disagree want to find out why you're wrong. Either way, they keep reading. “"Positive visualization often doesn't work. In fact, it can make things worse."“ — **[Nir and Far](https://email.gomodulr.com/nirandfar/your-vision-board-is-sabotaging-you-heres-why)** It's short with no buildup. And it does a great job at creating a curiosity gap. ### Pattern #2: The Direct Question Ask something the reader can't ignore — specific enough to feel personal, uncomfortable enough to force self-reflection. “"Pop quiz: How much of your traffic came from AI in the last 12 months?"“ — **[Candid Creator](https://email.gomodulr.com/theunconventionalrdcom/getting-traffic-from-chatgpt-heres-how-to-tell)** Simple, specific, and it makes you realize you probably don’t know the answer. ### Pattern #3: Empathy + Pain Point Name the reader's exact struggle so precisely they feel seen. It’s like holding up a mirror for your reader. “"You have a decade (or more) of expertise. Real results. A track record that speaks for itself. And yet somehow, you're losing opportunities..."“ — **[Fabi Paolini](https://email.gomodulr.com/fabipaolini/10-years-of-experience-still-competing-with-people-who-started-yesterday)** "I'm better, so why am I losing?" — is deeply felt. Fabi shows up 3x in the top 50, and this pattern is her signature move. ### Pattern #4: Tease + Reveal Create a small curiosity gap, then close it immediately. You're earning attention by delivering a quick win in the same paragraph. “"There's a feature on your website that tells you exactly what your people are looking for. But you're probably not even tracking the data! That feature is… your site search bar."“ — **[Candid Creator](https://email.gomodulr.com/theunconventionalrdcom/your-people-are-literally-telling-you-what-they-want)** Curiosity opened → curiosity satisfied. The reader learns something useful in 3 sentences. And it primes them for sentence 4. ### Pattern #5: The Story Drop Put the reader in a scene immediately. No preamble, no "I've been thinking about..." — just drop them into something happening. “"For most people, artificial intelligence is inducing more dread than excitement. That's because we're imagining a doomsday scenario: legions of unemployed people living alone with their virtual partners..."“ — **[Arthur Brooks](https://email.gomodulr.com/bariweiss+the-pursuit-of-happiness-with-arthur/arthur-brooks-dont-let-your-devices-manage-you)**** / Free Press** You're in the scene before you realize you're reading. _Note: story drops scored slightly lower than contrarian openers and direct questions_ They work best when the scene is genuinely vivid, not just a warm-up. ### Pattern #6: Personal Contrast Channel your inner Dickens and lead with instant contrast. These need to be genuinely surprising — not humble-bragging or fishing for sympathy. “"I haven't written a book in five years. I'm happier than a pig in sh*t."“ — **[Mark Manson](https://email.gomodulr.com/markmanson/you-are-not-your-labels)** The juxtaposition between what you'd expect and how he actually felt made it impossible not to read on. Use sparingly. This loses power fast if it becomes a habit. [NextDraft](https://email.gomodulr.com/managingeditor/class-dismissed) also nailed a less personal version with this tight two-liner: "The House always wins. The same is not true for the Frat House." ### Pattern #7: Customer Voice / Reader Quote Open with someone else's words as a mirror. It’s often more credible than saying it yourself. “"I got an email last week from someone who said: 'My books are a hot mess — I need confidence in QuickBooks.' And honestly? I hear some version of this almost every single day."“ — **[Candus Kampfer](https://email.gomodulr.com/canduskampfer/my-books-are-a-hot-mess)** Simple and relatable. But don't fabricate these. Authenticity is the entire point. ——————————————————————————— ## Cross-Sender Patterns Worth Noting [**Fabi Paolini**](https://email.gomodulr.com/fabipaolini/) shows up 3x in the top 50 — she consistently uses empathy + pain point or contrarian hooks. Highest engagement pattern from a single sender. [**Candid Creator**](https://email.gomodulr.com/theunconventionalrdcom) also appears 4x — they rotate between direct questions and tease-reveals. And only rarely open with a story. **The top-performing hooks skew heavily toward contrarian openers and direct questions.** Story drops and personal contrast are still strong, but the data suggests _challenging a belief_ or _asking a pointed question_ outperforms narrative openers. ——————————————————————————— ## How to Use This You don't need all 7 patterns. Pick 2–3 that match your voice and rotate them. Here's my suggestion based on the data: **Educational or tactical content →** contrarian openers and direct questions. **Personal brand built on story and connection →** empathy + pain point and story drops. **Coach or consultant →** study [Fabi Paolini](https://email.gomodulr.com/fabipaolini). She's proof that consistently nailing one or two patterns beats trying to use all seven. The worst thing you can do is open every email the same way. Even a great pattern gets stale eventually Now go rewrite your next hook. – Braden & Jon | This Should Have Been An Email [MODULR Marketing](https://www.gomodulr.com) P.S. All examples pulled from the MODULR email database (2,000+ emails from 180+ brands). Browse the full archive at [email.gomodulr.com](https://email.gomodulr.com). ——— You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience, copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://read.gomodulr.com/p/i-analyzed-50-of-the-best-email-hooks-here-are-the-7-patterns

April 3rd, [Ali Abdaal's](https://email.gomodulr.com/aliabdaal) email list got hit. Scammers found a plugin vulnerability on his site, got into his email platform, and sent 3 fake "crypto airdrop" emails to his entire list before he could stop it. Then he wrote one of the best crisis emails I've seen. Here's what he did right: **He moved fast and said so.** Clear timeline, specific mechanism. Readers don't fill silence with grace. They make assumptions, and they’re often not kind. **He told them exactly what was exposed.** Email address and first name. He didn’t hedge with, "_limited information may have been accessed._" 🙄 **He told them what his team was doing in the aftermath. ** Revoked APIs, reset passwords, and started working with their [ESP](https://www.gomodulr.com/glossary/email-service-provider-esp). **He told them what to do.** Don't click links from his domain. And here's what a real email from him looks like. **The close was human, not legal.** No boilerplate legalese. He said he was sorry and didn’t downplay the situation. “_**“You've been kind enough to let me send emails straight to your inbox, and I don't take that lightly.”**_“ — His list almost certainly came out of this _more_ trusting than before, which _unfortunately_ often isn’t the case. Crisis emails are no exception to good email writing. They need specificity, a real human voice, and _often_ a CTA. All the same pieces, just higher stakes. Standard crisis emails read as if “Todd the Template” wrote them. This one read like a person talking to one subscriber. That's the whole game. **One thing worth doing before you ever need it:** draft a crisis email template now in your voice. During a breach is the worst time to find your voice. [Use Ali’s email here as a starting place.](https://email.gomodulr.com/aliabdaal/an-update-on-fridays-emails) Until next time, Braden & Jon [MODULR Marketing](https://www.gomodulr.com) ——— You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience, copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://read.gomodulr.com/p/when-your-email-list-gets-hijacked-here-s-what-to-do

View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/d27f0539-d7f2-4c13-995a-84d077c44137/image.png?t=1773350670) Caption: I just spent 4 days in Cabo with 100+ founders. You want to know what none of them said? **_"I think about my emails every day."_** Not one. They talked about product. About hiring. About cash flow. About their kids, their health, their anxiety about where the next deal is coming from. One guy I spoke to is putting on "Pitch your friend" events for single people. Another does robotics safety engineering. Another duo runs a blood bank for cats and dogs. All so different! They all use email. Most of them even use it for marketing. But in their minds, email is just... there. Running in the background. Something they know they should care about but don't have bandwidth for. And that's exactly why it still converts. Everyone's obsessing over the shiny stuff. The algorithm. The viral moment. The rebrand. The new homepage that'll definitely fix everything this time. (We've definitely never done that.) View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/50ed38e2-e881-4c0d-8387-6ca85d71f668/giphy.gif?t=1773350910) Caption: Meanwhile, email is sitting there like a loyal employee who shows up every day, does the work, and never complains. Google algorithm change, your emails still go out. Budgets cut for paid ads and AEO, but your emails are still running. But are you even reading what you team sends? If you do, you're playing on easy mode. ## Here's what easy mode looks like: While your competitor's marketing team debates whether to pivot to TikTok, you rewrite your welcome sequence. We did this last month for a client. Their welcome sequence was okay but not converting very well. We rewrote it in an afternoon. Engagement jumped 38%. They closed 12 new clients in the next 30 days from that sequence alone. And it will do the same this month and the next month without anyone touching it. Next, while everyone's chasing the algorithm, you actually read the emails your team sends and realize half of them have no clear ask. You fix that. Revenue goes up. While the founder next to you at the conference explains their elaborate growth loop, you notice their emails sound like they were written by a committee (or last year's AI model _yikes_). Yours don't. You win. View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/aec406c9-7679-479b-8a06-f72fb1cbc036/giphy.gif?t=1773351064) Caption: This isn't complicated. It's just ignored. The founders I talked to just never made email a priority. It's on their "eventually" list, right between "redo the investor deck" and "fix that bug from September." But your email list is your most valuable owned asset. You built it. You control it. No algorithm can take it away. And right now, most companies are treating it like a dusty old file they'll get to eventually—right after fixing that bug from September. So here's my challenge for you. This week, read the last 5 emails your company sent. Not skim. Actually read them, like a customer would. Ask yourself: Would I open this? Would I read past the first line? Would I do what it asks? If the answer to any of those is "probably not" then that's your edge hiding in plain sight. The bar is so low. Clear it. If you read this email and thought 'yeah, our emails probably have this problem'. [Book 30 minutes here](https://cal.com/modulr/30min) and we'll show you exactly where your emails are leaving money on the table. Spots fill fast and March is almost gone. **— Braden & Jon** **[MODULR Marketing](https://www.gomodulr.com)** ——— You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience, copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://read.gomodulr.com/p/i-talked-to-100-founders-none-think-about-email

Most emails aren't boring on purpose. They're boring by default. They slip into patterns so common their writers stopped noticing them. We've catalogued [**2,084 emails from 180 brands**](https://email.gomodulr.coms://www.gomodulr.co). The same three patterns show up in the emails that don't get read, don't get clicked, and don't make money. We call them boring types. And each one costs you something: opens, clicks, trust, revenue. There's a scoring system behind this. But before the score matters, you need to understand what it's measuring: whether your email is worth reading. And most email advice makes it worse. _"Be professional" creates Robots. _ _"Add value" creates Professors. _ _"Create urgency" creates Clingers. _ The advice isn't wrong — it's just incomplete. It tells you what to aim for without telling you when you've gone too far. So here are the types broken down: ——————————————————————————— ## **The Robot **🤖 You've received this email. “**_"Q4 Brand Social Trend Report"_**** ** **_"WrestleJitsu Club Update"_**** ** **_"[Confirmation] Email Updates from the Fighting Churn Blog"_**“ — The Robot email sounds like it was written by the legal department — from subject line to sign-off. Passive voice. Announcement framing. Third-person references to the sender's own company. Nobody's excited to open an update. Nobody clicked "subscribe" because they wanted confirmations. The Robot mistake is defaulting to what sounds professional instead of what gets read. Every Robot email is answering a question your subscriber didn't ask. I didn't ask for generic club updates. But I did ask for ways to get better at jiu jitsu. “_**"WrestleJitsu Club Update" → "The guard pass that won three matches last weekend"**_“ — ——————————————————————————— ## **The Professor 🎓** The longest subject line in our database is 156 characters: “**_"4 Minute Fridays: The best body fat level for optimal health, new study on the 1 year life extension that takes 7 minutes & how to change your life in a day"_**“ — The Professor usually has good ideas. They're just buried under too much setup before the point. By the time you get there, your reader's thumb already moved on. The Professor mistake is _confusing comprehensiveness with clarity_. It shows up everywhere — subject lines that give away the whole movie in the trailer, body copy that over-explains before making a point, CTAs buried under three paragraphs of setup. Your reader doesn't need to know everything. They need one reason to keep reading. That 156-character subject line has three good ideas in it. Pick the most interesting one and let the rest live in the body. “_**"The best body fat level for optimal health, new study on the 1 year life extension that takes 7 minutes & how to change your life in a day" → "The 7-minute habit that adds a year to your life"**_“ — ——————————————————————————— ## **The Clinger **📎 The Clinger has a tell. It's the word "just." “**_"Just a quick reminder..." "_** _**Just wanted to check in and make sure you've had a chance to start watching..." **_ _**"Just a quick heads-up..."**_“ — These are from real emails in our database. And they all do the same thing: apologize before saying anything. The Clinger email hedges its own value. "No pressure." "Whenever you're ready." "No worries if not." It reads like the sender doesn't believe their own email deserves to be opened. One brand in our database closed a sales email with: _"No pressure and you're always welcome to join down the road."_ That's directly giving your reader permission to ignore you. The Clinger mistake is treating every send like an imposition. Your reader signed up. They asked to hear from you. Say something worth their time and stop softening it. ——————————————————————————— ## **What the score is actually measuring** In the MODULR Method, each of these is a -1 penalty. Each one represents an email that's harder to open, harder to trust, and harder to act on. A lower score or multiple penalties is still sendable, but as the penalties creep up, your readers will slowly stop reading. The score is a proxy for one question: **_does this email earn its spot in someone's inbox?_** These three patterns are the most common reasons the answer is no. ## **One check before you send** Pull up the last email you sent. Read throught it. Am I announcing something nobody asked about? _(Robot)_ Am I explaining when I should just be making a point? _(Professor)_ Am I softening instead of saying something worth their time? _(Clinger)_ MODULR Pro can help you avoid all three of these mistakes. With MODULR Pro, you get: * rewrite recommendations — based on 10 criteria (including the boring types) * MODULR score analytics over time — so you can see what's working * The Find Your Angle guided wizard — nail your positioning, content clusters, and newsletter architecture. * and it seamlessly connects to [Beehiiv](https://www.beehiiv.com?via=MODULR-Marketing). #### **Learn more at ****[gomodulr.com/pro](https://www.gomodulr.com/pro)****.** ——————————————————————————— ### Braden & Jon | MODULR **This Should Have Been an Email** _P.S. The Inbox is live at _[_email.gomodulr.com_](https://email.gomodulr.com)_. 2,084 emails. 180 brands. Searchable by brand and keywords. The data behind this issue is in there — free._ ### _This week’s sponsor:_ ### Your Boss Will Think You’re an Ecom Genius View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/2b307e6e-9b49-408b-a54b-d82450e82d08/coolidge.png?t=1763666061) Follow image link: (https://gotomillions.co/newsletter-subscription/?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=VPIQXDM0GY&utm_content=coolidge_boss&_bhiiv=opp_552c4255-8801-4f5c-a0d2-65501542d425_0a0c4c29&bhcl_id=3050a68e-295b-4c2b-ba42-ee70a0ae5d4b_56ba3e99-473c-490a-a4c9-0fb1c89f9154_a2215491-e259-46b3-a329-c90748e98c8a) Caption: Optimizing for growth? [Go-to-Millions](https://gotomillions.co/newsletter-subscription/?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=VPIQXDM0GY&utm_content=coolidge_boss&_bhiiv=opp_552c4255-8801-4f5c-a0d2-65501542d425_0a0c4c29&bhcl_id=3050a68e-295b-4c2b-ba42-ee70a0ae5d4b_56ba3e99-473c-490a-a4c9-0fb1c89f9154_a2215491-e259-46b3-a329-c90748e98c8a) is Ari Murray’s ecommerce newsletter packed with proven tactics, creative that converts, and real operator insights—from product strategy to paid media. No mushy strategy. Just what’s working. [Subscribe free](https://gotomillions.co/newsletter-subscription/?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=VPIQXDM0GY&utm_content=coolidge_boss&_bhiiv=opp_552c4255-8801-4f5c-a0d2-65501542d425_0a0c4c29&bhcl_id=3050a68e-295b-4c2b-ba42-ee70a0ae5d4b_56ba3e99-473c-490a-a4c9-0fb1c89f9154_a2215491-e259-46b3-a329-c90748e98c8a) for weekly ideas that drive revenue. [Sign up for free](https://gotomillions.co/newsletter-subscription/?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=VPIQXDM0GY&utm_content=coolidge_boss&_bhiiv=opp_552c4255-8801-4f5c-a0d2-65501542d425_0a0c4c29&bhcl_id=3050a68e-295b-4c2b-ba42-ee70a0ae5d4b_56ba3e99-473c-490a-a4c9-0fb1c89f9154_a2215491-e259-46b3-a329-c90748e98c8a) ——— You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience, copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://read.gomodulr.com/p/the-three-mistakes-that-make-readers-delete-your-emails

### Smart starts here. View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/55745e59-1ef7-4ba3-ad7a-db4c042d2d0d/1440_January-Static-Image-ODY-38060_1x1_V2.png?t=1769711566) Follow image link: (https://l.join1440.com/bh?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=VPIQXDM0GY&utm_content=prospecting_smart_starts_here&_bhiiv=opp_f39cf672-3e5a-4fd9-abfd-e1fa81b377bf_1b75ca79&bhcl_id=67a4f6e8-581c-4b83-8050-b20ef2abb429_56ba3e99-473c-490a-a4c9-0fb1c89f9154_a2215491-e259-46b3-a329-c90748e98c8a) Caption: You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. [1440's daily newsletter](https://l.join1440.com/bh?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=VPIQXDM0GY&utm_content=prospecting_smart_starts_here&_bhiiv=opp_f39cf672-3e5a-4fd9-abfd-e1fa81b377bf_1b75ca79&bhcl_id=67a4f6e8-581c-4b83-8050-b20ef2abb429_56ba3e99-473c-490a-a4c9-0fb1c89f9154_a2215491-e259-46b3-a329-c90748e98c8a) distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way. [Join for free today!](https://l.join1440.com/bh?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=VPIQXDM0GY&utm_content=prospecting_smart_starts_here&_bhiiv=opp_f39cf672-3e5a-4fd9-abfd-e1fa81b377bf_1b75ca79&bhcl_id=67a4f6e8-581c-4b83-8050-b20ef2abb429_56ba3e99-473c-490a-a4c9-0fb1c89f9154_a2215491-e259-46b3-a329-c90748e98c8a) ——————————————————————————— Every welcome email asks you to reply. _"Reply 'thanks' so we land in your inbox!" _ _"Hit reply and say hey!" _ _"Just respond with a quick 'Yes!'"_ You've seen it. You've probably written it. And it works (_probably_) It tells Gmail you're not spam. Gmail is constantly changing how it processes emails and uses AI summaries, but the bottom line is that replies are a positive indicator for both you and the email platform. But that’s the whole play when you ask for a vague reply. You’ve squandered your single best moment with a new subscriber — the moment they're most curious, most engaged, most willing to talk — on a deliverability hack. View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/99708f49-d934-403c-b2da-9158eaf4b33b/giphy.gif?t=1771281511) Caption: _Sad Matt Damon_ So, you might ask, how do I avoid squandering this moment with my readers? Let's dive into the data. This week, we read 30 welcome emails. Almost every single one asked for a reply. But the quality of those asks was wildly different across the board. Here are the _three tiers of reply prompts_ we found in the data. ——————————————————————————— ## **Tier 1: The Deliverability Play** ### **What it sounds like:** “Reply "thanks" to this email.“ — — [The Quiet Rich](https://email.gomodulr.com/thequietrichmailbeehiivcom/youre-in-welcome-to-the-quiet-rich) “Reply to this email with "Hey Harry"“ — — [Harry Dry, Marketing Examples](https://email.gomodulr.com/marketingexamples/important-confirm-your-email-to-read-my-newsletter) “Hit reply with "Yes" and move this email to your ‘Primary’ inbox if it landed in ‘Promotions’.“ — — [Social Currency](https://email.gomodulr.com/socialcurrency/welcome-to-social-currencytm) **What it does:** Tells your email provider this sender is legit. That's it. **What you learn about your subscriber:** Nothing. **The problem:** You asked someone to type a word. They typed it. Now what? You didn't provide any value, and you don't know anything more about them as a reader. Who they are, what they need, or why they signed up is still a mystery to you. It's the welcome email equivalent of _"Hope this finds you well."_ Functional but forgettable. ——————————————————————————— ## **Tier 2: The Relationship Builder** ### **What it sounds like:** “Drop me a note introducing yourself! I love hearing what brought you here and what you're working on.“ — — [Social Currency (P.P.S. section)](https://email.gomodulr.com/socialcurrency/welcome-to-social-currencytm) (yes, Social Currency again. Their welcome email actually includes both T1 and T2) “I'd love to learn a little about you and why you signed up for the Spotlight. If you don't feel like sharing, no problem, but if you do, just reply to this email.“ — — [Creator Spotlight](https://email.gomodulr.com/creator-spotlightmailbeehiivcom/welcome-to-the-spotlight) “P.S. To make sure you get future editions of Scalable, please respond to this email with a simple “hello!” or a burning question about creators. You can also move us to your primary inbox.“ — — [Scalable](https://email.gomodulr.com/scalable-podmailbeehiivcom/welcome-to-scalable) **What it does:** Starts a conversation. Builds rapport. Makes the subscriber feel seen. **What you learn:** Some context. Maybe they reply and share a vague sense of what they care about. **The problem:** It's open-ended. Most people don't reply to "tell me about yourself" from a stranger. And if you do get a reply from a reader, it's usually a 5,000-word life story they're just looking to share with someone. Great for rapport, not very actionable though. Better than Tier 1. But you're still leaving data on the table. ——————————————————————————— ## **Tier 3: The Strategic Ask** ### **What it sounds like:** “Hit reply and tell me: What's the #1 frustration you're facing when it comes to scaling your business?“ — — [Profit Ladder](https://email.gomodulr.com/profitladder/welcome-to-profit-ladder) “What's one topic you wish more people talked about?“ — — [Chris Williamson, 3 Minute Monday](https://email.gomodulr.com/chriswillx/welcome-to-3-minute-monday-exclusive-ebook-inside) “Hit reply and tell us: what's the one email you actually look forward to reading every week?“ — — [This Should Have Been an Email (yes, ours)](https://read.gomodulr.com/) **What it does:** Gets deliverability AND gives you something you can use. **What you learn: **Exactly what you ask for. Profit Ladder now knows exactly what pain point each subscriber has. They have: segmentation data, content ideas, and sales intel — all from one reply. Chris Williamson is crowdsourcing his content calendar. Every response is a topic his audience literally asked for. Our whole thing at MODULR is newsletters. Every response tells us what you're reading, what you're ignoring, and what we should be reading. ——————————————————————————— ## **The Recap** Here's what separates the tiers: ---------- **Tier 1** **Tier 2** **Tier 3** **Deliverability** Yes Yes Yes **Relationship** No Yes Yes **Usable data** No Maybe Yes **Content ideas** No No Yes **Segmentation** No No Yes ----------——————————————————————————— ## **How Do You Write a Tier 3 Reply Prompt?** 1. ** Make it specific.** Not "tell me about yourself." Instead: "What's the one thing you're struggling with right now?" _Ask a single question and make it as low-friction as you can._ 2. **Make it useful to you.** Before you write the prompt, ask yourself: What would I do with the answers? If you can't use them to write better content, build better products, or close more deals — rewrite the prompt. 3. **Make it useful to your reader.** A good strategic ask gives them a reason to stop and think — and in doing so, tells them exactly what kind of conversation you're here to have. 4. **Don't make it compete.** Most newsletters bury the reply ask in a P.S. after three paragraphs of "here's what to expect." The ones that work give it room to breathe. Profit Ladder makes it the single CTA. Chris Williamson builds up to it. Harry Dry makes it step 2 of his confirmation email — before the welcome email even lands. ——————————————————————————— ## **The Bottom Line** Your welcome email is the highest-engagement email you'll ever send. Open rates are through the roof. Attention is at its peak. Your subscriber just told you they want to hear from you. So don't waste that moment on "reply 'thanks.'" Ask something worth answering. ——————————————————————————— Braden & Jon | [MODULR](https://www.gomodulr.coms://www.gomodulr.co) **This Should Have Been an Email** **_P.S. We have our last client spot open for February. If you need a welcome sequence or sales campaign that actually converts, hit reply._** ——— You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience, copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://read.gomodulr.com/p/dont-waste-your-best-moment-with-a-new-subscriber

## Here’s the scenario. You’re emailing your list about something happening tomorrow. Promoting a free masterclass. Opening a waitlist. They’re different offers, but have the same job: get readers to act in 24 hours. Two creators recently sent these exact emails, but with very different execution. Let’s take a look and see which lands and which flops. ### EMAIL A: Vinh Giang **Subject:** Tomorrow’s free masterclass [Read the full email (and score it yourself)](https://email.gomodulr.com/vinhgiangcom/tomorrows-free-masterclass) “Hey Maude, There are two versions of you. **Version 1:** The one in your head. Clear. Confident. Warm. **Version 2:** The one people actually hear. Unsure when you meant to be decisive. Cold when you were trying to be professional. Too soft when you needed to be firm. The gap between those two versions? That's the vocal archetype trap. You're not lacking confidence or clarity. You're stuck defaulting to one way of speaking, even when the situation is screaming for something different.“ — ### EMAIL B: Timehackers **Subject:** Tomorrow changes everything [Read the full email (and score it yourself)](https://email.gomodulr.com/timehackersxyz/tomorrow-changes-everything) “Hi Maude, You joined the Time Hackers waitlist because you're done. Done with being "too busy" to live the life you're building. Done watching other people take vacations while you're drowning in email. Done feeling like you're always behind, no matter how hard you work. Tomorrow at 12pm EST, I'm opening something for 72 hours only.“ — ## Our take **Vinh wins this one.** Both emails have urgency. Both have scarcity. Both paint a future state for the reader. But Vinh does something Timehackers doesn’t: he creates personal _tension and curiosity in the first 15 words_. _“There are two versions of you.” _Now that’s a hook. The framing is clear, and it opens a curiosity loop right from the first line. Timehackers opens with, _“You joined the Time Hackers waitlist because you're done.” _It’s not terrible, but it just tells me that I joined the waitlist (I already know that). Done with what? The reader has to work to find out. Most won’t. The real issue here is **architecture**. Timehackers actually has pretty strong, specific outcomes already in the email: * Closing your laptop at 3pm * Waking up Saturday knowing you're ahead * Vacation without inbox anxiety But they're buried after a weak hook, a repetitive "done" block, and a confusing offer explanation. By the time you hit the good stuff, you've lost momentum. Vinh front-loads the tension and takes you step-by-step to the payoff. ## THE FIX If we rewrote this Timehackers email, here’s what it would look like: “Maude, Last Tuesday you closed your laptop at 9pm. Again. What if in 30 days you were closing it at 3pm — with every task done? 847 other entrepreneurs have made this shift, with our help. Tomorrow at 12pm EST, I'm opening something just for you. **But only for 72 hours**. It's a waitlist-exclusive. All I can say right now is this will help you reclaim 10+ hours every week without working harder. Reply "IN" so I know to save your spot.“ — It’s super short. It shows real tension between 9pm vs. 3pm. And it prompts the reader to take an action today. ## What do you think? Which opener hooked you? A or B? **Reply with one letter.** **Next week**: two welcome emails. Can they build trust and sell at the same time? ——— You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience, copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://read.gomodulr.com/p/happening-tomorrow-who-wrote-it-better