Bounce Jargon To Zero
Plaudits to the PR team of email list cleansers, ZeroBounce, who got these stats onto the Daily Mail. "After combing through over one million real emails". Presumably as opposed to bot, AI or default setting mass ones.
Beyond recognising the (14, as 3 are the same 'well' flannel, as are the pair of 'Happy ___day' - not to mention others almost synonymous - which should've been noted, so points deducted there) offenders, I was intrigued by their suggested alternatives. In part as they're not quite all decent steers.
Although thankfully, there are a couple of crackers.
Their general advice is also worth heeding; "... clarity is what moves the needle. Cleaner, clearer writing gets faster replies."
Simple sounding, yet fiendishly difficult.
As per their press release, I myself remember when first successful opening (actual typed letters, in those days) with variants in the 'hope you're well' sentence. Then a new manager of mine grunted one day; "you shouldn't start with that". When I asked what he'd do instead, he spluttered incomprehensibles and downright failed to say. Poor management indeed. Partly the reason why that, thirty years back, was practically my last ever such 'boss'. Still, I asked around. Pretty much all my sales colleagues did the same. Which got me resolving to be different.
There were a few avenues I used immediately after. Overt referencing of what they'd been working on. Ignoring the formal 'intro' spiel entirely for a statement of 'purpose', sometimes adapting the then direct mail opening line trick of re-detailing the 'problem'. And one that remains a staple today in the mould of, 'been thinking a lot about your plans...'
In short, your sales mails must be shorn of all those fourteen listed.
Homing in at all times on the core issue. For instance, 'what are your thoughts on this proposal' is too woolly. Depending on context, getting specific on 'thoughts' being the path.
To finish, there's also a two-word sign-off, a kind of CTA in the DM jargon perhaps, that I realise I tend to use when in 'general' mode;
"Worth exploring?"