Ryan Dohrn shares his Rule of 3 for cold emails: a three-word subject line and three sentences covering social proof, your value, and a clear ask. He says this format boosts reply rates and leaves room for deeper conversation later.
Questions this video answers
Use the Rule of 3: a three‑word subject line and a three‑sentence email. Sentence 1 provides social proof (e.g., other customers), sentence 2 states the value you’ll bring, and sentence 3 is a clear ask (calendar link or meeting request). This concise format leverages the natural appeal of three and increases reply rates while still leaving room for deeper conversation later.
Chapters
What's going on, friends and fans? Ryan Dohrn answering your listener questions sent in to ryan@ryandohrn.com. We get a couple hundred a month, so we'll do our best to get through them. If you email me, I promise we'll email back. All right, next question comes from Wanda in New Mexico. Ryan, I love your 3-sentence format. I just feel like I have a lot more to say. Because I only have one chance to make a first impression, how do I make all of these sentences count? Wanda from Las Vegas, New Mexico. So, Wanda, I've been to Las Vegas, New Mexico. It's different than Las Vegas, Nevada, people. Las Vegas, New Mexico is quite a pretty place. All right, Wanda, the reason that I chose 3 sentences in every email and 3 words in every subject line is it follows the rule of 3. Almost everything in nature happens in groupings of 3. H2O. It takes 3 things to start a fire: a spark, some type of material, and oxygen. 3 Musketeers, 3 Little Pigs, 3 Blind Mice, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, you name it. Everything— H2O. Everything. Everything revolves around the power of 3. So I get up at, you know, 6:03 in the morning, just as an example. Now, it could be a superstition, it could be a conspiracy theory or whatever, but I have just found that it works very, very well for me. So never forget, you've got plenty of time to sell somebody. Now, Wanda, I know that your grandmother or your mom probably taught you have one chance, Wanda, to make a first impression, and that's not necessarily inaccurate. So if you're going to make a first impression, follow the rule of 3 words in the subject line, 3 sentences. And what you'll find is you're going to increase your replies. Now remember, in those 3 sentences, first sentence should be showing other customers social proof, talking about that. Second sentence would be your value that you're going to bring to the occasion. And the third sentence would be your ask, like providing your calendar link or asking them for a time to meet. So Wanda, I wouldn't be too afraid that you have more to share. You'll have plenty of time to share those things. I have just found with my clients the rule of— and myself, the rule of 3 and 3. definitely works. So Wanda from beautiful Las Vegas, New Mexico, best of luck to you out there. And just never forget, if sales was easy, everybody'd be doing it. And they're not, friends. We're not crazy. This is a career that'll feed your family for a lifetime. Hey friends, love to come to your sales conference, come to your office to motivate your team. Reach out to me over at ryandohrn.com. D-O-H-R-N. All right, see you next week.
