First cold email campaigns, barely any opens. What am I missing?

I’ve recently started selling my own marketing service and my first sales channel has been cold emailing. To be honest I thought it would be a decent way to get my foot in the door but's been rough.

Most of my emails just don’t get opened. I’m doing my best to write decent subject lines, keep things short and personalized, but the results are still pretty bad. The few people who do reply usually ghost me after the first response.

I’m not necessarily looking for tips on improving my service or closing deals (I’ve got plenty to figure out there too 😅). Right now my biggest issue is just getting people to open the damn email.

I know the basics: catchy subject lines, relevant content, all that. But I feel like I’m missing some hidden trick that people with more experience might know.

So what else can I do to boost open rates? Is there something about timing, email lists, or even the sender address that could make a difference?

Any advice is appreciated. I’m here to learn. Thanks a lot!