The danger of blanket declarations is believing them to be true.
Nobody opens email anymore.
Direct mail is dead.
But here's what I would stake my success on, rather than trying to figure out how to make a blanket message work:
The great Gary Halbert used to start his direct mail workshops by having everyone hand address two plain white envelopes with a single stamp to their mother at her home address.
Then he asked them to write a paragraph:
"Dear Mom,
I'm writing to let you know how much I love and appreciate you. The lessons you taught me have stuck with me through my life. Your love means the world to me, and I can't wait to give you the biggest hug when I see you.
I love you, Your son"
Then he instructed them to put the letter in one of the envelopes and seal it.
On the second page he had them write:
"Dear Mom,
I'm writing to let you know I have finally had enough. You have been nothing but a negative influence on my life, and I am officially cutting you off. Every bad thing in my life traces directly back to you. I'm changing my number…so don't bother trying to reach me.
Robert
PS - Dad sucks too."
Then he instructed them to seal that letter in the second envelope…so he could collect them and select one of the envelopes to drop in the mailbox at the next break.
Can you imagine?
How many people do you think sealed the second envelope?
What difference would it make since "nobody opens their mail"?
The only blanket truth is nobody reads an email you don't send.
The truth is…people open email.
They open letters.
They look at billboards.
In fact, I saw a billboard that was obscured by trees until I was right up on it. The message said:
"Billboards work! (even behind trees)."
Can't argue with that.
The only blanket truth is nobody reads an email you don't send.
Write for the people who do.
That's the winning move.