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A good first message is something specific from their profile, plus something of your own, in two sentences. 'Hey' fails because it transfers all the work to the other person.
The goal is not to impress. It is to make replying easy and a little bit interesting, so that answering you takes less effort than ignoring you.
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One: a specific reference. Not 'nice photos' - something only their profile could have prompted, like the trail in their third photo or the answer they gave to a prompt.
Two: your own contribution. A related detail about you, so they are not being interviewed and have something to grab.
That is it. Longer is not better; it reads as effort spent on someone you do not know yet.
If their profile says they are training for a half marathon: 'Half marathon training in this heat is real commitment. I did my first one last spring and still think about the hill near the end - which race are you aiming at?' It references them, adds you, and ends with an easy question.
If a prompt says their ideal Sunday is a farmers market and a long breakfast: 'The long breakfast is the right call. I am firmly a savory person - are you pancakes or eggs?' Light, specific, and answerable in one line.
If there is almost nothing to go on, use the photo setting. 'Is that the coast in your second photo? It looks like somewhere I have been meaning to go' gives them a reason to talk about something they chose to show.
Compliments about appearance. They are extremely common, they are indistinguishable from every other one received that day, and in many cases they land badly.
Negging, jokes at their expense, and anything that requires them to be a good sport in the first exchange. A first message has no shared history to soften a tease, so it reads as a jab.
Copy-paste openers. People can tell, mostly because the reference does not quite fit.
A list of questions. Three in a row feels like a form, and it is harder to answer than one.
Give it a few days before reading anything into silence. People open apps irregularly, and a match can sit for a while before they see it. One gentle follow-up is fine; more than that tends to push people away.
If most of your openers go unanswered, check two things: whether your messages actually reference their profile, and whether your own profile gives them a reason to reply. A good opener cannot fully rescue weak photos, so look at both.