We have been working more and more with designing email newsletters for clients. Every time we do a new campaign for one of them, I’m striving to help them reach the full potential of their email lists and the one question I often hear is: “How can I improve my open rate?” As I have noticed many of them achieving excellent open rates that are beating industry standards, I figure it couldn’t hurt to use the content I send as an email to our clients to help those just looking for tips.
There are a number of ways to measure the success of email marketing. The fact that it is so measurable in so many different ways is one of the greatest strengths of using this medium. But because blog posts can get long-winded, we’ll stick with the open rates.
Email marketing has the power to help you sell products and services but you can’t get any results if your emails aren’t read, and your emails can’t be read if they aren’t opened. Ergo, your open rate is incredibly important. It’s the first step in the journey to email marketing success. If people don’t even open your emails, you’ll never accomplish your goal, whether that goal is to stimulate a conversation, to educate, to create brand awareness, to promote, or to invite.
First, what is an open rate and how is it calculated? An open rate is intended to show the percentage of individuals who actually opened your email and looked at it. Many things can affect your open rate, things you may not be able to control, such as:
- The source of your list.
Purchased lists tend to have lower open rates than a list of your clients, customers, vendors, etc. Make sure to clean your list of any bounced emails or unreachable accounts to keep things fresh.
- Your audience.
Whether you have a campaign for business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C), open rates can vary between them and various industries.
- Your email format.
As a rule, email delivery systems can only track open rates on HTML emails. People who get your email in plain-text format will not be counted in your open rate, but may, in fact, have opened your email.
- The email platform used by your readers.
When your email is viewed in the preview pane of a platform like Microsoft Outlook or Entourage, it will be counted as an open. If your readers use a Web-based email reader like Hotmail or Gmail, they usually have to click on the ‘from’ field or subject line to open the email. This is counted as an open.
So back to the question: How can I improve my open rate? There are things you do have control over that can help you increase your open rate:
- Use a recognizable “From” name.
Make sure you use a “From” name and address that includes your name, company, product, or service name – whichever the recipient will know best. When you repeatedly brand the “From” line like this over time, you assure the recipient that the email is coming from a reliable and trusted source and builds familiarity and credibility. It may be the only name they see in their inbox, so don’t send your newsletter from sales@mycompany.com. The funniest address I ever got was an institution – that will remain anonymous – from nobody@______.com. I was quick to unsubscribe because it didn’t feel personable to me.
- Grab them with the “Subject” line.
Make sure the subject is short and to the point, no more than 5-8 words, and state a clear benefit to opening the email. Make sure the subject line does not look like spam. You do not want to use any unnecessary punctuation, all capitals, or have your email come across as a trick or gimmick. Remember, the first thing the recipient is going to see is who it is from and the subject line.Personally, I received a plethora of marketing emails one afternoon. I was overwhelmed and decided to delete most and open a couple, the main factor that determined which ones I opened were that of the subject line caught me as relevant to me. But that leads me into my next point.
- Consider your delivery day and time.
Constant Contact is one of the services we use and they offer some insight into this:
Tuesday through Thursday were considered to be the best performing days. Recent surveys indicate Monday may be the new favorite. Because the volume of email sent is highest between 10am and 2pm, your emails may have a greater chance of being seen from 8am – 10am or 4pm – 6pm.
Most importantly, know your readers and adjust your subject line to them. In most industry standards, men prefer subject lines that communicate news or compelling information, while women prefer discount offers, but before you go with my word on this, leverage market research to fine-tune your subject line. Email is an ongoing conversation, be sure to incorporate ways your recipient can keep the conversation evolving.
I hope these little tidbits help as you reach the marketing effectiveness of your email campaigns.
