When you run an email marketing campaign, there are several metrics that can track its success. While the click-through rate is an important measure, your customers can’t click a link in an email they haven’t opened! When it comes to email marketing, the open rate is the most important metric. So even if you want to improve your click-through rate, you should start by increasing your email open rate.
But how can you make sure that people open your carefully crafted emails? Read on for our 7-step guide to increasing your email open rate.
- Start with a great email list
It is important you stay ahead of the game and create a strategic marketing plan for your next email campaign. While it can be tempting to purchase email lists, especially when your business is just starting out, open rates for emails sent to lists like these are very low. You can build an organic email list by running competitions or special offers that require an email address. That way, you will capture the emails of people who are interested in what you have to offer. You can also improve your delivery rates by correcting obvious spelling or typing errors in the email addresses, such as ‘@outlok.com’.
- Segment your email list
Once you have built your email list, consider segmenting your list to send highly focused email content that is more likely to be relevant to the recipient. You can segment your list in lots of different ways, such as by industry or by purchase. Exactly how you segment your list will depend on your business, but by grouping similar recipients together, you will be able to send emails tailored to their needs or interests.
- Optimise your emails for mobile
In 2020, 81% of emails were opened on a mobile device. But a recent study found that only 20% of email campaigns are optimised for mobile, and 80% of emails that don’t read well on mobile devices are deleted immediately. That means that out of every 100 emails, 64 go straight into the trash! Don’t throw your carefully crafted emails away by overlooking mobile optimisation.
- Send your emails from a real person
Emails that come from a person rather than a generic company address are much more likely to get opened. In fact, 45% of subscribers decide to read an email based on who it’s from, and sending emails from a specific person can increase open rates by 35%! It’s a small change that can make a big difference to your email marketing open rates.
- Write a killer subject line
Another key reason people open emails is the subject line. There is a huge amount of research on which words perform best and which could get your email sent straight to the spam folder! The length of your subject line matters, with the ideal length to avoid cut-off being 6-10 words. With 33% of recipients deciding whether to open an email based on the subject line, it’s worth taking the time to get it right! Learn more about why great copywriting is important here.
- Personalise your emails
Emails that are personal and feel as if they are from a real person perform better. This goes beyond including the recipient’s name in the subject line, ensuring that the email’s whole body text sounds like it was written to the recipient personally. This creates emails that are more familiar and engaging to the reader, and they are more likely to open your emails in future.
- Consider the best time to send
If an email is not opened within 24 hours, the likelihood it will be opened at all drops to 1%. So clearly, with email marketing, timing is everything! Many companies have studied the best day and time to send an email to maximise its chances of being opened, but results are mixed and can change rapidly. Ultimately, you may find it most effective to conduct your own testing or research trends within your industry.
If you are looking at your open rates and still not sure where to start, it might be time to seek some advice from online marketing specialists. Chilli is your local digital marketing agency on the Sunshine Coast and can help maximise your open rates. Want to learn more about email marketing? Check out our blog post for a complete guide to successful email marketing.