In the early days of email marketing, getting subscribers to open your messages was easy. The average inbox received a fraction of the messages seen today, with far less email fatigue being felt. Inboxes are now more likely to be flooded with messages, resulting in many unopened emails and exasperated users. Email marketing, though, is still one of the most effective ways to promote products and services, offering a high ROI when used smartly. Therefore, focusing on getting subscribers to open messages is critical to success. Using the following techniques, it is possible to improve open rates, helping your messages and promotions to actually be read.
Personalise Subject Lines
If an email appears to have been tailored for a reader, they are far more likely to open it. Avoid using generic email subjects instead focusing on speaking to a reader. A common way to establish this personalisation is to collect names on your opt-in form. You can then use a first name within the title, following it up with a question, statement, or thought that spurs a reader into action. If the content of the email also feels like it was composed for a targeted audience, subsequent emails should receive high open rates.
Analyse the Message Frequency
There is plenty of debate between marketers about how frequently you should send emails. While some marketers like to email frequently, there is a risk of burning out the list and suffering low open rates. However, infrequent emailing can result in subscribers forgetting you and not prioritising your messages. Testing email frequency is the only way to know what your market prefers, but this is very user-friendly within most auto-responder services. In most cases, emailing once or twice a week will be acceptable, with more frequent emailing during a product promotion.
Add Numbers and Symbols
A quick technique that tends to produce positive results is to include eye-catching elements like numbers and symbols. The bulk of emails that typically enter the average inbox can often begin to resemble each other, particularly if you are signed up to many lists in the same market. Including numbers or symbols might seem fairly minor, but the subject line can stand out enough to convince anyone skimming the page to click through. Excessive use might become too noticeable, but on occasion you can benefit from this simple technique.
Use Segmentation
Adding each subscriber to the same list might be the easiest way to run your email account, but it isn’t the most effective method. To provide the best experience to subscribers, segmenting your lists helps you provide tailored content to each individual. Some examples of segmentation include starting a list of buyers, personalising content based on geographical location, and separating subscribers who haven’t opened an email recently. When subscribers receive messages that are more specific and appropriate to their place in your sales funnel, the chances of them opening the message increases.
Consider Mobile Users
A large proportion of your subscribers will be checking their emails via a mobile device. In order to provide the best experience, consider how a mobile phone user will receive your messages. In terms of open rates, the subject line will determine your results, so try to craft shorter sentences that feel punchier and direct. Long titles can be squeezed across multiple lines, potentially putting off readers from opening them. Always test your messages before sending them, ensuring they work well across multiple devices.
Even a small improvement in the percentage of subscribers opening messages can have a considerable impact on your earnings. These small improvements will affect all new subscribers that enter your funnel, so you get to benefit over the long term. Of course, the open rate is only one factor in the entire email marketing process, with focus also needed for lead generation, message content, and scheduling. However, open rates can severely damage a campaign, but can often be fixed with very little work. With an optimised email marketing funnel, you can proceed to automating the entire process and reap the rewards for your work.
