Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to reach your audience, but only if your emails are actually opened.
A recent study found that the average open rate for commercial emails is approximately 22 percent, which does indeed leave room for improvement.
Building an audience on social media platforms might seem more convenient than managing emails, however, this could mean missing out on opportunities for future engagement. Email marketing is an excellent tool to add to your retention strategy for your community.
Investing in a strong email marketing strategy is critical for a brand, which is why we want to share our top tips on how to boost your email open rates and get more subscribers to read your emails.
How To Increase Your Email Open Rate:
The email open rate is a key metric for email marketers. After all, if your emails aren't being opened, they can't be read or acted upon. Thankfully, there are a number of strategies you can use to increase your email open rates.
Here are the top 5 tips to increase your email open rate:
Use an attention-grabbing subject line:
The subject line is the first thing your recipients will see, so make sure it's eye-catching and relevant to your email's content.
The best email subject lines are clear, concise, and offer a glimpse of what the email contains.
They should also be relevant to the recipient, as well as the content of the email. This helps ensure that your subject line grabs attention and encourages recipients to open the email.
Additionally, using humor or personalization can help to make your email stand out from the rest and showcase your brand’s personality.
Lastly, avoid using all caps or excessive punctuation, as this can come across as spammy and may actually get your message filtered. The last thing you want is your email to get flagged as spam and thrown into the promotions folder.
Pro tip >> Use a tool to help you generate strong subject lines. We love this blog post sharing a list of 10 tools to do so!
Keep your email short and sweet:
It can be tempting to want to include everything in an email, but shorter is almost always better.
Keep your email message focused and on point, and you'll be more likely to engage your reader. No one wants to read a lengthy email.
A good rule of thumb is to keep your email under 200 words. This may seem like a daunting task at first, but it's actually not that difficult once you get used to it.
Use bullet points to highlight those key messages you're trying to impart as well as play with font weights (not excessively) to prioritize the action you would like your reader to take.
Pro tip >> Have someone on your team re-read the email before it goes out as a way to check for redundancies and/or unnecessary information.
Personalize your email:
One key to email marketing success is making the email feel personal. Recipients are more likely to open an email that feels like it's been specifically tailored for them.
By tailoring the email, you increase the likelihood that they will engage with the message.
There are a few ways to do this. First, you can segment your email list to only send relevant messages to each group. This ensures that your audience is getting information that is interesting to them.
You can also use personalization tokens, which insert the recipient's name into the email. This helps to create a feeling of kinship between you and the reader.
Pro tip >> Use the functionality of personalization tokens to input the first name in the subject line or body of the email.
Finally, you can use data from previous interactions to customize the email content. For example, if someone didn't click on a link in a previous email, you could send them different content in the next email.
Another example of personalization is creating drip campaigns, where you engage your readers based on where they are in the buyer's journey.
Email drip campaigns involve sending a limited number of emails to your audience on an automated basis, based on specific actions they take or changes in their status.
When you take the time to personalize your email, you end up being rewarded with higher engagement rates and more loyal readers.
Use images sparingly:
Too many images can make an email feel cluttered and overwhelming, which can turn recipients off. It can also potentially be flagged as spam if there are too many images.
In general, it's best to limit emails to a handful of images. Stick to a few high-quality, images edited for email so they open quickly, to support your email's content.
Think carefully about which images will best convey your message and pack the biggest punch. When in doubt, less is usually more. Keep your email focused and easy to scan by using imagery sparingly. Your recipients will thank you for it!
Pro tip >> Use imagery that matches what you’re talking about in your email and shows human faces as much as possible.
Use engaging calls to action:
When it comes to email marketing, one of the most important elements is the call to action.
Your email should always include a well-written call to action that encourages recipients to take the desired action, whether it's clicking through to a website, downloading a white paper, or making a purchase.
If you’re delivering value in your content and your emails, you have every right to make an ask of the audience! Don’t shy away from being direct and spelling out exactly what you’d like them to do.
However, not all calls to action are created equal. There are a few key things to keep in mind when crafting an effective call to action.
First, make sure it's clear what you want the recipient to do. The strongest calls to action are clear and concise, with a strong sense of urgency. For example, "Don't miss out! Act now!"
Be brief and to the point, and let the reader know what they will get by taking the desired action. Second, use persuasive language that will motivate them to take action. The content must be engaging and relevant to drive them to act.
Finally, use a contrasting color or design element to make the call to action stand out from the rest of the email.
Pro tip >> Try testing out different phrasing for your calls to action, AND different colored buttons, in your emails to see which drives the highest click-through rates!
Putting It All Together:
Email is still an important part of online marketing, and email open rates are a key metric to measure the success of your email marketing campaigns.
While social media platforms come and go, email is a tried-and-true way to reach your customers.
By taking the time to use attention-grabbing subject lines, being brief, personalizing the email, using images sparingly, and using compelling calls to action, you will start to see a slow and steady increase in your email open rates!
What tip would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments below!
Oh, and if you need help putting together an email marketing campaign that drives results, contact our team today. We’d be happy to chat with you about your specific needs and see how we can help!
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