Are your subscribers opening your emails?
Take a look at your open rates. If your emails aren’t being opened, they aren’t being read, of course. So you can see why that piece of your email puzzle is a corner piece. And needs to be in place.
As we approach this subject, think about your own habits. Why do you open some emails and ignore others? As you take a look at the following ideas. See if these apply to you. Why or why not?
There are two major things to look at when you have low open rates. Your subject lines and the time your emails are being sent.
And following you will find a few more as well. Whatever it may be, it is important to figure it out and improve so that your email campaigns will be successful.
Here are six easy ways to help improve your email open-rates:
*Let Your Subject Line Be A Question
Intrigue your audience with an interesting question. Spike the curiosity, but be sure it is relevant to your overall goal and message as a business. Then have your email follow up with answers or suggestions which address the question.
This is one way of making your readers feel involved.
*Use Short, but Detailed, Subject Lines
Your subject line, like a title, is the first thing your subscribers get to see. So, make it count. Spend time crafting one that makes them want to click on it and discover what’s next.
When crafting your subject lines, there are certain words and phrases which provoke interest more than others. These are often called Power Words or Words that Sell. They arouse interest and make people want to take action.
Interestingly enough, some of these words are negative. Like the word “mistakes.” (People often want to avoid mistakes). You can find a list of useful words at Sumo.com
The art of using thought provoking words is an art you’ll want to pursue. You can learn from others and apply new ideas for your subject lines.
Discover Optimum Delivery and Frequency Time
Even if you have great emails and great subject lines, sending them at the wrong time can be a problem. Sending poorly timed emails can destroy your open rates. In addition, email boxes can get crowded, and people fail to see their emails.
Remember, people don’t usually hang out at their email box like they do on social media. Often your subscribers will check their email once, twice, or a few times a day.
It’s not likely for them to scroll through for hours, especially if they just receive hundreds of emails.
So for better effectiveness, find the time your audience is active by testing different times throughout the day for the email campaign you create. Be sure to set a short deadline to track your results to compare which time is best to get your emails synced to their schedule.
Be Conversational and Personable
Write all your content, including emails, as if you are talking to a friend. Yet use a branded tone and style that your audience understands and knows is you. A message that is coming from another human or friend is more likely to get attention and results.
Provide Value Every time
Even if you are doing a sales pitch, always find an opportunity to provide value.
You can always start your emails with something of interest. Some instruction or even some humor. One of the most successful email marketers I know always starts by something interesting that is happening in her life – or around her community. You begin to feel like you know her. Then when she asks for the sale, you trust her.
It’s a terrific way of establishing rapport with your subscribers.
Remember: if you are the only one who gets any value from the email, your success will be short-lived.
Review and Refresh Your List
Be sure the email lists you have are new and updated. Old email lists are likely to have poor open rates.
Maybe people change email accounts or interests over time.Thus, no matter how hard you try, some of your lists will go stale, and it will be up to you to get them off your list. (This is called list hygiene)
List hygiene ensures that you get a better understanding of your real open rate.
Now I know at least one marketer who never takes anyone off her list. She is sure that sometimes people will lose interest for awhile – and then suddenly regain their interest. Over time, these people have been some of her best customers.
So you can see that there are different ways of looking at this hygiene issue. You can decide for yourself. Just know that your open rates will be lower if you always keep everyone – even when they are inactive.
There you have it. Six tips for improving your email open rates. As you approach each idea and put these into practice, you will see better metrics.
More people will read your emails – and more people will buy your products.
