Email Marketing Open Rate
What is an open rate?
Open rate is a measure of how many people on an email list open (or view) a particular email campaign. The open rate is normally expressed as a percentage, and we calculate it as follows: So a 20% open rate would mean that of every 10 emails delivered to the inbox, 2 were actually opened. According to SmartInsights in 2015 the average email list open rate is 22.9%
In this post I will give you 7 tips that will help you increase your open rate.
1. Write a catchy headline
It is the first thing your subscriber will read see when you send out a email, and although there are other factors that influence the open rate, the subject of the email is one of the most important.
The subject of the email should be direct, clear and preferably short. You must intrigue the reader.
For instance:
• Tips to increase your site traffic, inside
• Don’t make these marketing mistakes
• How you can grow your Instagram account now
Another useful tip when writing catchy headlines is to use numbers or percentages, this will increase the curiosity of the subscriber.
2. Test different times to send email
Have you tried sending an email at different times or on different days? When starting to build your email list you should be sending out the same emails at different time. It is known as A / B testing. Sending the same email at different times will give you data which you can analyze and figure out what time gives you the best chance to get your email seen. You can do the same thing to try and figure out what days work best to have your emails seen.
Email marketing is all trial and error.
3. Segment your subscribers
What is Segmentation?
Segmentation means separating your list into groups. I separate my subscribers based on Interest (SEO, Social Media, Niche Marketing, Affiliate Marketing) and if they have previous purchases or have never brought. The reason you want to segment your list is to avoid sending emails that your subscriber is not interested in. If the emails they receive are tailored to their needs, they’ll be much more likely to buy from you.
4. Clean your List out (Quality vs Quantity)
The number one reason you should be cleaning out your list is because it will eventually cost you money. Most email autoresponder charge by the number of subscribers on your list. It doesn’t make sense to pay for subscribers who are not engaging with your emails. To avoid having a list of subscribers who are not interested in your emails, every 5-6 months you should go through your subscriber list and search for anyone who has not opened any of your emails in a while. When you have them located, you can ask them if they want to stay on your list or if they prefer to unsubscribe.
5. Customize the sender name
You should always add your name as the sender. It makes it feel more intimate and welcoming. You should also personalize the e-mail. You should never send out emails to your subscribers from @aol, @yahoo or @gmail account
For instance:
• info@BrianManon.com
• Brian@BrianManon.com
6. Frequency of your emails
There really isn’t a correct answer to the question “How often you should email your subscribers” it all depend on the type of business you are in and your own personal decision. What I do with my list is once you join I will email you very useful content and tips for the first 7 days then after those seven days are over I will email you about once or twice a week. This is what I have found works for me.
7. Personalize the subject line
If your autoresponder allows it, you should always use the subscribers name in the subject line. Makes the email feel more personal
For instance:
• John, this is why you should be building a email list
• Mary, here are some amazing Inbound Marketing tools
If you have any other tips you use to increase your open rate share it in the comments below.
Interesting tips for getting an email list going. Thanks for sharing, I’ll definitely keep this saved as a reminder. 🙂
I have just committed to working on my newsletter more for 2016 and I think the groups would be a good idea for me.
This is really helpful! Thanks for posting! I am just in the early stages of creating my email strategy so this is very timely!
Great info! I’m doing SM for a company now, and this helps.
This is probably what I have the hardest time with. I love blogging but turning that into subscribers is hard for me and when I do get subscribers I don’t really know what to do with them, so this is a big help. Thank you for sharing it!
Nancy // extranancy.com
Email marketing is my biggest problem, it is so hard to get a list going! Thanks for the tips 🙂
Email marketing is relevant only for sites selling goods or services. Or it makes sense to pay attention to the usual blogger?
Great tips! I myself am a style blogger who needs help in this area. I really want to grow my e-mail list. I’ll be sticking around and looking into more of your materials. Thanks!
Nina
aworldofdresses.com
Great tips! Thanks you for sharing, this ‘new blogger’ appreciates the info!
This is on my to-do list for my blog! Thanks for sharing these tips!
Thanks for the tips. I really need to work on building an email list and engaging with my readers.
This is quite interesting. A few of these tips are good for regular blogging as well as sales.
This is a really great guide. I haven’t done any email marketing yet because, frankly I don’t have anything to email. But if I ever do, this is a wonderful list to use. I’m going to bookmark for future reference.
Thanks for sharing the free guide. I will definitely use these tips!
A lot of people underestimate the power of email marketing. It’s definitely something that we should include in our priority, especially when you’re handling an online business or a blog. Thanks for the awesome tips!
Interesting tips .The frequency of email you mentioned have to be checked with my list.
I hear a lot about how powerful email is… my subscription is run automatically by blogger, and while I love it, I don’t really see a lot of power to tweak or personalize it. It runs what I post on the blog and as far as I can tell, that’s it.
Great tips. I pinned to my Blogging 101 board.
I’ve heard about this before. Great tips! This is very helpful and will def use your tips 🙂
I really need to work harder on growing my email list and open rate!
thanks for sharing such awesome tips. i really need to work on growing my list.
These are some great tips! My husband just recently started an email list for his business and was just talking about how not enough people who are subscribed are actually opening his emails — and they’re important updates they need for something they purchased! Personalizing the subject line is so important to catch someone’s attention!
Yesss. This is such an awesome guide! Very complete!
This is where I fail, I am not so savvy with email marketing but clearly the results are there so I need to start somewhere.
These are great tips. I actually do not utilize an email list. I know I should! I just have a hard time dedicating the time to doing it and keeping up with it.
Helpful tips. When I start sending out emails like this, I’ll make sure to use this.