Conducting an email campaign without securing a decent open rate is equivalent to flogging a dead horse. The overall average email open rate across all industries is currently 32%. However, it would be better if the new-age marketers could push their limits and expand the margin by an additional 8%. Reportedly, 15% of marketers are of the opinion that their company does not review and keep track of the email open rates on a regular basis.
As the stat seems to be alarming, the digital marketers across the globe must leverage the maximum potential of emails to ensure a whopping 40% email open rate this year.
Here’s How To Increase Your Email Open Rate:
Step 1: Personalise Your Email
First things first, you should consider adding a personalised tone to your email, so that the receiver feels an urge to read through the entire subject. According to reports, only 5% of companies personalise their emails.
Actionable Points:
- Consider the aspect of location and time. A client might prefer receiving an email at 8:00 am, and at times they might respond better to an email received at 4:00 pm.
- Use behavior-triggered emails to gauge real-time reactions of your consumers.
- Refrain from sounding too formal. Drop an email with a “Hi Karen, how’s life?” to initiate light-hearted conversations at times.
Step 2: Consider Email Authentication
According to reports, 76% of inboxes across the globe now enforce email authentication. By harnessing the potential of email authentication, you can maximise the chances of getting into your consumer’s inbox. Authentication verifies and confirms your existence, thus, allowing the company to establish trust value, leading to an enhanced email open rate.
Actionable Points:
- Create and organise a roadmap of all the IP addresses.
- Recognise and utilise the benefits of SPF and DKIM. SPF allows the sender to define which IP addresses are used or allowed to send email for a particular domain. While, DKIM provides digital signature and an encryption key for the final verification.
Step 3: Focus on coming up with the perfect Subject Line
It goes without saying that subject lines can either make or break your email. According to a survey, 33% of the respondents decided whether to open an email based on its subject line.
Actionable Points:
- Pique your client’s curiosity, merge it with the benefits your products or services would ensure to create a subject line.
- The idea is to keep email subject lines short, and get straight to the main point.
- Refrain from promising anything in the subject line your company can’t deliver.
Step 4: How about using Emojis?
In a test and trial method, Mailchimp has sent across 1.4 million emojis, directly to the readers’ inboxes. And Experian tested the use of emojis in email and experienced a boost in Email open rates by 45%. This is a clear indication of the fact that the use of emojis is selling like hotdogs across the globe.
Actionable Points:
- Use emojis that substitute words. For example, you can insert the “heart” sign in between “We” and “You” to express “We love you”.
- Study the right opportunities and consider using emojis sparingly; do not exaggerate.
- Check compatibility prior to using an emoji. Not all emoticons are visible to clients across various email platforms.
Step 5: Check and manage your email list
It is said that checking and managing your email list improves open rates effectively. Making it a habit to send across emails to inactive subscribers won’t add up the effort. So, it is important for you to manage a list of active subscribers and email addresses for satisfactory click through rates.
Actionable Points:
- Make sure to include a checkbox in your email for your readers to opt in.
- Ask all prospective email subscribers to confirm their addresses before adding them to the list.
Step 6: Keep reminding your subscribers of their worth
Everyone loves to feel special, so are your subscribers. How about appreciating your subscribers from time to time?
Actionable Points:
- Acknowledge your subscribers or customers for signing up. Send across a “Thank you” mail.
- If you are holding an event, send an email right away to thank your consumers for participating.
- Generate coupons and occasional rebates on products and service. Merge the message with a “Thank you” mail that celebrates “1 million subscribers” “86% client-retention rate” and the likes.
Step 7: Focus on coming up with quality content
It is said that content marketing rakes in conversion rates 6 times higher than other techniques. Reason? People love to read and appreciate quality content in today’s world. And when it comes to ensuring the maximum email open rates, you cannot afford to get away with weak content. Here’s what you need to do.
Actionable Points:
- Do not focus on the promotional aspect solely.
- Leave something for the readers to take home.
- Make sure that the subject line and the body content of the email are in sync with each other.
Step 8: Eliminate all misspelt email address from your list
Imagine sending across bulk emails on a regular basis to misspelled addresses. This will only leave you with a poor conversion rate down the road.
Actionable Points:
- Check your subscriber list and look for misspelt words in the address book.
- Ask your subscribers to reconfirm their email addresses, in case you find something like [email protected] or [email protected] and the likes.
Step 9: Prioritise subscribers’ preference while composing an email
There are subscribers who are happy to hear from you every week, and there are others who might prefer receiving monthly notifications. So, you need to compose and send across all emails in accordance with their preferences.
Actionable Points:
- Allow all prospective subscribers to sign-up with newsletters and choose from monthly, weekly and daily notification options.
Step 10: Invest in your newest subscribers
It is said that the newest subscribers are most likely to open emails and read through the entire piece without discarding the content. According to a statistical study, 75% of email revenue is generated by triggered campaigns. Thus, it would be a good idea to create emails that would trigger new clients by roping them in.
Actionable Points:
- Send across a series of welcome emails to the users, right after they subscribe.
- Add up guarantees, assurances and similar aspects in your email for the coveted open rates.
Step 11: Master the art of weaving a story
If you are looking for ways to breathe life into your brand, storytelling is one technique that would ensure the coveted ROI.
Actionable Points:
- Conclude your email newsletter with a promise to introduce something more interesting in the next issue.
- Try and relate real-life instances, and basic human instincts to craft an email that binds the entire content in the form of a story.
Step 12: Send emails for the second time
After your newsletter goes out, spend some time in following up the campaign. If you find there are multiple recipients who haven’t open the mail, send it to them once more.
Actionable Points:
- Tweak the subject line this time and come up with the same message in an interesting way.
- Verify and confirm the fact whether you’re resending the mail to someone who has already received it earlier.
Step 13: Maintain a consistent design
Remember, your email design and its consistency are directly associated with the aspect of determining brand trust and loyalty. Your target audience opens the email because they find it trusted and familiar.
Actionable Points:
- Use HTML text/font format while composing a mail.
- Keep all CTAs short, crisp and intriguing.
- Keep everything within 600px wide.
Step 14: Follow up with the unsubscribes as well
There’s no harm of acquiring negative feedback and prioritising them to improve your email content or the services offered. Here’s what you need to do.
Actionable Points:
- When a subscriber leaves, send across a personal email, requesting him/her to list out the reasons behind it.
- Find out whether you email too often or in case the content has burnt out or became irrelevant.
Step 15: Spamming is a Big No-No
If you focus on ensuring the maximum email open rates, then holding on to the practice of using spam filters won’t work in the longer run. There are certain conventions the email marketers must follow to keep things ethical.
Actionable Points:
- Avoid using words and phrases like “Extra Income Opportunity”, “Clearance Sale”, or “Click to Claim Your Prize” in the email subject line.
- Turn off caps locks while typing an email and refrain from using exclamation marks.
Step 16: Make sure the email opens on a mobile device
Did you know about three in five consumers check their mails on the go and 75% of them use Smartphone devices to check mails? This pretty much justifies why emails in today’s world should open on mobile devices.
Actionable Points:
- Use responsive designs that would automatically work on a mobile device seamlessly.
- Use a single-column template and make sure all small images in the email get displayed on the mobile screen.
Step 17: Do not develop email fatigue under any circumstances
You should be able to maintain a fine balance between emailing too often and developing email fatigues. If not too often, you should consider sending across emails at regular intervals.
Actionable Points:
- Figure out if your subscribers would like to receive fewer emails, and act accordingly.
- Keep an eye on the latest industry trends and never miss out on talking about the same, at least for once in a week.
Step 18: Categorize your subscribers prior to sending an email
The email should be relevant to the users. For example, if a subscriber is on the lookout for the best platforms offering online assignment help, sending him/her an email talks about lifestyle and health won’t work.
Actionable Points:
- Segment your email list by demographics, consumer behaviour and interests.
Step 19: Wrap up the email with a professional closing
It would be wrong on so many levels to treat email closure as an afterthought. The perfect closing would not only motivate the reader, but it would also help you identify the recipient for future reference.
Actionable Points:
- The closing should be genuine and realistic. It should justify the subject line and body content.
- Last but not the least; check and rectify all typos and grammatical errors to avoid being unprofessional or sloppy to your readers.
Now that you know how it works and the conventions one must follow in order to create and send emails, consider these best practices and implement them for a satisfactory Return on Investment.
Good luck!
Author Bio.: This article is contributed by Ravi Kumar, working as a digital marketer & head editor. They loves to create business and enjoy building products that level the playing field for small business owners to better compete with the big guys.
