The Top 8 Ways To Increase Your Email Open Rates

One of the top mistakes that business owners make concerns their email marketing. You may have a great newsletter or product offer created by your content marketing service, but if those emails are never opened, all your hard work will go down the drain. How, you may ask, are you supposed to get people to open their emails? The truth is that there are several different ways to intrigue customers and encourage them to click. Here are the top eight ways we’ve found to boost your open rate and increase your sales.

1. Focus on Your Subject Line

The first (and often only) part of your email that a reader will see is the subject line. Whatever is on that line will mean the difference between a reader opening the email or tossing it into the trash, so it had better be good. Think of it as a pick-up line. Too boring and you’ll get ignored. Too enthusiastic and you’ll be shunned. Too forward and you’ll be avoided. There’s a fine balance of excitement, encouragement and intrigue that will draw the customers to you like flies to honey, but you’ve got to figure out exactly what that formula is. Here are a few things you might try:

• Insert an emoji or two that complements what you’re saying
• Include the customer’s first name
• Use numerals
• Use personal pronouns, like “your”
• Customize to what the customer already purchased

Here is an example of some great emoji work:

Remember, keep things simple. Customers will likely only look at your subject line for one second, so make sure it pops quickly and can capture their attention.

2. Make Your Emails Awesome

Sending out something that is fun, easy to read and clear gives you a better chance that a reader will enjoy reading your email and open it again next time it comes. It can be hard for business owners to constantly come up with creative ideas, which is where a content writing service comes in. By allowing professional writers to craft the message you want to send, you’ll be able to create the image you want without spending your valuable time debating on the difference between “imbed” and “embed.” Investing in high-quality writing is also more likely to earn a return. TrueConversion.com states that email marketing offers a return of $40 for every $1 spent, making it a great place to invest your cash.

3. Send From a Person

If an email comes through from your company, it will immediately get marked as advertising and often get sent to a spam, trash or advertising folder. Avoid this problem by sending the message from a person instead of from the company. Not only does this seem more personal, it is also more likely to avoid the junk folder.

4. Resend Unopened Emails

You may think that a customer who doesn’t open an email the first time is not going to if it comes through again, but many professionals have actually found that sending the same message with a new subject line can cause users who did not open it initially to decide to take a peek. Some, like Neal Taparia, even send the unopened emails with the exact same subject line and still achieve a higher open rate. This not only saves you the time of crafting a new piece of content, but also lets you see if there are certain subject lines that are more likely to be opened than others.

5. Make Sure Your Email is Mobile Optimized

If there’s one sure way to stop your progress before it’s even started, it’s to send emails that customers will not be able to open on a mobile device. You may have a very interested customer open an email with the intent to purchase, but if the email is not easily accessible, that client may decide to wait till later and then forget or change his or her mind. Avoid losing potential sales by making every email mobile optimized.

6. Group Your Email List

Personalization is key, and one way to be sure your lists are seen as more than just a mass email is by breaking your email list into groups. Surveys can let you know which recipients are parents, or which went to a certain college. Entrepreneur.com states that, if you are marketing to businesses, you can group your clients by the industry to which they belong. Including a targeted message to that group in the subject line will make them more likely to feel like the invitation is a personal one and click open.

7. Include Value

Most people won’t want to spend the time reading an email unless there is something in it for them, so you’ll need to let them know in the subject line. Is there a funny story and creative wit just waiting to brighten their day? Did you provide the top seven uses for one of your products? Are you including a discount code? Have you created a video showcasing exactly how to use certain devices? Whatever it is, let the reader know up front. Surprises are fun, but they’re best saved for occasions like birthday parties and proposals instead of your content marketing strategy.

8. Avoid Certain Words

Unfortunately, typical sales lingo will get your email sent straight to the spam filter. MailChimp states that the most common terms that get your letter sent to the trash are “help,” “reminder” and “percent off.” You can avoid sales lingo by conveying a story or speaking like you would to a friend instead of using words you would typically see in an email advertisement. Be sure to instruct your content marketing service about the words you would like to avoid so that you can rest assured that your content will not be flagged for the spam folder before it even reaches your customer’s eyes.

Email communication is an important part of your content marketing strategy. By following these tips, you can get the most out of your investment and increase the chances that everyone on your email list will click, read and maybe even purchase.