But starting an email marketing campaign can present a real challenge.
The first challenge is getting people to subscribe to your e-newsletter, build a healthy email base and segment it so that the right messages reach the right people.
The next challenge is getting people to open your email.
It is nothing more frustrating than spending hours crafting the perfect email only to have it disappear into an abyss of unread messages.
But It doesn’t have to be this way — with the right strategies in place, you can dramatically improve the performance of your emails and get real results.
In this blog post, we’ll unlock the secrets to higher open rates and give you strategies that you can use today to drastically boost engagement with your emails.
Keep reading to learn how your email marketing efforts can become significantly more effective!
It’s not all about the number of opens and clicks. It is also necessary to choose the right timing, especially when it comes to sales emails, not just sending content.
According to data from GetResponse, the most popular days for sending emails are Tuesdays, with the highest open rate and click-through rate. On weekend days, however, email open rates tend to be lower than average.
When it comes to timing your emails, research from GetResponse suggests that 1 pm is an especially optimal time for getting your message opened by your intended audience. However, 10 am has also been identified as another prime time slot for achieving higher open and click rates. It’s important to note that these suggested times may vary based on the individual audience you’re targeting so it’s always a good idea to experiment with different times before settling on one.
With some experimentation with timing, you should find that getting the right timing for your emails can pay off in terms of increased engagement and higher response rates – just make sure not to bombard people too often with too many messages!
If the subscriber has yet to open any e-mail sent by us for an extended period (about 6 months), then we can consider him inactive.
An inactive base has a negative effect on email campaigns and means that our sender’s reputation is falling. This affects the delivery of our e-mails and it is more likely that our e-mail will travel to an unwanted corner, spam.
Inactive subscribers can also be re-invited to interact before they are permanently deleted from the list.
Having a human sender name is essential when sending out emails to customers or clients because it allows you to create an element of trust and familiarity.
People are more likely to open emails with a name of a person, rather than generic titles like “Company XYZ” or “Marketing Department.”
Using personalization in your sender name also helps establish credibility. When someone sees a name they recognize, they are more likely to open the email and give it proper consideration.
Additionally, the sender name should be consistent from one message to another so that recipients learn to expect messages from this person when they see their name in their inboxes.
The inclusion of a subscriber’s name in the email subject line can be an effective way to capture attention and increase open rates.
This is because it creates a personal connection with the recipient and gives them a feeling that the message was tailored just for them.
It also helps to make it stand out from other emails in their inbox, which can help ensure recipients take notice and click on it.
Additionally, including the subscriber’s name can provide a level of familiarity that may encourage engagement and foster positive customer relationships.
The next thing your subscribers see after the sender’s name is the subject line.
Using sentence case in the subject line means that you only capitalize the first word of a sentence and lowercase the remaining words. It is easier to read and looks more professional.
You don’t want your subject line to be overly long because then it will get cut off by most email programs.
Different email clients have different display limits for subject lines. In general, we recommend that subject lines be no longer than 60 characters or 6-8 words.
It’s also important to keep it short because the overly wordy subject line can cause confusion and make your message less likely to be noticed.
With including just a few powerful words or phrases at the beginning you can make sure that even if someone only reads part of the subject line, they will still understand what your email is about and be tempted to open it.
Certain words tend to resonate more with readers. Adding top-performing words to your email subject line will definitely see a boost in your open rate and response rate, and that is great news for any email marketer.
Here are top performing words in the subject line:
just | upgrade | content | special | wonderful |
update | monthly | forecast | available | Get this now |
celebrate | new | go | snapshot | introducing |
what | golden | is coming | get your | thank you |
latest | now | can | alert | won’t |
Sources: Marketing Profs, ClickZ, Smart Insights, Adestra, Digital Marketer
Using odd or even numbers in emails is an effective way to stand out from the crowd. Emails that include numbers give readers something to remember, and they usually get more attention than those without.
One of the ways to grab a reader’s attention is by including words that imply visuals. Visuals can be anything from photos and videos to graphs, charts, or other visual elements. By using words like “See,” “Picture,” “Watch,” Charts “Show” “Diagram” in your subject line we can draw their attention from all the other emails in their inbox, and increase the chances that they click through and learn more information about what your message has to offer.
This simple strategy requires you to think about the needs and interests of your readers and craft a question that speaks directly to these topics. By prompting people to ask themselves how the subject matter in your email affects them personally, you can get them to engage with the content inside much more quickly and effectively.
For example, let’s say you’re sending out an email about a new product launch. Instead of using something generic like “Product Launch” as your subject line, you could try something like “How will this product make your life easier?” This kind of question catches the reader’s attention because it puts them into an active thinking position, leading them to ask themselves how the product might benefit their own situation. It also leads into what they’ll find inside the email—more information about how this product solves their problems or makes their lives better.
The “How to” subject line formula is a very effective way to grab the attention of readers and provide clear communication about what type of content they can expect from your emails. People like to solve their problems or learn something new.
Example: How to increase your email open rates?
By appealing to fear of missing out, we can use the scarcity principle to increase sales and motivate customers to act quickly.
By touting limited-time offers or exclusive access to products, they tap into our innate desire to not miss out on something special. The message also creates a sense of urgency, as customers have only a finite amount of time before the offer expires. This encourages them to act sooner rather than later if they want to take advantage of the opportunity.
Example: Only 3 days left to get 20% discount to all products.
Use the words like “Introducing” and “New.” This gives the reader a feeling that your email contains new, breaking information they haven’t heard yet. Doing so helps draw their attention and spark curiosity in what you have to say. It also signals that there is something special and timely about your message—something they won’t want to miss out on.
Using these terms can be an especially effective tactic when introducing a new product or service. Such words are geared toward generating an immediate response from those who read them, as readers may think that by opening the email, they are accessing something exclusive and innovative. Similarly, if you are unveiling a contest or debuting a special offer, using such language gives readers the sense that this will be something unique and worth their time.
Example: See our new product
The curiosity gap is a powerful phenomenon, that makes us want to know more.
Curiosity-provoking subject lines should be concise and informative without giving away too much information. They should grab attention by offering just enough information to make people curious.
Example: 9 of 10 people don’t know this fact
Surprising email subject lines aren’t always easy to come up with, as there are countless variations on greetings, questions, and statements that you could use.
The key is to think outside the box and come up with something unexpected—the element of surprise really helps hook people in. Ask yourself: What would my reader least expect me to say in a subject line?
Example: Special warning: Your shopping cart can be stolen by aliens.
A preheader or preview line is a snippet of text that is visible when an email is viewed in a recipient’s email inbox and provides additional context and information about the message.
If you do not enter the preview line when preparing the content of the email message, some mailboxes will display text found at the beginning of your email as a preview line instead of using your predetermined preview line.
This small piece of text which is often overlooked can have a big impact on your open rate.
Overall, writing effective preheader text can be an invaluable tool for improving open rates within your email campaigns. By taking a few extra moments to craft quality preheader copy that speaks directly to subscribers’ needs, interests, or desires, you can potentially see an increase in engagement numbers as well as higher conversion rates from those who do click through.
Sending emails twice is an effective way to ensure your message gets seen by as many people as possible. By sending the same email twice, you increase the chances that someone will open or engage with your message. This way you can reach out to a larger segment of your list than if you only sent one email.
The first send is a “blanket” approach, getting your message in front of everyone on your list—even those who may not typically open emails from you. The second send is specifically targeted toward those who didn’t engage with the first email. This gives them another chance to take action and increases engagement and click-through rates.
A welcome series email is an automated set of emails sent to new subscribers after they’ve joined your list.
It serves as a way to introduce them to your brand and provide valuable information that helps convert them into loyal customers.
In this email, we are introducing the company and its values, explain the benefits of being on your list, provide helpful tutorials or product demonstrations, offer discounts or special promotions, and more.
The emails in the series should be sent within the first few days of signing up.
Our subscribers receive the first email immediately when they subscribe to newsletters, the next one we send after one day, and the last one on the third day.
Welcome series emails serve as a great opportunity to make a memorable introduction that will keep people interested in hearing from you in future communications. Investing in creating a quality welcome series will lay down the foundation for long-lasting relationships between you and your customers that will lead to lasting loyalty over time.
Source: Campaign monitor, GetResponse, Klaviyo
Mojca is an expert in transforming words into gold - or as she likes to call it, Conversion Copywriting at ADGY!