Email is without a doubt one of the best methods for engaging a target audience. As long as you have effectively steered clear of purchasing a contact list or a database of ‘potential customers’, email marketing is an extremely effective way of getting your content in front of people. You can use it to promote your website, offer promotions, request donations, and express nearly any other message that can be imagined.However, all of this works under the assumption that the recipients in your contact list actually open your emails. Open rates are just one measurement of the effectiveness of your email campaigns, but it is one of the most important indicators as to whether or not the people that receive your emails actually look at the content contained within them. This is why it is so important to keep track of open rates, as it is a great way of determining if your content is compelling enough to inspire further action.Assuming that you have already learned how to successfully avoid the spam filter, here are 4 tips that are guaranteed to increase your email open rates.
Timing Really Is Everything
Timing is an extremely influential factor in the effectiveness of an email. It is always necessary to get inside the mind of your target audience in order to appeal to them at the right time. Every customer base is different, and even within that group, a contact list should be segmented as much as possible so that the right people are receiving an email at the right time. This means that careful consideration must be taken whenever you are sending out an email.“Consider when your recipient will be in the right mood for your product, e.g. emails for holidays or financial services products may be more effective at different times of the day or days of the week,” suggests Justin Wilson, contributor to Business2Community.
Stay In Touch
When it comes to email marketing, the amount of emails that you send makes a big difference to your contact list.“If you don’t do it enough then the user will have a good enough reason to open your email, but if you email them too often, they will become tired of your communication and it becomes wallpaper,” says Wilson. “There are no hard and fast rules, but doing some research into your industry’s email frequency should offer some guidance.”
Sender’s Name
People read emails from people that they know. This is one of the biggest challenges to email marketing, but it is something that can be overcome. People are aware of brands and are interested in the content if they can find something of value within it. This means that they are willing to read something even if they don’t know the sender personally. However, the sender’s name can still make a big difference to the open rates of a campaign. Typically, a person’s name will work better than a generic title, but it really depends on your overall marketing strategy.
Subject Line
The subject line is one of the most important fields for determining the open rates of your emails. This is your one opportunity to make an appeal to your reader, so use it wisely.“This needs to be enticing enough for the user to open the email, so it is a good place to personalize (with either their name or if it is time for the recipient to renew/upgrade your product), summarize your offer and grab the recipient’s attention,” says Wilson.