How To Boost Your Email Marketing Open Rates

Email marketing is a powerful way to keep your business in front of your customers and prospects. But if you're not getting the results you want, it could be because your email open rates aren't what they could be. So how do you boost open rates? Here are seven easy ways to increase the likelihood that your email subscribers will read your emails.

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                                                                  Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

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Send your emails at the right times

According to one survey, the highest email open rates occur in the morning between 9 and 10, with an average rate of 21.35%. Tuesdays and Wednesdays have the highest open rates during the first half of the year (10.7%) and the second half of the year (10.7%), respectively.  Fridays have the highest conversion rates, while Saturdays have the lowest open and click-through rates (17.3% and 2.4%, respectively). So, choose when you press send carefully to increase the chance that readers will open and engage with your correspondence.

Make your 'from' name stick out in the inbox

To make your "from" name stand out, remember that it needs to be easy to remember. You want every one of your emails to come from a recognizable source, so people can associate it with you and trust this is an important message.

Also, use the same name in your email signature. This will ensure consistency across all your marketing channels. If someone sees your "from" name on their phone but not on other devices or services like Facebook or Twitter, they might not know who sent them the message. Make sure it's clear-cut.

The last thing you should avoid when choosing an email address is using generic names like "info@" as opposed to something specific like "marketing@" or even just "mktg@." There's no real reason why someone would want an email from a random company called "Info" versus something more descriptive like "Marketing Tips." The same goes for having too long or too short names -- try not to get too creative here; keep it simple.

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                                                                           Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán

Write a compelling subject line

The subject line is the first thing people see in an email. Make it count. Ensure the subject line is effective. Otherwise, your reader could hit delete before your email sees the light of day. A good subject line should be clear, concise, and relevant to the content of the email. It should also be eye-catching without being too vague.

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Here are some tips for writing a compelling subject line:

•   Keep it short and to the point.

•   Make it relevant to the content of your email.

•   Personalize it by including their subject's first name, if possible.

Personalizing subject lines with the name of the receiver boosts open rates by 50%. Just as people are more likely to engage with friends than strangers, they're more likely to click if you address them by their name. Make sure to use a free tool to make sure your email does not end up in the SPAM folder - https://spamcheck.postmarkapp.com/.

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Use a pre-header text to enhance your subject line.

An email preheader, sometimes referred to as a "preview text," is a snippet of copy that appears beneath the sender's name or subject line in an email. It provides subscribers with a quick overview of the message's content. Preheaders are visible in most major email clients, and you can use one to reinforce the email's main message or call-to-action. 

If you don't have a pre-header, these are some standard options for what you might want to include:

•   Your company name

•   The subject line of the message

•   A short call to action (e.g., "Click here")

You should keep your pre-header text short -- no more than 25 characters or so -- and make sure it's compelling enough to encourage people to click through and read more. The goal of a pre-header is to get people interested enough in what they've received that they open the entire email.

Dynamic content improves engagement and helps you get more opens

Dynamic content is a powerful way to personalize your emails and improve engagement. An example of dynamic content is a personalized line. Another example would be message variations that highlight benefits based on the recipient's preferences or interests.

For example, if you're sending an email marketing campaign to promote a new product, you might use dynamic content to tailor the message to different segments of your audience.

If you have a segment of your audience that is interested in health and wellness, you might highlight the health benefits of the product in your email. If you have another segment that is more interested in fashion, you might highlight the aesthetic benefits of the product.

Dynamic content can be a powerful tool for improving the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. It allows you to deliver personalized, relevant messages to your audience, which can increase engagement and conversion rates.

Create an intriguing preview pane image

Creating a compelling preview pane can be a simple yet effective way to get more email opens. The preview pane is the area in an email client that displays a preview of the email's content. By increasing the visibility of the content in the preview pane, you can make your emails more appealing and increase the likelihood that they will open them.

The subject line is the first thing readers will see in the preview pane, so it's important to make it interesting and relevant. Use actionable language and clearly communicate the value of the email to encourage readers to click through.

The first line of your email is also visible in the preview pane, so make it strong and engaging. Use a question, a statistic, or a compelling statement to grab the reader's attention.

The layout and formatting of your email can also affect its visibility in the preview pane. Use headings, bullet points, and bold text to highlight key points and make the email easy to scan.

A strong, relevant image can also help increase the visibility of your email in the preview. Just be sure to use images optimized for email and won't slow down the loading time of the email.

If you use an image, use one that is relevant to the content of your email, the subject line of your email, the name of your company, or the topic of your email. For example, an editor at a publishing house might use a photo of a bookshelf full of books with the following subject line: "Our Bestsellers This Month." In this case, they would want to use a stock photo featuring bookcases and/or shelves.

Conclusion

Great email marketing campaigns are built on one thing: relevance. When you give your customers what they want, they'll stick around and become loyal customers who keep coming back to you. The best way to connect with your audience is by making sure each piece of content -- from blog posts to social media updates -- is focused on sharing information that people will find helpful and valuable. But first, they'll need to open it. Hopefully, these tips will improve your email open rate.