12 Easy Tips To Improve Your Email Open Rates
Are you struggling with your email open rates?
Here’s a few easy tips that will help improve your open rates.
1. Subject Line – What you say in the subject line is very important and has a major impact to your email deliverability. Over 35% of SPAM is detected from an email’s Subject Line. Your email subject line bears most of the responsibility of getting your email open rates up where they should be.
Here are a few things to remember:
* Don’t Spam – Tell your reader what they will read and don’t trick them into opening the email.
* Don’t Yell – Using all CAPS sometimes implies yelling.
* Numbers Do Work – Numbers increase engagement so don’t shy away from using numbers in your subject line because they will improve your email open rates.
* Spam Words and Phrases – I use GetResponse as my email marketing platform and they furnish a list of words and phrases that are usually flagged as Spam.
Here are a few to avoid:
Accept credit cards
Free sample
Cancel at any time
Consolidate debt and credit
Act now! Don’t hesitate!
Can’t live without
Help
Percent Off
Reminder
Cash bonus
get it now
All natural
Cash cash cash
Special promotion
Amazing
Casino
Copy accurately
Apply Online
Cell phone cancer scam
Copy DVDs
As seen on
Cents on the dollar
2. A/B Test Your Subject Lines. A/B is based on the very simple idea of having two ideas, and letting your audience tell you which one they like.
Another way to perform testing is through Seed Accounts. Set up “seed” accounts to test your inboxing to improve your email open rates.
Set up at least 4 test accounts. One each for Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, & AOL. Make sure you receive a test email to at least 3 out of 4 of the seed (test) accounts before sending the actual email. Test, test & test again until they inbox.
3. Personalize Your Emails –
Emails are by people, from people, for people. People connect with people, not with inanimate objects.
Whatever you fill the “from” line with, be sure to keep it the same as much as possible. This trains your reader and spam filters to expect the email from the same sender.
4. Know Your Market –
Getting the Right People in front of the Right Message at just the Right Time.
Know the conversations taking place inside the mind of your prospect.
Your product is not your product. Your real product is people. Know your prospect better than you know your product.
Learn more about people than you learn about your product and you will have just learned more about the REAL product that you market.
Formula For Effective Sales Copy: Problem, Agitation, and Solution.
Provide a solution to problems.
5. Furnish Great Content –
A few examples for great content are:
1. Information– Company, Product(s), Pay Plan, Founders, The Leaders, The Corporate Team, Etc.
2. Education– Generic How to or Specific How to
3. Inspiration– Human Interest Piece (struggle to success stories, breakthrough stories,etc)
4. Entertainment– Videos, Blog posts, or emails of real life funny things, get togethers,candid event interviews or conversations, etc
5. Promotion- Discounts, Bonuses, Freebies
CONTENT is important. If you are constantly asking your list to buy, they will eventually unsubscribe. At least that’s what I do anyway.
6. Use Your Real Name. You are trying to build a relationship with your subscribers right? Let them put a name with your face. After all, who would you rather receive an email from…a friend or a business?
7. Use Your Real Email Address – what happens when you write from “[email protected]”?
No one replies right? As a blogger and marketer, you want your subscribers to know you are a real person and they can connect with you.
I have also found that a paid email has a better open rate than a free account. A free account is gmail, yahoo, aol, etc. It’s best to purchase a domain and create a email forwarding to another account….even a free account. This can easily be done with a GoDaddy domain and I’m sure it’s just as easy with other domain providers.
8. Use Clear Subject Lines – 33% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone. Don’t confuse your reader. Let them know in the subject line what’s inside.
9. Use Power Words In Your Subject Line – As I mentioned (and listed) several words not to use, there are also many words that are powerful and intriguing.
Some examples are “guaranteed, “secrets”, “discover”, “unleash”, “off-limits”, “proven”, “you”. Sensory and emotional words attract more attention and will increase email open rates.
10. Use The Word You instead of I. “You” is one of the most persuasive words in the English language. This will help build a stronger relationship and make your reader feel like you are talking directly to them.
11. Use The Power Of P.S.- Remind people of a deadline. Or repeat what they stand to lose if they don’t take up your offer. Always continue to provide a benefit.
12. Have A Personal Welcome Message – When someone opts in my email list, they immediately receive a welcome email. Almost always, this email will contain a personal welcome video from me…here’s an example < < – – Even if you don’t include a video, it’s still important that they receive a personal message from you. At that point, you can let them know when to expect emails from you and also ask them to “whitelist” your email.
I invite you to get started in your own home business by taking action now with the iPAS2 Supercharged Marketing System.It’s a… leading edge, revolutionary, all inclusive, prospecting and marketing system for people building an online business.
Click here to find out more and how you can gain financial freedom with this system.
I hope you benefited from these Tips To Improve Your Email Open Rates and if so, please feel free to share with others who will benefit.
Thank you Sherry, great tips and a lot of value.
You’re welcome Showleh! Glad you received value from my post. Thanks so much for commenting.
Hi there, nice post. As I small freelancer, I am betting on beeing sincere in headlines and also in content. That get my opening rates up to 60% – of course, my list does grow slowly. Regards,
Hi Matija! You’re right…being sincere and furnishing great content are key. Many times, especially in the beginning, it takes a while to grow your list. The key is keep going and never quit. The very best to you and thanks so much for commenting.
Great Tips here!! That subject line is So Important!! My ESP will warn me if my headline is off. For instance, If I ask a question in the headline it makes the Spam alert go nuts 🙂
Thanks Tara. Glad you enjoyed the post. You’re right, the subject line is very important and it’s awesome that your ESP gives you a spam alert. Sometimes just one little tweak can make a lot of difference. Thanks for commenting.
Awesome break down
Also start thinking mobile ready emails as so many read emails on their phones.
Thank you Lawrence. So true. Mobile ready emails is a must. Just like everything else…it needs the mobile capability. Thanks for commenting!