Tips that can help you to maximize your Open and Click Through Rates.
1. Open Rate :
In order for your email campaign to be successful it is essential that people open and read your email newsletter. Online publishing is very similar to traditional publishing. When you buy a daily newspaper, you probably don’t read everything. You don’t have that much free time and not every subject is equally interesting for you. If you are a sports fan you will read the sports section but you might skip an article about latest movies. In most cases you will decide what you are going to read by subject titles.
The same is true with email newsletters. One of the two most important factors that influence whether subscribers will open your email newsletter is the subject line. In order to have good open and click-thru rates you have to know your audience. Your message has to be well targeted, timely, and seductive.
There are several rules you have to follow in order to create effective subject lines.
Subject Line:
Your subject lines should be short and snappy to get the attention of your subscribers. Many people receive dozens if not hundreds of emails every day, so your message will have plenty of competition in your subscribers’ inbox. That’s why your subject line has to be attention grabbing. This doesn’t mean that you have to use deceptive spam techniques. On the contrary, avoid using words FREE, GUARANTEED, Make Money Fast, Limited Offer and other words associated with get- rich-quick schemes. Not just because of your subscribers. If you use these words it is most likely that your emails will never even reach them. Their ISP spam filters will divert them right to the deleted folder. Also don’t capitalize every letter and don’t use excessive exclamation marks. You don’t need to shout, people will “hear” you if you know how to “tell” them your message.
So your subject line should be short, snappy and preferably relevant to one of your articles in your newsletter or marketing package. It can be some breaking news or exlusive interview. People like to read breaking news or exclusive interviews that can’t be found anywhere else. Also, people often read how-to articles (for example, How To Choose The Right Email Marketing Software) or so called “number” articles (for example – 7 Tips For E-publishers On A Shoestring Budget).
It is also a good idea to put your newsletter name in brackets at the beginning of your subject line in order to be easily recognized from other emails in your subscribers’ inbox.
Please bear in mind, that your subject line has to be consistent in form so that it is readily reconizable when it is delivered. For example:
[NewslettterName] Your Subject Title, Issue #x, Date
From Field
Besides the Subject line, the “From” field is information that your recipients will see in their inbox. People have to trust you in order to decide to read your emails. You don’t open your doors to every person who knocks, do you?
If you are well-known person or trusted expert in your industry, and you are the only person that is involved in the creation and publishing of the newsletter, put your name in From field. If several people are involved in that process and if it is a corporate newsletter, use your company name.
The most important thing with regard to “From” fields is that you don’t experiment with it. Choose one “From” field and stick to it. It is very un -professional if you regularly change your From field and most importantly, it will cause your open rate to decline. Brand recognition happens over time, and it won’t happen if the name keeps changing!
2. Click Through Rates
Clicks come after your email newsletter is opened. With a good open rate you have finished only one part of the job. Now, your newsletter has to be well designed with quality content that your subscribers will want to read. The information you provide must be targeted to your subscribers in order to have a decent click-through ratio (CTR). You have to know your audience. You can increase your CTR if you put your most important articles and ads at the top of your email newsletters. Don’t write articles that are too long. It is better to write articles in which you provide several tips than long theoretical abstracts. Also, don’t overload your newsletter with ads. People want to read useful things and not lots of ads.
They say that a picture is worth 1000 words, so if you publish an HTML newsletter include photos that will be relevant to your articles and that are clickable. Click-Through rates get higher if you give some value-added services to your subscribers. Invest in your relationship with your subscribers; treat them well, write useful articles, give exclusive discounts and they will show their appreciation by clicking thru time and time again! Different types of email newsletters have different click-thru ratios. Click-Through ratio is important, but it is not the most important. Just because many people click on your follow-up article or offer doesn’t mean that they will actually buy your software or service. In some cases, lower CTR can get you more sales than higher CTR. Think about that next time you start your email campaign.
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