Back to the Basics – Easy ways to increase open rates
Piotr KrupaWhen subscribers receive your message, the real marketing begins. Success depends on whether they 1. open and read your message; 2. click through it; 3. respond to your call to action. So if your delivery rates are great, as with GetResponse, and your open rates are running at about 20% to 30%, you don’t have to worry as that’s considered about average. Of course, it varies by industry but the point is − you can always improve by paying attention to a few of the “basics”.
First of all, be very thoughtful when creating your email “Subject” and “From” fields. Let’s start with “From”: Subscribers may only have a few minutes once or twice a day to plow through say 40-50 emails, some old, some new, some junk. So it’s important to let them know the email is from a source they know and trust. Do not send emails from addresses like: ‘”admin@company.com” , “service@company.com” or “abuse@company.com”. However, once subscribers have become familiar with you and your staff, you may be able to use the senders personal email address to make a more personal connection. The bottom line is: be very clear and consistent with your branding, even when the message is coming from another department or third-party. An example of a good “From” field for a newsletter would be: GetResponse Newsletter from “newsletter@getresponse.com”
Now, onto the next challenge! Almost everything that happens in the next second or two depends on the subject line, which should have “stopping power”. For example, the wording should be concise but catchy, dramatic or funny, or offer great (time-limited) savings, or perhaps important statistics and useful “insider” information. So put yourself in your subscriber’s place and imagine what would make you stop, open and read!
Important note! While keeping your subject line to 6 words or less is the goal, once again, including your brand or product name here makes it instantly recognizable and keeps recipients reading! According to Jupiter Research report, including your company name in the subject line can increase open rates by 32% to 60% over a subject line without branding! Think about it…what if 10% of that 60% purchased your product!
Once you’ve crafted the perfect “Subject” and “From” fields, you’re ready to create content. If you need some help, just click on these previous posts. Good luck and don’t forget the “basics”!
Drawing a Blank? Create Newsletter Content Ahead of Time!
Drawing a Blank? Part 2: Content That Delivers Value
Tags
autoresponder, autoresponders, email, email marketing, marketing, news, newsletter






October 26th, 2009 at 8:10 am
It’s a very wonderful tips. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and valuable tips with us. I am looking for the same kinda tips. Really appreciable. Thanks……
October 26th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Thank you for your comment. We try to publish only valuable content on our blog. Please let us know what tips about email marketing would be interesting and useful to you!
GetResponse Team
October 27th, 2009 at 11:08 am
wow – really good point – plain text mail is always small in size and it is faster to load and most probably will escape being classifed as spam.
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Thanks! Good stuff here! I appreciate your insite. Will be back to check often. – Jim