Does Your Email Marketing Strategy Pass The Test? 3 Simple Ways to Increase Your Open Rate

There are thousands of ways to go about your email marketing campaigns... but what's the most effective? What methods work to generate more sales and engage your audience? 

Over and over again, we’ve seen businesses try (with good intentions and great effort) to put together successful marketing campaigns. But over and over again, they're disappointed by the results. We don’t want that to be you! If you're feeling frustrated by a lack of leads, it's time for an antidote…

Try these 3 marketing tips to drive sales through your email marketing campaigns.

Step one: Personalize, personalize, personalize.

There’s a very specific reason why you find emails in your inbox from “Deb at Zapier”, “Ben Chestnut, Mailchimp”, or “Scott’s Cheap Flights.” The personalization factor in emails always gets a higher open rate.

People don't want to interact with robotic, overly-corporate businesses—they want to feel like they're talking to another person. At the root of everything, humans desire connection. An easy way for you to humanize yourself in a world full of screens and junk mail is to become more personable. Writing from a person instead of from a brand will boost your email results and develop a stronger sense of community.

Another way to personalize your email content is to use an eye-catching email title. This could be a bold or non-traditional statement, a question, incorporating a current event, or personalizing the subject so each recipient sees their name in the statement. Every email should be about and for your customers. 

Step two: Ask people to reply to your emails.

Instead of just asking people to click on a link, don’t forget that you can also ask them to reply. Email is a two-way conversation, and we have seen incredible results by allowing people to ask questions or book appointments directly through email. This brings convenience and personalization into your email marketing campaign.

An easy way you can include a call to action at the end of your email is by adding something along the lines of, “I’d love to connect, feel free to reply with any questions you may have.”

Step three: Segment your email lists.

Emailing your whole list isn’t always the best option for every eblast, especially if you’re seeing consistent open rates under 15% (don’t forget to check). If your open rates are consistently under 15%, your emails will automatically be redirected to spam folders.

Segmenting your email list not only allows you to talk more specifically to one audience, but it can also keep your email placements healthy.

The first segment you need to start leveraging is your "active" subscribers versus "inactive" subscribers. By sending campaigns specifically to active subscribers, you can

• The first segment you need to start leveraging is your "active" subscribers versus "inactive" subscribers. By sending campaigns specifically to active subscribers, you can achieve higher open rates that protect your email placements.
• When you have special opt-ins, discounts, or strong value-adding emails, expand your email segment to include both active and inactive subscribers to help pull in uninterested prospects.
• Once you have these two segments included in your strategy, now take it a step further by categorizing your target audience or clients into the categories that best fit your brand. For example, if you are a retail clothing line, you can start with major categories of “men” and “women” and split your email list this way to send emails that are more relevant. From there, you can make the categories more specific based on age, location, or even previous styles they have purchased.

Creating email segments may seem like a lot of work initially, but trust us, it will be incredibly beneficial in the long run.

When it comes to email marketing, try new methods, remain consistent, and don’t be afraid to change what isn’t working. We believe in you!

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