How do I get people to open my email campaign?

How do I get people to open my email campaign? 

Email campaigns are fantastic! They may have been around for a long time but as one Calgary marketing company points out, 88% of people open their emails up as soon as they wake up – even before getting out of bed. That’s a huge online marketing market to tap into and one that seems to be growing as the internet is becoming more accessible and affordable everywhere.

This accessibility is a delicious prospect to any marketer, but take the fact that email marketing can be free and you have something that is irresistible. All you need to do is build up an email address base and you can send out emails to your hearts content at no extra cost. Most mail or online marketing systems have some kind of address book set up to manage mass mailings easily and by designing your web site to capture emails during browsing, it really isn’t hard to make an effective email campaign on a shoestring budget. Is this all you need to do? No, sadly, it’s not. Getting all your ducks in a row before you even make the first stroke on a keyboard is imperative, but as soon as you’re ready to type your masterpiece to have to ask yourself - How do I get people to open my email? 

Seasoned Calgarymarketing company’s know that writing the content for an email campaign is nowhere near enough as complicated, or important, as writing the email title. If you don’t have the right title you might as well send out a blank email as no one will read it anyway. You will be amazed how hard it is to write a 6 word sentence that galvanizes people into action, especially as your 6 word sentence may be one of 30 jostling for prominence in an unsuspecting mailbox. 

Here are a few tips to help you think of a blockbuster title that will ensure your online marketing campaign is opened by a wider audience:

Consider a Newsletter

Newsletters have a great open rate and if your content can keep up the pace, a long history of successful open rates.  Using the same title on every submission, however, is not a good idea and will significantly lower your open rate, just a short, simple explanation of what is inside and its value to your reader is needed and will make sure they are engaged and willing to click through. 

The Magic 50

Never go beyond 50 characters! Remember to ‘KISS’ your subject line – Keep It Short & Sweet! If you can’t grab your reader’s attention in 50 characters, approach it from a different angle. If you think hard enough 50 characters is sufficient from something profound and eye catching.

Apply the same principles to the ‘From’ segment, but be consistent. You have your best chance of dodging the spam filter if you establish a consistent, short, descriptive name. 

HELP! 

If you want your online marketing campaign to have the best open rate there are several things you need to avoid. The first one is … capitalization. NO ONE WANT’S TO BE SHOUTED AT VIA EMAIL! It’s a bit like being in a different country and seeing that one person who is trying to be understood in the wrong language and thinks by simply shouting the same words louder means that the message will get through. There is never a situation where capitalization will increase your open rate. 

There are some words that you really need to avoid using at any cost, even though they seem like the perfect adjective drive the success of the campaign. The word ‘Free’ for example. Using the word ‘Free’ in your subject will trigger the spam filters of every mail box you send it too and defeat the object of the email campaign. Spam filters are also keep a vigilant look out for exclamation marks, passing them quickly on to the no-mans land that shouting and ‘free’ emails are consigned to. Just don’t got there.  Others words to avoid are ‘Help’ (sounds like a begging letter), ‘Percent off’ (gives off the feeling you are desperate to sell) and ‘Reminder’ (announces the arrival of something they have lived without quite happily and maybe could live without a bit longer). They all reduce your open rate significantly. 

Personalizing a subject line does not affect your open rate, but adding a city does. It’s the difference between, ‘I’ve been watching you – I’m a but creepy’, and ‘Why not got involved in your area – we care!’.  Words with a positive effect are ones like ‘Important information’ (I need to know this), ‘Your XXX stats’ (useful information to help my business grow) and ‘XXX Reader Survey’ (relevant and interesting, something to be a part of – I’m important!). 

By taking the time necessary to choose the right subject line you can significantly increase your open rate and get your company, company image and branding right in front of the people you want to influence.