Here’s my top 5 methods to boost your open rates. In addition, I would take some time to test a few strategies using the A/B Testing feature of your email tool. Your own audience will tell you what works best.

 

  1. Do they know you? Are you using a company name or your name? How do they know you? Did they sign up or did you pick up their name somewhere? Don’t expect strangers or people you’ve met once to remember your name immediately. A smaller, more meaningful list will get a huge open rate. I used to delete emails sent to me by a person named Dominick because I don’t know anyone by that name. Until I finally discovered he is the owner of the gym I went to. I told them to switch the From Name to the name of the gym.
  2. Stick with clarity. Is your subject line too cute, salesy, spammy? An example I see overused is the abuse of the word “this”, so that you need to open the email to find out what the “this” is they’re alluding to: “Don’t even think about leaving the house without this”. When I see that, I already know the content is not going to live up to the hype and I just delete. Sometimes trying to be too clever goes wrong: people can smell inauthenticity a mile away. Be more straightforward and leave the gimmicks behind.
  3. Focus on the benefit. What will they get when they open the email? The subject line can feature a how to: “Here’s how to…” or “An easy way to…”. Or a new piece of information: “Introducing…”, “Announcing…”, or “This Just In…”. Simple but effective.
  4. Make it about them. When the focus is on the sender, the audience is less interested. When they feel they’re about to “get” something important to them, they will open. Even using the word “you” or “your” in the subject line feels helpful without feeling creepy. So if you’re running a special, instead of saying, “Come To Our Annual Sale”, I would use, “A Significant Savings For You”.
  5. Know your audience. It’s been suggested that using the recipients’ first name in the subject line will capture their attention – but for some audiences, it goes terribly wrong. I used it on one of my clients’ emails, but their population is generally over the age of 50 and they reported feeling uncomfortable at seeing their name in the subject line. Know your people! Same for the new use of icons in the subject line. For some people, it helps the email stand out – for others, it feels too cute, childish, or like a sales gimmick and they immediately delete. If you have a varied audience, segmentation is your best friend!! And if you’re unsure, A/B testing is a life saver!