to open or not to open that is the question...
With email volumes constantly increasing, your subscribers will not always have time to open every email they receive. With each email that hits their inbox they must make the decision, open or delete?
So how can you improve the chances of your email will be opened? Before your subscribers open your email they will have relatively little to base their decision on, just a From Name, Subject Line and, in some cases, a preview pane. Here are some tips on what you can do to improve these areas of your email to help you achieve a higher open rate:
from name
Your From Name is one of the first things your subscribers will see and can play an important part in their decision whether to open your email or not. It's often the case if they don't recognise who the email is from they will not open it. As such the key to a successful From Name is recognition. The question to ask is, do your subscribers know you personally or do they know your company, brand or product? To increase the chance of your email being opened it's best to use whichever would be most recognisable to your subscribers.
So what do you do if you're mailing to a list of contacts who may not know you? Try adding detail about who you are to your From Name to tell your recipients a little more about who the email is coming from. For example instead of just putting 'newzapp' you could use 'newzapp email marketing' or 'newzapp - UK email marketing provider'. Telling your subscribers a little more about the source of the email can help qualify yourself as a legitimate sender. In addition if what you do is relevant and interesting to your recipients it will encourage them to open your email.
When deciding what you should put as your From Name remember it should reflect the style of writing in your email. If you're writing from the 1st person, don't have the email coming from Company XYZ. You may find your subscribers respond better to the personal approach. If this is the case, try putting your name followed by your company or brand.
subject line
It's just one line but it can potentially be the most important line of your campaign. Even if you've sent your subscribers the most interesting and relevant email possible, if your Subject Line doesn't reflect this it's likely your email will remain unopened. Your Subject Line needs to capture their attention but more importantly it needs to compel them to open your email.
There is no golden rule for what makes a good Subject Line - what works for one doesn't necessarily work for all. The question of how to create a good Subject Line is a whole article on its own, but here are a few tips to get you started:
- Communicate the value - If you're asking your subscribers to take time out of their day to read your email you must be able to communicate the benefit of doing so. Ultimately if your subscribers fail to see any value in opening your email they are unlikely to do so. So whether it's vital information, a new offer or just some interesting news you're Subject Line needs to tell your subscriber what they'll get for opening.
- Keep it relevant - Your Subject Line needs to be both relevant to your subscribers and to the content of the email. There's no point capturing your subscribers attention with a great Subject Line if it bears little or no relevance to the content of your email. While you want to make your Subject Line interesting, it's important to communicate what your email is actually about, so avoid using anything too obscure. In order to encourage an open your Subject Line also needs to be relevant to your subscribers. For example, if you sent your existing customers an email with a Subject Line about first-time customer offers they may be deterred from opening even if your email contained other topics of interest to them.
- DON'T DO THIS or this!!! - While capitalisation and exclamation marks may catch the eye of your subscribers, it may not necessarily be for the right reason. If your email doesn't get caught in your subscribers filter or junk folder, using caps and over use of exclamation marks can be off-putting to some and is unnecessary if you have written a good Subject Line.
For more tips on how to write a good Subject Line you can read ClickZ article 'RE: Email Subject Lines That Work'.
As with everything in email marketing the best thing to do is test, test and test. Look back at what has and hasn't worked for you in the past and try to recreate it and build on it.
preview pane
Not everyone will have a preview pane or, if they do, will opt to use it, but for those that do it can have a significant impact on the decision to open or delete an email. A preview pane allows your subscribers to move beyond the From Name and Subject Line to see exactly what your email has to offer. As such a well crafted email that looks good in the preview pane can help improve your open rate.
The first thing to consider is what your subscribers will see if they're viewing your email in a preview pane. If you're using images within this area take into consideration how your email will appear if your recipients have their images disabled. It's important to consider your balance of text and images in this area. If you've used either one large image or lots of images with little or no text, if your recipient has their images disabled you could be missing out on an opportunity to showcase your content and encourage them to open.
For example how inspiring is the email below when viewed in the preview pane with images switched off?
When creating your email consider the layout of your content. When it comes to email marketing it's definitely not a case of save the best for last. To encourage your subscribers to open your email, try introducing the most interesting content at the top of your email where it's clearly visible within the preview pane. To increase your chances of an open ensure you have a clear, compelling call to action within your preview pane to encourage your subscribers to open your email.
and finally...
When you're reviewing these areas of your email campaign, it's important to remember that your subscribers will not view any one of them in isolation. When testing different approaches, remember what you put in one may dictate what would be best to include in the other. When reviewing your next campaign remember to take a close look at these areas to work towards improving your open rate.