Getting the attention of your core audience isn’t an easy task. Strategies are ever-changing and even the pros are looking for ways to master their digital marketing channel strategy. One of those channels is Email Marketing, and it’s a beast. There is no shortage in platforms that can be used to create and manage outstanding campaigns, and with that comes the pressure of creating emails and newsletters that an audience actually wants to open.
A vital metric when measuring an email’s success is its open rate. This is measured by the number of total subscribers that open a specific email divided by the total number of subscribers the email was sent to. It is a fairly simple metric and the make or break for all newsletter campaigns. In an increasingly competitive digital landscape, it is getting harder and harder to achieve those meteoric opens. Achieving a high open rate is as much art as it is science.
So, where should you start? Your audience will make their decision on whether or not they care about your email in a few short seconds, and there are a number of factors at play. The time it was sent, the subject line, whether or not the email is personalized, etc. Let’s take a deeper dive into the top 5 ways you can entice your audience and improve your open rate.
1. When Should You Send?
This is part of the science of email campaigns. There are a lot of factors that go into achieving the best possible open rate, but the most important one (arguably) is the exact time in which your emails gets sent. Some platforms, like MailChimp, offer a “best time to send” option that calculates a time that is the most optimal based on the habits of your subscribers.
If you’re old fashioned and want to pick your own time, SuperOffice has some insights for 2020.
The general rule is earlier in the week, at 10AM. However, SuperOffice suggests that the best times to send are Monday, Tuesday and Friday, anywhere from 9AM to 3PM. According to their research, catching your subscribers before they head to work, and mid-day when they are taking a break tends to generate the best results.
2. Finessing the Subject Line
Now we get to the art side of things. With 47% of your subscribers making their decision to open or delete based on the subject line, it’s imperative that you make it count. There are 3 magical ways to ensure your subject line is the best of the best.
First, it is a general rule of thumb that you should spend us much time crafting the subject line as you would the content. This might be a little excessive, but the point is, don’t rush it. Second, the number of words is VERY important. Too many and the reader could get bored, or even worse, the words will get cut off because they have exceeded the character limit. And too little is, well, just not enough. The recommended amount of words is anywhere from 6-10, but the hot number to land on is 8.
Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of emojis. In a recent study, CoSchedule found that subject lines with our fun little characters and icons increase open rates by 57%…
If you’re still unsure on how to craft the perfect subject line, CoSchedule has a great tool that gives you a score, and tips on how to improve.
3. Personalization
Personalization is a simple touch, but it brings substantial results, and can decrease your chances of ending up in your receiver’s spam folder. Adding your recipient’s name to the subject line or description can increase your open rate percentage by up to 26%. Think of it this way, when you address someone for the first time, do you say their name, or do you go with “hey you!”?
Not sure how to do this? Email campaign builders such as Mailchimp, Klaviyo and Campaign Monitor have a dynamic name insert function. This insert automatically pulls the subscribers name from your subscriber list (provided you captured this info at the point of subscription) so you can add personalization or merge tags to your emails. If you’re looking for more insight on personalization, reach out to our team. We’re always happy to help.
4. Segmentation
This is a big one. According to marketing guru Neil Patel, email segmentation can improve your open rates by 203%. That’s a crazy number. So…what is it exactly?
Segmentation is when you divide your subscribers into groups based on interests, sections, characteristics etc., that the group shares in common. Generally, the go-to’s for segmenting are based on purchase history, abandoned carts, engagement rates, city or neighbourhood and demographic. Keep in mind, these are just broad examples, and can change and vary depending on the type of business, what your specific needs are.
To give you a brief example, Webflow, a website design and hosting tool segmented their users by lack of activity. Any user who had a decrease in engagement received a specifically crafted email letting them know what they have missed and inviting them back to the platform. Doing this allowed Webflow to keep their subscriber list up to date with active users who wanted to hear from them.
It may sound complicated, but thankfully email campaign builders/ platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo and Campaign Monitor have segmentation options that walk you through how to do this with ease.
5. Pay Attention to Your Lingo
Pay attention to the type of language you use not only when crafting the subject line and description, but the rest of your email as well. If your messaging sounds salesy, pushy or automated, there is a good chance that email won’t perform well. Our team focuses on this on a daily basis. We ensure that every email we craft sounds like it came from an actual person. Keeping your lingo light and relatable with a sprinkle of humour will keep open rates up.
Curious About Where You Stand Within Your Industry? You Should Be
Not only is it important to keep a close eye on your own open rates, but what the industry standard is as well. Thanks to HubSpot, we can take a closer look at 2020’s open rates by industry.
It Doesn’t End with Open Rates
All of these factors are necessary when building a strong email marketing campaign, but it doesn’t stop there. Once you have mastered the open rate, there is a whole new door that opens. The Click Through Rate is what will give brands a better understanding of what their customer wants, an inside look into what is working and what isn’t and most importantly, driving revenue or bookings. Stay tuned for part 2 of this series, where we will dive deep into CTR’s and give you the LBITF top 5 recommendations on how to improve.
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Article Written by:
Angelica Nicole Greene-Barrales
Marketing Lead at Little Bear in the Forest | Digital Marketing Agency
Connect With Angelica on LinkedIn 
