An email is often the primary mode of contact for engaging new business. A recent study out of the UK that analyzed email marketing campaigns for small to medium enterprises (SME) found an average open rate of 24.88% with a click-through rate of 4.06%. That’s pretty good. The question, however, is how do you get your email marketing campaigns to achieve or surpass those stats? It’s all about the subject line, and some of the success tactics may surprise you.
Make it Personal
A recent, objective, study found that using the person’s name in the subject line boosted the open rates of emails a full 3%. People want to know the message is for them, and when it is, they are more likely to check out what’s inside.
Be Strategic About When You Send the Email
You have to imagine when a person is going to be in the mood—or have the time–to read an email. The periods of the workday where people are working the hardest and really focused are really bad times to send emails. They will likely not even be checking their email, and if they are, they are looking for things related to work. However, as the workday is slowing down, around 3:00 to 4:00 pm, people may be looking for a distraction, so they check their email to see what’s new or potentially appealing to them.
Take Advantage of the Holiday Season
When it comes to the holiday season, emails worded in a certain way are more likely to result in conversions than regular emails. In a study of nearly 8 billion emails, a report found that using specific things like dollar discounts or percentages off during the holiday season resulted in a significant boost in conversion rates. One example is including an offer of free shipping in a Black Friday email campaign. This literally tripled the conversion rate. Also, New Years campaigns that advertised a percentage off discount in the subject line resulted in 40% higher conversion rates than business as usual emails. Even Halloween emails had better results than regular emails with 11% higher conversion rates.
Focus on What Your Customer Wants
Above all, you want to appeal to the desires and needs of your customers. People like things that are timely, useful, necessary, and personal. One study even found that using things that are on peoples’ minds like current songs and movie titles resulted in significant increases in open rates. This has a bigger impact on open rates than things like branding or catchy slogans. An email, any email, is a personal communication to one single person. Keeping that in mind and crafting your emails accordingly will make people more likely to open them and check out your product or service.
We’re here to help with all aspects of your business email marketing and if you need any help or just want some advice then why not get in touch for a no obligation conversation to see how we could help your business reach out to your customer or prospects – what have you got to loose?
