The Teenager Epidemic

Do the results of your email marketing campaign leave you feeling like a teenager screaming “No one ever listens to me”? If so, you’re not alone. You are part of an epidemic with symptoms of high complaint rates, low click-throughs and most importantly, low open rates. Luckily, there are tips and tricks to consider to make your email marketing campaign more effective.

Your Diagnosis

Like anything, effort pays off. An email will only be as effective as the time you put into it. You cannot create a quality email campaign in twelve seconds. Because we send so many emails a day everyone thinks they have become an email expert. How many times have you heard a co-worker ask someone if they received an email only to hear, “Oh yeah, I think I remember that coming in, I was going to take a look at that later.” And let’s be honest, that “later” never came.

The reason their email was never read is simple, it lacked a subject line that is vital to the receiver at that moment; and that is the same reason your emails are not being opened. Think about this: If someone only has three minutes before a meeting and has 30 unread emails in their inbox, they will probably take a quick scan to see if there is an email they need to open right then–if not, they head to the meeting. Chances are that by the time the meeting ends your unopened email will be buried behind 30 other emails begging for attention. The odds of anyone opening an email from a company they don’t do business with are slim to none, especially considering it may have been passed over once already.

The Prescription

There are several strategies that go into making an effective email marketing campaign, some of which Thomas outlined here. However, one of the most important techniques to improving your email marketing efforts is creating a subject line that makes people think they must open this email right away. Crafting a subject line can be an easy process when you understand and follow a pattern that works for your audience.

Tricks That Create High Open Rates

1. Keep your subject line around six words
2. Don’t use complete thoughts
3. Be creative, don’t be afraid to use humor when appropriate
4. Say what is in the newsletter versus stating it is a newsletter
5. Use an ellipses to heighten interest…

Nothing inside your email matters unless you can get the recipient to open the email. You can have an amazing contest, sale, story or design but unless you get them to open the email none of it matters. There are quality email marketing services that know the best approaches toward ensuring a successful email marketing campaign. Don’t become the email being set aside for “later.”

These tips have worked for us in getting high open rates. I am curious to know what you have tried doing with your subject line that has worked great for you?

About the author

Brad Smith

Brad's obsession to make everything neat and orderly didn't manifest itself until he left his childhood home and ventured into a house full of miscreants who couldn't cook, clean or keep mushrooms from growing on the side of the bathtub. Since that day he has spent over nine years with companies helping them improve their processes, work more efficiently and return better results to customers. To date Brad's tally for increased revenue totals over 3 million dollars. Brad's work experience includes Fortune 500 companies such as Morgan Stanley, Discover Card and Aflac. Besides saving the world one client at a time, Brad teaches his wife and four month old son how to play baseball. One of his proudest moments was when someone asked about a baseball rule and his wife knew the answer. Score.