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  • Writer's pictureDigital Marketing Hub

10 Tips To Increase Email Open Rate

Updated: May 28, 2018

With the development of technologies, it is now quite simple to send bulk e-mails to a target database. As a result, Internet users are extremely busy and filter more and more the communications they accept to open and therefore to read. In addition, email software developers are arming themselves more and more to protect their users who only

display e-mails that meet certain criteria.


Thus, the email open rate is now the major issue for any advertiser who seeks to address a message to its target. Nowadays, if you want your email campaign to be a success, it is essential to ensure that you meet many criteria so that the email is delivered by the email system of the user you are trying to target but also that your e-mail is opened and therefore read by the recipient.


Here are ten tips to increase the email open rate of your campaigns:


1. Stay short: longer is less is good

One of the first things to consider when creating an effective e-mail subject line is the number of characters. Keep in mind that at this level, the recipient will have a

fleeting glance at his emails to see what yours is about. You must write a concise and impactful subject line.


The ideal length of an email subject line is between 61 and 70 characters. It should be noted that in any case, if your sentence is too long, it will not be fully displayed.

First advice, stay brief!


2. Customize your e-mailing, it's imperative

On this point, it is not necessary to drag on: the personalization of the e-mail is the base. Indeed, to cope with mass communication (which loses efficiency) and reach a target increasingly demanding, it is essential to customize your message. If it has become customary to customize the content of mail, think about your purpose as well.


Today it is possible to integrate a dynamic field into a subject line thanks to e-mailing software . You speak to a person, so name it: surname, first name, civility ... It's up to you to choose which element will have the most impact in the content of your subject line.

To increase the email open rate, start by customizing its subject line.


3. No rush, it is necessary hit the mark

This point is very important because it is often forgotten when it comes to the subject of an e-mailing campaign. Indeed, the design of the email takes time and is often thoughtful and well prepared whereas the subject of the e-mail is often chosen in haste, without a real strategic reflection. Often, it is even chosen in a hurry to meet the schedule of sending.


If you want to have a high open rate, think about the email subject line from the start! When you are creating a mailing, take the time to choose your subject. It must be enticing and be in line with what your recipient will find in the body of the message.


In addition, if your e-mailing solution allows it, consider doing an a / b test on the subject line. The text of a communication has a real impact on its click rate. The observation is the same for e-mails: test!


4. Beware of used words - prohibited spam words

This advice is more technical: pay attention to the words you use. You can have the best subject line as well as the most beautiful e-mail of the world, if it does not pass

the barrier of the messaging, the open rate of your email campaign will be affected strongly!


Indeed, the ISPs and email service providers are more and more vigilant to e-mails received by their users. Thus, each email received by a user of a mail service is scanned

by it and most of them now consign emails using certain black keywords directly to the spam section.


Thus, many words are to be banned from your content if you want your campaign to arrive at your destination. These famous "spam words" are as much to be proscribed in the internal

content of the email (email body) as the subject line.

Among the words to avoid at all costs: free, sex, 100%, online pharmacy, make money, easy money ... The list is long. Also avoid accents or multiple exclamation marks.


Put yourself in your client's shoes and you will quickly realize what you are ready to open or not. You just have to avoid the words of too pompous marketing jargon.


5. Be clear, no banalities or too neutral copy

If there is a notion that is increasingly important to increase the rate of opening an e-mail, it is the creativity that benefits the subject line.

The more you get out of the ordinary thanks to your subject line and play on a certain originality, the more likely you are to stand out from the competition. This means that

your email will have even more reason to be opened. Therefore, it is strongly advised to avoid the banal catch-phrases: "Newsletter of May", "Invitation to ...", "Discover

our novelties" ...

If it seems clear at first, you can easily say the same thing with other, slightly more original words. A subject line like "May Newsletter" can become "At [company], May is packed with novelty".


6. Take care of the form!

The turn of your subject line will have a great importance in improving your email open rate.

So be careful to read again so that the sentence is understandable and does not have spelling mistakes. This last point is extremely important because it would make you look

like spam emails.


7. Add a "friendly" side to arouse emotion

The emotional side is the basis of everything. It is this feeling that will make your target want to open or not your email marketing campaign. Indeed, humour is a first element of the design of the subject line. If you manage to get a smile to your recipient, there is a good chance they will open your message.

Make your originality work and your campaign will only be more successful! Word games, humour, parody, quotations, culture ... are elements that can give life to your subject

line.


8. Stop the 100% commercial hook

This point No. 8 complements the one above. Be original yes, but do too much commercially NO! We already get enough prospecting emails to add more to this long list. If your customers and prospects see you coming with your big clogs, they will not even click on your message. Do not be too pushy!


9. Watch out and see what's happening elsewhere

The advantage of receiving emails from many brands is that it is possible to monitor good practices. Feel free to keep the emails that you liked to take the best!

Nobody has the ultimate solution to be 100% sure that your campaign is going to be opened. So, it is by monitoring what others do that we can optimize its content and design of our email campaigns for better performance.


10. Test to optimize your next e-mail campaign

Last point and certainly one of the most important is the test. Indeed, you may have respected all the other tips mentioned above and realize that your performance could be

better. I invite you to do tests because your customers do not all react in the same way to the communication.


Then test different subject lines in their form, their tone, their background ... The Test & Learn is one of the strong principles of digital marketing. After several tests, you will be able to analyse what works best and what works less well and optimize your next campaigns.



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