Stop right now! It’s really easy to increase open rates and one surefire way is to remember why your subscriber signed up in the first place.
Send people what they want
I recently worked with a fashion retailer who promised tips on how to wear their products as an incentive to join the mailing list but all they ever sent out was a sales email containing a list of products with prices.
They had a very low open rate and tiny click through so what we did was refocus the weekly mail out on ways to wear a certain product and pretty much instantly the open rate increased and so did sales.
They had forgotten why the customer signed up and after two or three changes of marketing staff the focus on help and advice was lost.
My own mailing lists promises marketing tips every week and this is what I send out, in fact this blog post was inspired by one of the email campaigns.
Because I send people what they want I’ve only had 2 unsubscribes in the last 3 months. If I sent out lots of sales emails my open rates would go down and unsubscribes go up.
Take a look at all the entry points to your mailing list(s) and look at why people sign up then see of your giving them what they want.
You may want to mix things up a little and offer a free ebook, tips pack or discount code as an incentive for signing up but the most important reason will be to offer some sort of value from each email. Don’t just send out sales garb.
If they signed up for the latest womens fashion ideas, don’t send them mens! Keep things tightly focused on the topic they want to see.
If they signed up for business tips don’t send them an email selling your consultancy services. Use the email to show off your skills so you’re the first person they think about when they need help.
Conclusion
Always think about what the customer wants and then give it to them. This is one surefire way to increase your open rates, click throughs and sales.
Audit your list every six months and see if you’re still focusing on the topic at hand, look at the most successful email campaigns you’ve sent, see if there’s a pattern and then repeat what works.
If you want tips and advice each week in your mailbox then sign up here and as a thank you I’ll email you a free digital marketing pack… and I’ll only ever send you marketing tips 🙂