If you want to increase your open rate and get your emails read, you need to write a good email. You should always be testing different things in your emails from subject lines to CTAs and make changes based on the results of those tests.
However, there are some basic rules that will make it much easier for you to craft an excellent email:
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Utilize engaging subject lines that pique curiosity and provide value to your recipients. |
| 2. Personalize your emails to connect on a more individual level and increase open rates. |
| 3. Segment your email list based on demographics and preferences for targeted and relevant content. |
| 4. Implement A/B testing to optimize subject lines, email content, and layout for better results. |
| 5. Focus on providing quality content that resonates with your audience to build trust and loyalty. |
Get The Subject Line Right
The subject line is the first thing that people see in their inbox, so it’s important to make sure it’s clear and concise. Here are some things that you should avoid:
- Don’t use all capital letters, it looks unprofessional.
- Don’t ask a question in your subject line, people will get tired of answering your questions and just delete everything from you.
- Don’t end with a colon or a period, you’re not trying to convey information about how many words there are in this email (for instance, “Today is Monday:”).
- Don’t use commas at the end of each sentence either; they’re unnecessary and confusing when combined with periods and colons (“Today is Monday, I am going to work”).
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Personalize Your Emails
Personalization is the best way to connect with your audience. Use their name in the subject line, greeting, and body of the email as well as in any footer or signature that you use.
Make sure to be consistent across all channels that you are using (emails, social media, etc.). This will help solve two problems at once:
- It shows that you care about your customers
- It makes them feel like they are important
Write Your Email Copy With Purpose
The first step to writing an effective email is to write for your audience. If you want your emails opened and read, then you need to get into the mind of your reader.
Read each of your previous emails (and those from other people) and ask yourself: why did I open this? What was in it that made me want to learn more? It’s also useful to think about what wasn’t in it that could have motivated me more.
In short, don’t just write something because you think it’s funny or relevant write with purpose!
Explain Immediately Why You Sent The Email
The most important thing is to explain immediately why you sent the email. If you don’t do this, many readers will think that you’re spamming them and will probably delete the email without reading it.
If they do read it and find out that what they received wasn’t relevant to them, they’ll feel like their time was wasted and will be annoyed by their mistaken impression of your intentions.
To avoid this situation, be sure to tell me what’s going on right away! For example: “I’m writing because…” or “I’m contacting you today because…”
That way, people can see from the beginning that there’s a reason for receiving your message instead of thinking that some random person has sent an unsolicited one in hopes of making money off of them or getting something else out of them (like fake Viagra).
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Write A Catchy Introduction
When it comes to crafting an email that gets opened, the introduction is your main tool for getting recipients’ attention. Use a strong subject line and compelling first sentence to make sure your email stands out from the thousands of others in your recipient’s inbox.
- Try using a question: “Are you struggling with time management?”
- Quote someone famous: “I can’t do everything, but I can do something.” – Harriet Tubman.
- Use statistics: “90% of people surveyed think they have too much going on.”
- Share facts about yourself or your company: “We’ve been around for 50 years now.”
If none of those options sound appealing, try one based on numbers those are always compelling!
Tell ‘em What You Want To Say, But Make It Quick And Effective
You want to give your subscribers an idea of what they’re going to be reading, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want to make it so long that they lose interest, and you don’t have time for them to get bored or distracted before they read the rest of it.
The best approach is a brief overview of what they can expect in the email: “I have something very important I need to tell you… I hope you take the time to read this email because it will change your life forever!”
Those are extreme examples but keep in mind that people are busy and skim through emails quickly. It’s okay if your subject line is short and sweet; just make sure that whatever words you use to pack a punch!
Don’t Bury The Call-To-Action (CTA)
A call-to-action (CTA) is the part of your email that instructs your reader to take a specific action. It could be something as simple as clicking through to another page, or it might involve setting up an appointment, filling out a form, or even giving you money.
As with everything else in your email, you must make the CTA stand out and be easy for the reader to understand and act on.
Here are some tips for crafting an effective CTA:
Make it easy for readers to find the CTA by using color and placement wisely. You should also include text like “Click here” or “Learn more” so they know exactly where they’re supposed to click or tap when they’re ready.
Use clear language in your button text so that readers don’t have any doubt about what will happen when they click/tap on it (a common mistake is having vague instructions like “Next steps”).
For example, instead of saying: “Continue reading,” try something like: “Get started now!”
Be sure that there’s enough room around your buttons so people don’t accidentally click other links instead of yours – this can happen if there isn’t enough space between buttons on mobile devices!
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Write The Body Of Your Email In The Simplest Way Possible
- Short sentences are better than long ones
- Short paragraphs are better than longer paragraphs
- Simple words, short sentences, and short paragraphs get more clicks than fancy ones do.
That’s why you should write your emails in short, simple sentences and paragraphs so that people will read them and click on links, thus helping you achieve all of your goals!
Eliminate Jargon From Your Emails
You don’t want to use jargon in your marketing emails, but you may not know what the word “jargon” means. It’s a technical language that is too complicated for the average person to understand.
Let’s say you’re a marketer working on an email campaign to entice people into signing up for a new product launch that you’re promoting. You might write something like this:
“We have created a new platform where users can access our proprietary algorithms and gain data insights on their competitor’s performance.”
Now let’s say that this email was sent out to members of an industry association who are all interested in success metrics and analytics tools. They would probably love your message because it speaks directly to their interests!
But if this same message were sent out publicly through social media channels or distributed via traditional channels like snail mail or email blasts, then most people would ignore it because they wouldn’t be able to understand what you were trying to say.
Avoid Overly Long Sentences And Paragraphs
Whether you’re writing an email, a blog post, or an article, the main thing you want to do is make sure your sentences are short and to the point.
To help you achieve this, here are some ideas:
- Use bullet points instead of long paragraphs.
- Use bold text to highlight important parts of your message or draw attention to details.
- Use italics for emphasis on particular words or phrases that are not already in bold typeface. This can be done by highlighting them with Alt+0151 (on Mac) or Alt+0161 (on PC).
Use underlining as a way of drawing attention to key information if it’s not already highlighted by another method such as italics or bolding above it; again this can be done by highlighting the text in question by pressing Control+U on PC or Command+U on Mac).
If there’s something specific that needs noting then add some links so visitors can click through if they want more info about what interests them most from each section too!
It will help keep things organized without having too much clutter all over one page so people won’t get overwhelmed when trying out new stuff later down the road either.”
Use Lots Of White Space Between Paragraphs . . . Also Known As Paragraph Spacing
Use lots of white space between paragraphs. This is called paragraph spacing, and it’s the easiest way to make your email easier to read.
The more you use it, the better: an average of one line between each paragraph is what most people find comfortable anything less than that and your reader might feel like they’re being herded through your message with a cattle prod.
But don’t go too far; if there’s too much space between paragraphs (more than three or four lines), readers may feel like they’re wasting time looking at space instead of reading what they came for!
Also, remember these other tips when using white space in emails:
- Use bulleted lists sparingly; otherwise, it can look unprofessional or cluttered
- If possible, divide long blocks of text into multiple short ones so that readers don’t have to scroll down as far
Spend Extra Time On Proofreading And Editing Your Emails
Make sure you proofread and edit your email before sending it. It’s a common mistake to think that once a document is finished, it’s ready to go.
But just like with a paper or report, it’s important to make sure that everyone has read and edited the document before sending it out in case there are any errors.
Let’s say you’re writing an email about new products in the store and one of those products has the wrong name (it should say “t-shirts” but instead says “t-s”).
This can be confusing for readers who don’t notice this mistake right away. If you notice this problem after sending out your email campaign, then try calling up your coworkers so they can send out another copy with the correction included!
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Test Your Emails Before Sending Them Out To Your Audience Or Customers
You must test your emails before you send them out to your audience or customers. You know what they say: “Measure twice, cut once.”
Your email should look beautiful on desktop computers and mobile devices alike. The best way to ensure that is by using a tool like Litmus, which has an email testing feature called Email on Acid (EOA). EOA allows you to check how your emails will work across more than 100 different devices and browsers before sending them out into the world.
Here are some of the most important things I learned from my testing:
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Conclusion
I hope this article has helped you craft the perfect email that gets your audience engaged and reading it to the end. If you follow these steps, I know your open rates will be higher than ever before!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to further explore the topic of email marketing and improving open rates:
11 Email Marketing Strategies for a 50% Click-to-Open Rate: Discover comprehensive strategies that can lead to a remarkable click-to-open rate in your email marketing campaigns.
A Guide to Understanding Email Open Rates: Dive into the nuances of email open rates and gain insights into how this metric impacts your email campaign’s effectiveness.
Increase Your Email Open Rate: 13 Tips for a Higher Open Rate: Explore practical tips and tactics to elevate your email open rates and capture your recipients’ attention effectively.
FAQs
How can I improve my email open rates?
Enhancing your email subject lines with engaging and relevant content, personalization, and A/B testing can help increase your email open rates.
What is a good email open rate benchmark?
A good email open rate benchmark can vary by industry, but generally, an open rate of around 20-25% is considered acceptable, while above 30% is considered favorable.
How can I make my email subject lines more compelling?
Crafting concise and intriguing subject lines, using action-oriented language, and addressing recipients’ pain points can make your email subject lines more compelling.
What role does segmentation play in open rates?
Segmenting your email list based on factors like demographics, behavior, or preferences allows you to send targeted and relevant content, which can lead to higher open rates.
How can A/B testing help improve open rates?
A/B testing involves sending variations of your email to different segments of your audience and analyzing which performs better. This helps you optimize elements like subject lines and content to improve open rates.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
