Despite being proclaimed dead more than once, email remains a thriving marketing channel. For both B2B and B2C companies, email stands as a primary driver of both engagement and conversions. Email brings a strong combination versatility, personalization, timeliness, measurability, and cost-effectiveness.
On the other hand, email has one distinct disadvantage. Unlike comparable channels, like social media, emails need to be opened before the majority of content is displayed. On Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ you have the opportunity to use images, video, and tags to help your content get attention. Email is limited to a subject line, address, and display name. Due to these limitations, getting the initial open becomes a crucial part of the success of an email campaign.
This Friday’s infographic comes from Skitch. It outlines a set of ten techniques to improve email open rates. Of the ten, three in particular stand out as key takeaways:
- Write a Killer Subject Line
- Tell ’em What to Expect
- Optimize it for Mobile
Writing a killer subject line was the topic of several earlier
posts. The subject line is the single most important factor in getting initial email opens. As the infographic points out, the subject line is a deciding factor for 64% of recipients.
Setting (and adhering to) user expectations is another key to generating email opens. Giving users a good idea of the content and frequency of emails before they subscribe prevents any unpleasant surprises when the email reaches the inbox.
Optimization for mobile is another incredibly important factor. An increasingly large portion of email opens are coming on mobile devices. More importantly, a staggering 69% of mobile viewers report deleting emails that are not optimized for their devices. Failing to send responsive emails is essentially throwing out a sizable portion of your audience.
Let us Know What You Think:
- What tip(s) are most important to email open rate?
- What else do you do to improve open rates?
- What are some other advantages/disadvantages to email?
