WHY is your email open rate terrible?
Email open rates hover at just below 21% nationally. Let’s put that in context. You work your butt off for a lead and pay big dollars to get people to “OPT-IN” and share their email addresses. You are doing this in the “hopes” of getting people to do business with you.
Understanding email open rates are essential to success with integrated marketing campaigns, and a national average of below 21% can be concerning. However, it’s essential to contextualize the stats: is your business outperforming or underperforming the competition?
Case studies illustrate that for most companies, large and small, including major brands and corporations, email open rate numbers don’t appear so dismal when looked at from a top-line perspective – something many digital marketers overlook in their pursuit of deeper engagement. This blog post explores why understanding typical email performance metrics like the open rate is key to creating successful campaigns.
Yeah, at 20%, I can clearly tell you it is not working to the standards needed for scale and growth unless your list is HUGE; simply put, it is not working AT ALL! This is because 80% of people are not even opening your emails. They simply do not care what you have to say “ENOUGH” to open the email.
Think of email as something like a ‘reluctant teenager.’ If you have ever raised a teenager, met a teenager, or been a teenager, this should make sense. Teenagers are only interested in WIIFM (what is in it for ME). I know it sounds crazy, but that is the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts.
Your business needs to break through and build more robust email open rates. Because currently, 4 of 5 people are NOT opening your email. Which means they are not hearing about your goods and services. Changing the open rate by 10% can transform your business by as much as 50%. SO do not compare yourself to your competitors but to what is possible.
Great email open rates are possible and should be the focus of your company’s marketing strategies.
Why do you think email open rates are so low?
MAJOR factors that contribute to low open rates.
👉🏾 Your Subject lines are terrible! The biggest problem is this ONE THINGand it is simple to change. A great Subject line “seduces’ the receiver into opening the mail. It needs to look great, feel great, and have a reel sense of urgency that is reflected when they open the email. So NO clickbait here. Be honest but be charismatic.
👉🏾 Your email has too many links and pictures, so it goes to SPAM! Email filters hate this as they scan the email before it gets to your prospect’s inbox. So often, we see people poorly laying out their emails and having links to EVERYTHING.
PRO TIP: You do not just want them to open the email you want them to take action within it (CLICK HERE). That is the goal. To achieve this goal, LESS is more. Telling people too much in an email is terrible marketing. Share precisely what they need and want, and be aware that their time is valuable. Those who are genuinely interested will find their way to you.
👉🏾 You have sent so many BAD Emails people are no longer interested in your current emails.
👉🏾 You need to scrub your list. This is HUGE, guys you need to remove people who have yet to open within the last six months. Save them offline if you want but get them off your list because you are wasting your time.
FAST ACTION ITEMS
In order to not overwhelm you let’s start with something simple.
👉🏾 Brainstorm 30 subject lines that you think are appealing.
👉🏾 Match those to what “action” you want the reader to take.
👉🏾 Match the subject line with the H1 header in the email and the first sentence with the text so the reader feels GREAT about opening it.
👉🏾 Remove all links EXCEPT the most important ONE.
👉🏾 Make it clear what they must do.
We can get into email sequencing later. Let’s just start with a simple email with a simple broadcast.
Now Crush It, I believe in You!
Peter Anthony
