Make Email Distribution More Effective by Increasing Your Open Rates—Here's How

You spend a lot of time on email distribution. You have to think of what to talk about, write the copy, create a professional design, program the email, figure out who to send it to, and schedule it. After all that hard work, the worst thing to happen is that not enough people actually open it up to read it. We put together some strategies to help increase your email opens and make them more effective at accomplishing their overall goal: increasing your sales.

Keep your email distribution list fresh

One of the most fundamental ways to boost your email opens is by focusing on your list. The sad truth is that up to about 30% of your email distribution list goes bad each and every year. That means that about a third of the people on your list are either no longer receiving your emails, or that they are no longer the correct person at the company to be receiving them.

The reason for this is that people switch positions, move to new companies, or just stop engaging with and responding with your email campaigns. The best way to keep your email distribution list current is to regularly review it and doublecheck the contact information. You should call any company on the list that doesn’t have an email on file or who has stopped engaging with your messages. Talk to them, determine what email address you should be sending to, and ask them if they have any immediate needs.

Work on your timing

A huge part of increasing email opens for your campaigns is to constantly test and perfect when you send them out. Timing can have a huge effect on whether or not your subscribers open your emails, so think carefully about what time and day you send your emails out. The best specific timing will vary based on your specific industry and audience, so in the beginning we recommend sending out on different days and times and then looking back at the open rate data to see when is best.

Perfect your subject lines

When it comes to email opens and how effective your email distribution ultimately is, few things are more important than your subject lines. Similar to testing when to send out your emails, you also have to test different types of subject lines. Key is to entice curiosity by giving them a piece of a bigger picture, offering something that will save them money or in some way benefit them, and speaking in the language that your target audience speaks in.

Avoid things like all caps, exclamation points, and even numbers, as these will often cause your emails to be kicked to a promotions folder at best and spam folder at worst.

Build trust

Once people start opening your emails, you want them to keep opening them. That means you should avoid being misleading in your subject lines and make sure you’re always offering value. Talk about things that will help your readers accomplish a goal of theirs or make their lives easier. Your copy and design also need to be concise, sharp looking, and professional – to keep people opening them in the future.

If you have any questions about email distribution or improving email opens, talk to our team today!