Email marketing is still one of the most effective methods of reaching current and potential customers. However, its effectiveness depends on several factors. Here are some metrics to watch for, as well as some strategies to incorporate.
What is an Email Marketing Open Rate?
You’re not going to sell anything if people won’t even open your email. The more people who open your email, the more likely someone is to take action. A high open rate is mostly determined by its deliverability and its subject line. Obviously, that’s your HOOK. Your email program will tell you what a good open rate is for your industry. Usually, depending on the size of your list, a 7-10% open rate is good. Lower than 6-7% needs improvement. Higher is excellent. When you do see a higher open rate, note what the subject line was.
On the other hand, you need to be aware that in mid-2021, Apple made changes to its email app to help with privacy, and it skews the open rates. At any rate, you still want to improve your open rate as much as possible.
People can’t click on your call-to-action if they don’t open the email!
Here are some tips to improve the open rate…
- Personalize the subject line: Most email platforms today allow you to add the person’s name to the subject line. It makes the message more personal. This is why you should always ask for at least their first name on your email sign-up form.
- Avoid spammy-sounding phrases: These will land you in the spam folder, and you’ll have less of a chance of getting seen at all. Phrases like: ‘Free trial’, ‘Increase sales’, ‘Earn money’, ‘Best price’, and ‘Guaranteed’, may trigger whatever spam filter your prospect uses.
- Your name, company name, and URL in the return address. When you add your name to the “From” line, it’s also more personal and more likely to get opened. Having your company name URL rather than “Gmail” or “Hotmail” gives you more credibility. And please don’t put “no reply”. That, to me, is the coldest, most robotic thing to do. Be human. People prefer to deal with humans. If they want to reply to your email with a question or comment, let them!
- Use the headline analyzer: This isn’t just for blogs! You can use it to compose an enticing subject line.
- Use emojis and keep the subject line short — look and sound friendly, not spammy.
What is an Email Marketing Click-Through Rate?
For example, if you sent 1000 emails, 100 people opened them (a 10% open rate), and 10 people clicked on the call-to-action link. That gives you a 1% click-through rate. Remember when we used to do direct mail? A 1-3% response rate was considered good. The click-through rate depends on how well you delivered your subject line, which enticed them to open it. Once they open it, what entices them to click through to your landing page, article, or website? By the way, the same click-through rate applies to your website’s search engine results. It’s the difference between how often your site comes up in search (impressions) and how many searchers click through to it.
Here are some tips to increase your click-through rate…
- Have a well-designed email marketing message. Put your logo on top, so the recipient knows where it’s coming from. Branding is consistent with your website and social media profiles. Be visually appealing.
- Use a mobile-responsive template. You want your email to work on all devices. Most email programs provide this. Don’t try to bulk send emails from Outlook or Gmail. That will guarantee you a SPAM box landing.
- Have enticing calls-to-action. You have to tell your email prospect what you want them to do. Put yourself in their shoes. What’s going to convince them that they need your product or service? An article excerpt with “Read more…” or “keep reading…” is a better command than “visit website”. “Watch video”, or “Learn more” for an educational piece. “Grab your spot now!” or “Only a few left! Get yours now!” gives a sense of urgency.
- Make sure your calls-to-action are what they’ll be getting. For instance, if it’s “Book Now”, then it should go to your appointment booking system. If it’s “Sign Up” then to a form, likewise, to a download, offer, or landing page. For example, “Learn More” is a better CTA than “Visit Website”.
- Use color in your links and buttons. Links in the text should be blue and underlined. This is standard and what people look for. Buttons should be red or orange with white lettering. Red and orange create a sense of urgency. You should be able to edit these in your email templates.
- Add a video. You can’t embed videos in emails like you can on a webpage, but you can show the video’s thumbnail, and when they click on it, it goes to YouTube. Videos should be an integral part of your digital marketing.
- Don’t have too many links and choices. If you give someone too many choices, they’ll get confused and not choose any.
- Newsletters should have pictures with links. If you share 2 or 3 blog articles in a newsletter, make sure you add pictures and link them. Also, don’t write the whole article in the email. Just put enough, like the first paragraph or so, to entice the person to click through to your website to continue reading.
- Use User-Generated-Content (UGC). There’s nothing like one of your customers sharing a picture of themselves wearing your product! Here are some tips on how to use UGC.
- Finally, test, test, and test it again. I admit it. I was in a rush the other day and sent an email without sending a test one first. When I saw the email later, there was a huge gap in the right column. I don’t know what made it, but it didn’t look good.
What is an Email Bounce Rate?
This bounce rate is different from a website’s bounce rate. More than likely, with each campaign sent to your email list, there will be undeliverable emails. There could be many reasons why an email bounces. Your email platform should explain each one, as they may differ in classifications.
A hard bounce is a bad email address. Sometimes it was just entered wrong, and there’s a typo like: “Gamil” rather than “Gmail”. Those can be edited manually. But if the email just doesn’t exist anymore, it needs to be deleted. Check your email program to see if they automatically unsubscribe these people or if you have to do it.
A soft bounce could be either an out-of-office auto-reply or a full mailbox. Leave those alone, and they’ll eventually get the message. An abandoned email address will keep sending the “mailbox full” message and eventually be considered a bad email.
What is the Unsubscribe Rate?
You can’t please everybody all the time.
Reasons why people unsubscribe…
- They signed up just to get your initial lead generation offer, then unsubscribed.
- Your content is no longer relevant to them.
- You send too many emails.
How do you lower your email list unsubscribe rate?
- Segment your list by asking 2 or 3 pertinent questions in your lead-generation offer form. This will help you personalize the emails, offers, and content you send based on that prospect’s interests.
- Be relevant. Depending on what the person answered in the initial form, send them content or offers that pertain to them.
- Don’t try to sell them initially. Offer them free advice again, based on their answers.
- Be wary of how often you email them. Tell them when they sign up how often to expect an email from you. If you send a weekly newsletter, stick to the day of the week. Go bi-monthly if needed. Furthermore, if you’ll also be sending occasional announcements, say so.
What is a Conversion Rate?
They opened your email, clicked on a link, and bought something or set an appointment. That’s a conversion. That’s a sale or a lead. Consequently, if out of the 10 people that clicked through, and 5 converted, then you have a 50% conversion rate, which is excellent! If zero is converted, then you have to wonder if there’s something wrong with your product or message that’s not convincing enough, or if something is wrong with your payment gateway.
Things to consider to increase your email marketing conversion rate…
- Are you trying to sell a product or service to the wrong target?
- Is your message not convincing enough? You may need to sell your prospect a little bit more.
- Are you trying to sell too soon in the buying journey?
- Is your strategy or tactic wrong?
- Are you priced too high? Research your competition.
- Does your website not work on a mobile device? Make sure your website works on mobile. It’s frustrating when you click on a link in an email, then you realize that the website doesn’t work right because you’re viewing it on a mobile device. Sometimes it could be your cookie acceptance button that’s not fully visible on a mobile device, which is stopping the visitor from converting.
- Is your purchase-to-payment process too complicated? It should be quick, easy, and secure.
- Is your website not secure? It should have a lock icon in the address bar. If not, then you need to talk to your webmaster or hosting company.
Consider Your Target’s Buying Journey
Not everybody buys right away. That’s where a workflow strategy like the one pictured below comes in with email marketing automation…
In Conclusion
Remember, there are real people, humans, behind the email addresses. These people have been affected by personal problems, inflation, and world events in one form or another. Here are some final tips to improve your email marketing efforts…
- Show empathy
- Be human
- Be transparent
- Make things easy
- Have a clear call-to-action (CTA)
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Email Marketing FAQs
What is an Email Open Rate, and how can I improve it?
An email open rate measures how many recipients actually open your email. It’s mainly influenced by deliverability and the subject line, your hook. To improve it, personalize the subject line, avoid spammy phrases, include your name and company in the From field, use a reliable return address, test with a subject line analyzer, and keep the subject line short with emojis when appropriate. Remember that changes in Apple’s privacy updates can affect open rate tracking, but you should still strive to improve deliverability and engagement.
What is a Click-Through Rate, and how can I increase it?
The click-through rate shows how many recipients click a link in your email after opening it. To boost CTR, design a well-branded, mobile-responsive email; use clear and enticing calls-to-action that match the landing page; limit the number of links; include pictures with links in newsletters; consider adding a video thumbnail that links to a video; and test and optimize continually. Make sure your CTA leads to the appropriate page, such as a booking form or download.
What is an Email Bounce Rate, and how should I handle hard and soft bounces?
Bounce rate refers to undeliverable emails. A hard bounce means a bad email address, often due to typos or discontinued addresses; these should be edited or removed. A soft bounce is usually a temporary issue, like a full mailbox or auto-reply; leave them alone for now, as they may retry. Regularly clean your list by removing persistent hard bounces and monitoring soft bounces to maintain deliverability.
What is an Unsubscribe Rate, and how can I lower it?
The unsubscribe rate indicates how many recipients opt out of your emails. To lower it, segment your list to personalize content based on interests, stay relevant to what the prospect signed up for, avoid hard selling upfront, and control frequency by clearly communicating how often emails will be sent and sticking to a schedule. If needed, reduce sending cadence or adjust content strategy to keep subscribers engaged.
What is a Conversion Rate, and how can I improve it in email marketing?
Conversion rate measures how many recipients who clicked through then completed a desired action, like a purchase or appointment. If conversions are low, reassess whether you’re targeting the right audience, whether your message is convincing enough, whether you’re selling too early, and whether the purchase process is simple and secure. Ensure the landing page and checkout work well on mobile and that CTAs align with the expected action. Consider testing and refining the value proposition and user journey.
