10 Ways to Improve Your Email Open Rates

Here are 10 ways for you to use immediately to get your emails opened and read starting today.

1. The ‘How-to’

This strategy has been used for a long time, and it’s still very effective. It is an easy way to come up with a subject line as it reveals to your reader that you will teach them how to do something. For instance, “How to Make $100 in Two Hours” or “How to Lose 3 Pounds in a Day”.

2. The Big Benefit

In your email content, emphasize the benefits of your product instead of its features. For instance, if you are in the weight loss market, you would use “Eliminate baby fat without changing your eating habits” instead of “Product XYZ will help you lose weight.”  Identify the biggest benefit and use it in your subject line. This will attract your subscriber’s eye and increase your open rate.

3. The Numbered List

Numbers have something almost magical, especially when used

in headlines and subject lines. Using a subject line such as “Top Seven Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight” will have a greater impact than “Reasons You Aren’t Losing

Weight.” This is because it prepares the reader on the content that follows.

Also, numbered lists convey an air of completeness and specificity about the scope of the information.  Lower numbered lists (i.e. 3 instead of 10) can convey a sense of ease if the list is describing a process or work flow.

4. Create Urgency

By creating a sense of urgency, you can increase your emails open rate. For instance, “Hurry While this Offer Lasts and Get a Free Kindle Book Today.” You can also demonstrate to the reader that they will lose out on a valuable offer. For instance, “Save 20% by purchasing this Kindle book today. This offer ends at midnight.”

Be careful about creating a false urgency.  For instance, your reader would have a hard time believing a claim about the scarcity of a simple information product in most cases.

5. Keyword Bait

If you are sending your emails to a targeted list, then you can include keywords related to their field to increase open rates. For instance, if your list is made up of bloggers, using words like SEO, conversion rates, search engine, and Google algorithms in your subject lines will trigger your readers to open your emails.

6. Story Starters

Everyone loves stories and having a subject line that introduces a story will make people open your emails. For instance “In the course of doing my morning chores, I noticed something different with my…” This will bait your readers to open your emails to read more.

Stories are like numbered lists:  they have an inherent capacity to urge the reader to continue.

Stories also increase your Know, Like and Trust (KLT) factors with your reader.  The more they like you, the better chance you have of making a sale!

7. The Eyebrow Raiser

If you can come up with an intriguing subject line that will raise your readers’ eyebrows, then you will have won them over and they will open your email. For example, “Why Chia Seeds are The New Weight Loss Pills” or “5 Foods That Can Make You Lose Weight in 3 weeks.”

8. The Curiosity Raiser

This is where you are not telling your readers anything of substance in the subject line, yet you spark curiosity for them to open your email. For instance, “This is B.S!” “What was I thinking?” “Never Again!” etc.

9. Ask a Question

A question compels a reader to think and look for answers.

For instance,
“Is he the right partner for you?”
“Would paid searches improve your search engine rankings?”

Open ended questions can work well to increase open rates.  The reader will want to know what the “rest of the story” is in this case.  “What would happen to schoolchildren if…”

10. The Promise of “Astounding Secrets”

Using words that evoke curiosity will do wonders for your open rates – words like secrets, astonishing, amazing, and discover.  Just be sure not to over-hype your reader by using too many extreme words.  More is not always better in this case.

Don’t forget to read my ==> 2018 Predictions <== to help your marketing success.