Did you know the average office worker receives 125 emails per day? That the sender’s name is more influential than the subject line when it comes to whether or not an email even gets opened? While email marketing can be an effective tool for reengaging former customers and upselling existing clients, your email marketing is only as strong as its open rate…and click through rate…and conversion rate. Which begs the question: why aren’t people opening your emails?
Your emails are landing in SPAM folders
SPAM trigger words can pose a challenge to getting your email marketing content into subscribers’ inboxes. Beyond avoiding references to money and things that are “free,” it is important to do your due diligence and review lists of trigger words to ensure your email has the best possible chance of landing in your readers’ inboxes.
Your subscribers are experiencing information overload
How often should you send marketing emails? While daily works well for some retailers, all companies and causes are not the same. Case and point – a daily countdown email leading up to the tax filing deadline may not be the most audience-friendly email your CPA could send.
Nearly every company and cause is creating online marketing content, leading target audiences to often feel barraged by information. It is important that the subject line of your email clearly communicates the value and relevance of the communication to maximize its chances of getting opened and read. If you are able to do so, conducting a brief (as in three-to-five questions) electronic survey of subscribers’ email communication preferences may be helpful in identifying your ideal distribution frequency.
Your efforts to personalize have gone wrong
While personalized email subject lines are 22% more likely to get opened than their generic counterparts, inaccurate personalization is worse than no personalization at all. What exactly do I mean by that? Have you ever gotten an email that starts “Dear [NAME]” yet the name used isn’t your name? Have you received email subject lines that list your name or company name but are, as in our previous example, also inaccurate?
If you are going to personalize your marketing emails it is critical that the personalization is accurate.
You’re sending irrelevant information
Maintaining up-to-date email marketing lists can be time-intensive, as can segmenting those lists. If your company offers a diverse range of products and services – or serves a broad range of target audiences – list segmentation can play a key role in enhancing the effectiveness of your email marketing. For example, if you offer professional development programs for leaders in a variety of industries, grouping your email lists by industry will yield not only stronger open rates but improve click through and conversion rates.
Your emails deliver a poor user experience on mobile
Litmus reports that 54% of all emails are opened on mobile devices. When choosing a pre-existing template or designing a custom template for your email marketing program, it is critical that your email is mobile-friendly. This means not only using a responsive design that will scale to the device from which it is being accessed, but minimizing the number of clicks needed to access information. If you are including links to external content – websites, videos, conference presentations, etc. – ensure the destinations to which you are directing your readers are also suited to deliver a positive mobile experience.
Email marketing is a powerful customer engagement and retention tool. When implementing an email marketing program, it is important to minimize the barriers to low delivery and open rates, and maximize the potential for click throughs and conversions.
