Creating emails that grab your subscribers’ attention is crucial to your business. We all know you need the right message and provide engaging information, but how to you get them to open your email? Here are 10 tips that will help you hook your audience before they even open your email.
1. Tell them what to do
Before you can do this, you need to know what you want them to do when they receive your email. Create a call to action with a positive first impression. This doesn’t necessarily need to be immediate, but it must pave a path for your email marketing goals.
2. Understand skepticism
Your readers are subscribers, so congrats – you’ve already jumped one hurdle. Now, you have to understand how the user will react to your message. Will they be skeptical of your communication? To avoid skepticism, you must understand why they subscribed in the first place. Work your subject lines around them – understand why they need to hear from you and act on it.
3. Don’t waste people’s time
People value their time. Emails typically only have a few minutes of opportunity and subject lines have even less – only a few seconds to grab their attention. Subject lines less than 50 characters have a 12.5% higher open rate then those of more characters. Don’t forget to keep the email preview window in mind and make great use of that space.
4. Numbers bring response
Numbers are a great, easy way to present information. Numbers make lists, percentages and complex messages easier to digest. Presenting data with a quick response time is key.
5. Create a laid back sense of urgency
You can’t use “LIMITED TIME ONLY” in every message, but find creative ways to urge them to act quickly. Urgency should be your top priority when it comes to promotions, offers, events and other time-sensitive messages. Remind your readers, but make sure your message is preparing them for action sooner rather than later.
6. The sender is more important then the message
While the subject line and content are important, the relationship between the sender and receiver will make or break your success rate. Constant Contact noted, “64% of people open their emails because of the organization it is from.” You must have a trusted relationship with your audience to increase your open rate. For best results, use your business name in the subject line.
7. No one enjoys being misled
Most businesses accidentally mislead their customers. While not intentional, if your subject line doesn’t contain the whole truth, you need to re-think your strategy. Aim to avoid all misunderstandings right in the subject line.
8. People want personal, but not too personal
There are wrong and right ways to go about personalizing subject lines. Go ahead and include “you” or “your.” This provides a personal touch that appears as if a real person is sending the email. However, avoid including the recipient’s name in the subject line – this is one of the oldest tricks in the book with spammers and will make a bad impression.
9. People enjoy the sharing of expertise
Your customers think you are the expert – prove them right. Most people report signing up for newsletters to be updated and learn. Start your subject lines with you injected into them by including words such as “our” or “my” and ending with a snippet of expertise.
10. There is no response to exclamations and capital letters
Never abuse capital letters or exclamation points in any marketing piece. Let your reader determine the importance of your message. Caps and exclamation points look desperate, not exciting. There are exceptions to the rule on this – anniversaries, milestones and big sales could warrant a special call out.
So, now you know how to grab their attention. Give it a try and let us know how it works out. Still not sure how to put all of these tips into action? Contact us and our email marketing team will be happy to help out.
