How to Guarantee that Your Emails are Opened Every Time

Isn’t it frustrating looking at the same email open rate campaign after campaign? Don’t you wish there was a magic formula that guaranteed a consistent, high open rate? Believe it or not, there is one.

It isn’t quick or easy, but it is effective.

You have to provide content that your customers want. Some people don’t care about sales. Others don’t want to hear about your merchandising adventures. But, every person that chose to subscribe to your emails did so because they wanted to hear from you.

I should repeat that. Every one on your email list is there because they want to receive messages from you. The challenge is identifying which messages they want. If your opt-in form only asks for contact information, you are making your job unnecessarily hard.

Go straight to the source.

Ask your customers and prospects when they opt in what they want and how often they want it. If someone checks that they want sale notifications only, odds are that they won’t open or respond to non-sale offerings. Stop sending them off target messages.

In addition to asking your customers, look at their behavior. Segment customers that are opening and responding to your emails by the messages that move them to action. The better you target your message to the recipient, the higher the open rate. This is followed by greater response, more sales, and more profit.

When you start crafting your campaigns based on customer preferences, there is a shift in your recipients’ behavior. They start looking forward to receiving your messages and you move into the sweet zone.

Here’s the formula:

(Getting to know your customers) + (Sending the messages they want to receive) = (Higher open rates) + (Increased response) + (More money in your bank account)

Simplified:

Customers first = Better business

For more information on how to improve your email marketing, read:

Email Optimization: How Simple Changes Increase Open Rates, Click Through, Response, & Average Order Size

And, check out our email marketing playbooks:

You don’t have to be a marketing guru to deliver great email results. Follow the Email Map to increased sales and profitability.

If you like this post, please share it with your community. You may also like these:

1. Why Timberland Emails are Always Welcome in my Inbox
2. Are Your Emails Alienating Your Customers?
3. How Can a 3% Response Rate Be Considered Successful?
4. Email Marketing: Building Relationships One Send at a Time
5. The Top 7 Reasons Why Customers & Prospects Aren’t Responding to Your Email Marketing