The figures are in with our latest Email Marketing Metrics Report and email open rates for the first half of 2011 averaged 22.47%.

As I’ve previously written, metrics simply provide benchmarks for you to compare against. What’s most important is that you’re setting your own benchmarks based on the performance of your own email campaigns.

If your email open rates are on the decline, then it’s a sign you are losing the attention of your subscribers. And once you start losing someones attention, it’s very difficult to get it back.

So here are some practical tips you can apply right now to help improve open rates for your next campaign.

1. Be creative with your subject line. When you put the effort into writing good subject lines, your readers reward you with their attention. A good subject line tells readers why they should open your email. It can use a range of tactics to do this like creating a sense of curiosity and urgency. Or it could communicate value, relevance, or simply inform readers about what’s inside.

So try alternative approaches to your subject lines to see what works best for you. And don’t be afraid to break from conventional subject line practices. After all, you want to stand out from the crowd and the best way to do this is to be different.

2. Design emails with the assumption that images will be blocked. According to a MarketingSherpa survey from 2010, a staggering 67% of email users have images turned off by default in their email client. So unless these people unblock images in their inbox or click on a link, the email can’t be tracked as opened.

So don’t rely on images to get your message across to readers. Encourage them to unblock images with a well crafted preheader and image alt text that entices them to find out more. A longer term solution is to ask subscribers to add you to their safe sender list or contact list. This action overrides the image blocking settings in most email clients so images will display by default.

3. Stop always selling and deliver value in different ways. Sometimes you can re-capture subscriber’s attention through a grand gesture in form of a competition or exceptional promotion. But generally speaking, it’s better to earn back their attention by continuously delivering value in different ways. Otherwise you’ll simply lose their attention again.

So run a survey with your next campaign and ask subscribers what they’d like to receive from you. And be sure to listen to what subscribers are telling you. Remain relevant by sending email content they actually want.

A luxury holiday company I’ve dealt with in the past did this with excellent results. They discovered through a customer survey that people wanted to know more about travel details as opposed to just destination packages within the monthly newsletter. By including travel tips and airfare packages in future emails, the company saw open rates grow by 50% with an overall increase in sales attributed to the email campaign.

Ok, so now it’s over to you. How are you increasing open rates with your email marketing campaigns? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.

Posted by:
Matthew Johnson
EDM Specialist

Related posts

- Are email best practices the holy grail of email?
- Email subject lines – debunking the myths
- Writing good email subject lines

This week: new tools for designers, deliverability best practices and getting the most out of Google Analytics.

What’s new for designers: January 2012 – Webdesigner Depot
The January edition of what’s new for web designers and developers includes new web apps, frameworks, jQuery plugins, color tools, and a number of great new fonts.

Is what’s good for deliverability bad for marketing? – MediaPost
Are the demands of email marketing mutually incompatible with the practices required for good delivery? This article examines the reasons many marketers shy away from delivery “best practices” and how this could ultimately hurt their email marketing strategies.

How to Get Actionable Data Out of Google Analytics – KISS Metrics
Learn how to track Goals and Conversions, analyse Conversion Funnels and use Advanced Segments.

Have you read anything from the realm of e-messaging that you’d like to share?

Posted by:
Matthew Johnson
EDM Specialist

I love this time of year. We’re all feeling refreshed following the Christmas holidays and a whole year worth of opportunity lay ahead of us.

It’s the perfect time to reflect on what we should be focusing on, what to stop doing and what to start doing more of.

As you ponder these ideas and consider ways to grow your business in the year ahead, remember that email marketing continues to deliver value with a whopping ROI of $40.56 for every dollar spent.

So how do you plan to utilise the power of email marketing to achieve your business goals for the year ahead?

Here are some quick ideas to help get you started.

1. Master the basics before jumping into more advanced, complex areas.

Even if you’re a seasoned email marketer, it’s a good idea to review your current practices to ensure you’re doing all the basic things right and avoiding common mistakes. I highly recommend you take a look at our check lists for healthy email marketing as these provide a quick and easy way for you to review your current practices.

Or if you’re a beginner, I recommend this list of 20 email marketing do’s and don’ts as an excellent place to start.

2. Relevancy continues to matter.

Some of the techniques might change, but one thing will always remain true. Messages that are relevant to your readers will perform better than messages that aren’t. So test different techniques like video, postcard layouts and conditional content. Maybe even test out some new variations with your subject lines. Just make sure everything you do enhances the experience for readers and is relevant to the things they care about most.

3. Successful email marketers do more than just send an email newsletter.

Whilst your email newsletter tends to be the cornerstone communication within your email mix, it’s not the only type of campaign you should be doing. There are many other types of email campaigns that help to achieve your business goals. For example, a well planned lead nurturing campaign can be very effective at helping to convert prospects to customers. Plus shopping cart abandonment campaigns are a cost effective way to re-capture potential lost sales.

Other common activities that are enhanced with a timely, compelling email include competitions, surveys, event invitations and customer reminders. So when mapping out your marketing activities for the year ahead, also consider how they can be optimised with the use of email marketing.

So over to you now. How do you plan on growing your business this year with email marketing? If you’d like someone to bounce ideas with, feel free to connect with me using the comments section below.

P.S Oh I almost forgot… happy New Year!

P.P.S If you haven’t already heard, we’ve recently released some major upgrades to our e-messaging platform. It’s now easier than ever to grow your business and connect with customers using email, sms and social media. To see what all the fuss is about, login to your account or sign up for a free 30 day trial.

Posted by:
Matthew Johnson
EDM Specialist