3 min to read
An email marketing strategy doesn’t end with the click of the send button. There are a series of metrics you should consistently be tracking to measure the performance of your campaign.
The first indicator of success is open rate. As simple as it sounds, there are a number of factors that stand in the way of your message being opened.
Increasing Your Open Rates
We’ve all been on the receiving end of marketing emails. It’s no secret that many of them only last in an inbox as long as it takes you to swipe left and toss that sucker into the trash.
So, what can you do to make sure your email gets the lifespan it deserves?
Here are three steps for increasing your open rates.
1. Make Sure You Are Using a Quality Email List
A clean list is the centerpiece successful email marketing campaign. Sending messages to invalid addresses and irrelevant recipients will not only give you biased open rates, but can get your email marked as a big ol’ piece of sp*m.
It’s also important to know that email lists decay at a rate of 22.5% a year.
In order to keep your email database fresh, you need to honor unsubscribes and update your contacts regularly.
Maintaining a high-quality list also means avoiding purchased ones. Purchased lists are filled with cold leads, non-consenting recipients, and fake addresses. Access to somebody’s inbox is a privilege. Abusing this privilege can get your emails flagged and your domain blacklisted.
2. Segment Your List
Marketing is all about defining your target and segmenting your audience. Your email campaigns should do the same.
Segmented emails result in 14.31% higher open rates that non-segmented emails.
Email marketing software such as MailChimp provide you with a variety of criteria to segment your list by. This includes customer type, zip code, job titles, and interaction history with your brand. By dividing your list into smaller groups, can adjust your email content to be more relevant to your readers.
You can also use these segments to optimize your send time for based on location. Additionally, sending emails in batch deliveries keeps your domain clean and helps you avoid bounces.
Making sure the email you have in your database is correct it's very important. You can always validate your emails with and an"Email Finder" tool.
3. Create A Killer Subject Line
Much has been written on the craft of writing an effective subject line. While there is no perfect formula, there are a few easy techniques you can follow to get more opens.
Personalizing Your Subject Line
Customizing your subject line to include the recipient’s name or a personal detail, such as hometown, is a simple way to increase your open rates. Taking an individual, rather than generalized approached, helps to bring down the marketing tone of your email. Just be sure to personalize only when applicable and get the spelling right. 
Keep it Short and Sweet
Just like the message body, your subject line should be clear and concise. Majority of readers are checking their emails on their smartphones, so make sure you write something brief enough to be seen on a mobile screen. As a rule of thumb, if you can’t say it in less than ten words, you’re saying too much.
Present Your Value
Modern marketing about building trust and highlighting your value. Avoid trick questions or click bait. Your subject line should be catchy, but in a genuine way that let’s your recipients know exactly what they are going to be reading in the email.
If you liked this article, also check as reference: three steps to increase your open rates.
Add comment ×