I was recently asked by a client how she could encourage more of her subscribers to open her newsletters, so I’ve put together a short list of easy to action points.

Just to give you an idea of the numbers you might expect to open your newsletters, Campaign Monitor say “if you are getting an open rate between 20% and 40%, you are probably somewhere around average.”

• Focus on quality of subscribers to your list rather than numbers?
  Make sure you’re building a list of quality subscribers who want hear about your services and offers. Over and over again these generic e-marketing courses tell you to offer a bribe, usually a free e-book, to attract subscribers. I’ve found that clients who have taken this advice either find no one is interested in their bribe (remember that advice and information is readibly available for free all over the web) or that people subscribe just to get the freebie then unsubscribe. You may have a higher number of subscribers but also a higher unsubscribe rate and also a lot of wasted effort putting together your freebie in the first place. 

  Try offering discounts that are exclusive to your subscribers and help drive actual business your way, eg sign up to receive 10% discount on all services booked in May.

• Keep it short and sweet
  Whilst it might be tempting to write long verbose email newsletters, keep them short and sweet. Many people will be viewing them as a preview first, probably without images and maybe through a small pane, see how a newsletter looks in Outlook (below). 

  

  You can see here how important it is to get your main message seen in that panel!

• Cut the small talk
  Avoid cliches about the weather or latest national event unless you’re selling sunglasses or commemorative mugs. Keep focused on what’s new, interesting and relevant for your subscribers.

• Make sure your email subject line is focused on what the newsletter offers
  Use subjects that indicate who you are and what your newsletter is about: “Special offers on events at [your company name]” rather than “June newsletter”. This will help your email stand out in a crowded mailbox and gives a helpful indication about what you can expect when you open it.

• When should you email out your newsletter?
  Apparently Tuesday morning is the best day to send as people have finished catching up on work/chores from the weekend. In reality this is probably too generalised and depends on your business. I’ve been sending newsletters out each month for one of my clients and I’ve found it doesn’t make a significant difference what day or time I send it on. You can test sending your newsletter out on various days/times. Good email marketing packages like Campaign Monitor will provide you with detailed reports on open rates, so you can see what works.

I found these infographics from Pure 360 e-marketing informative (and entertaining):

• Timings
• Deliverability checklist