OK.. so you’re getting traffic, the leads are coming in, you’re sending emails with valuable content to build rapport and EVERYONE is opening your emails..
WHAT!?.. they’re NOT?!?
Relax.. obviously I’m joking – that’s how it’s suppose to be, but how can we increase the amount of people opening our emails? That’s the question I’m gonna try to answer in this post with these quick tips..
Bur First… What’s A Good Open Rate?
I thought about this for a very long time and I finally got an answer – and like most answers to a VAGUE question… it wasn’t really sexy, cool or precise. Basically what I found out is that open rates will vary from business to business and from market to market.
Added to that, the way YOU measure open rates may not be the same way I measure open rates, and the size of the list matters a lot too, because of the fact that the list owner is not able to cater to everyone’s needs.
Now, with all of that said – if you’re still anxiously waiting for a REAL number, and threatened to kill cute little kittens if I didn’t give it to you… here it is: From my research the average open rate for Direct Response Campaigns are 25-30%.. –
..why so low?
Well, because they’re direct response campaigns. There’s no brand building, no content shared, no relationship or rapport established before the email being generated. This kinda makes me feel really good that I’m taking a different approach to building an online business (..as you should too).
You see, because we’re building our personal brand, sharing value with our market, and creating relationships, we’re generating much more quality leads and our open rates will be (..or should be) significantly higher.I know mine are, but if you need some help…
Here Are Three Tips To Getting Higher Open Rates
Tip #1 – The Subject Line - This is the most important aspect of getting your emails opened, this is what they see (..and hopefully read) before deciding to open your email. Make sure you spark some interest in your subject line. Make them curious of what’s on the other side. It’s worked for me, I’m sure it’ll work for you..
Tip #2 – Timing - Second most important aspect is timing. The best advice I can give you is to test sending email at different times a day to see which time gives you the best response. Try these times:
- 7am – People check their email before they get to work
- 12pm – Some people check their email while at lunch
- 3pm – I don’t know why I put 3.. umm, some people take lunch late?
- 6pm – People are getting home from work
- 9pm – People check their email before going to bed..
Tip #3 – Your Content – Make sure your content doesn’t suck (…and I know it doesn’t because my readers have the best stuff out there) But what I’m getting at is that your overall message needs to speak to them, it needs to solve a problem that their having, or it needs to help them in some way.
When they come to expect that, because your content is always so good – open your emails will be easy.
Any Other Tips You’d Like To Add To The Community?
I’ve personally visited every single one of my readers blogs so I know you’re all building your lists ;0) …so if there’s something that’s working for you to get higher open rates, please share it with the rest of us in the comment section so we can all benefit from it.
As always, if you enjoyed it please tweet it, digg it, stumble it, and facebook share it – I’d really appreciate it.
All the best,
Hector The Alexa Director
P.S – June 10th, 2010 – Exactly 2 months ago I got my first 6 visits… I’m now getting thousands every week. From 17 million Alexa ranking to the top 134,000 sites.. Woohoo!!
71
Hector,
This is great content and very helpful. I will use this advice to get a better open rate. Looking forward to more of your posts.
Have a blessed day,
Karen
Karen´s last [type] ..Sponsoring Secrets, David Wood Spills The Beans
Karen,
Thanks for stopping by.. I’m glad I could help you out.. I appreciate your comment
talk soon
Hector
Obviously the subject line is the most important factor in getting someone to open an email, as well as the name in the “from” field.
Ask yourself before sending the email if you would open it based on the subject. Not only do you need to peak their interest but you need to deliver when they do click. They will remember the “from” if you bait and switch them.
And Hector, you always deliver
Peter´s last [type] ..Secrets of greatness: Practice and hard work bring success
Peter,
GREAT POINT MAN!! – a good bait is only GOOD is you can deliver.. I love when I get comments like this, they add so much to the conversation..
thanks Peter, for sharing this, and your comment
talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector,
Congrats on your surge in visitors, that’s awesome! It shows that hard work combined with sensational content pays off.
I would second your Subject Line tip. The title makes or breaks the open rate. Without a catchy, interesting title you not getting a click. Take the time to think through a title, repeat it to yourself a few times and see how it sounds.
Ryan
Ryan´s last [type] ..If You Want To Fail With Network Marketing Do This
Ryan,
That’s great advice bro, things can always be improved.. and thinking about it through the subscribers eyes, just like Peter mentioned, is a great way to improve on what you got
thanks for sharing
talk soon
Hector
Thanks for the great tips.
Emily | Marketing for WAHM´s last [type] ..Are There Any Benefits of Branding For WAHMs? | Marketing for WAHM
You’re very welcome Emily..
Hey Hector… I never thought about the timing too much. I’ll have to do some testing… Thanks
Coach Freddie
Coach Freddie´s last [type] ..Are You Driving With Your Breaks On?
Freddie,
Definitely test that out.. you might be surprised at what you’ll find.. let me know how that goes..
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector,
I like how you mentioned try sending out the email at different times. I’m always testing this out to see where I’m getting the most open rate.
Have a great weekend!
Josh
Josh Garcia´s last [type] ..If You Don’t Use Social Media Marketing Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
Hey Josh..
Definitely something that can boost your response.. hope that’s going great for you
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector,
The time one is something to really think about. Not only have I done time specific emails, but I’ve also done certain day of the week emails.
Some days are better then others. Great of you to be passing this on.
Chat with you later.
Have a great weekend,
Jerome Ratliff
Jerome Ratliff´s last [type] ..Shut up and Show Me the Results – Network Marketer’s Biggest Mistake
Jerome,
That’s another great tip to add to the list.. I’ve heard Tuesday thru Thursday is good.. but then again, we’re gonna have to test to find out what kind of response we get …
Love it when people add valuable comments to the conversation..
thanks for sharing that Jerome
talk soon
Hector
Hector,
Great tips on The timing of sending an email, i know days of the week that you send also have helped me big time!!Funny i wrote something about email marketing today as well
Chris Bernardo´s last [type] ..Headlines to Avoid in Email Marketing
Chris,
We’re on the same page bro.. the weekday is also a good thing to consider..
thanks for sharing that with us
talk soon
Hector
Hector, you are great again, with all this incredible stuff! Thanks so much for sharing your hard work with us..
I’d just like to add something about the subject line and content.. I agree with you, it has to start curiosity , benefit to readers etc..
But Mr. Mike Dillard sometimes uses almost insulting words in messages , which gives good results, cause I remember when I saw the title , I just thought “what the xxxx is he saying to me?” but opened it immediately .. He was hitting on my bad emotions,but they are emotions, right?
My state of mind is not ready yet to be so aggressive, but I’m just saying how it made me open that message over all others!
Milena,
You’re right.. and Mike is known to have studied copywriting for a long time and have probably perfected it by now.. Hitting on the emotions is a great way to get an email open..
thanks for adding that
talk soon
Hector
Great post Hector! Actually it was encouraging to me. Sometimes I look at the open rate and wonder what I did wrong. Sometimes there is nothing wrong. We just have to be consistent and like you said make sure our email has value. Thanks again! Have a great weekend!
Keysha Bass´s last [type] ..If you died today what would die with you?
Keysha,
Yes.. adding value regularly will definitely help your subscribers get a better understanding of who you are, and how you can help them..
..this in turn makes it easier for them to open your stuff.
Glad to help Keysha- thanks for your comment
talk soon
Hector
Sweet, I was looking for something along the lines of this. I was wondering, do you think newsletters are still an good way of marketing online? Does anybody still use them well and actually get readers?
Cheers!
Kim
Yea.. newsletters are still a great way to market your product/service online.
I know a few marketers doing very well with email newsletters so I recommend it any day
thanks for stopping by
talk soon
Hector
Great post Hector. In addition to the open rate, I also monitor the click-through rate, e.g. if there is a link in the email.
One other tip if I can share. Create a “good marketing” folder and if you see a subject line/email that grabs your attention, save it in this folder for future reference.
Thanks and warm wishes,
Cindy
Cindy Schulson´s last [type] ..5 Tips to Energize your Business Marketing Articles
Cindy,
OMG.. great TIP!! – I started my “SWIPE FILE” with everything that works on me.. because the point is – if it works on me, it’ll work on others.. right?
Love it when people share good stuff,
thanks for this
talk soon
Hector
Hector great post. You very correct that the Subject line is by far the most important way to get your email opened.
With regards to times I’ve heard Mark Hoverson say that he’s found that between 8 and 9 am is normally the best time to send it out. Great stuff though as your tips are extremely helpful and on point yet again.
~BT
Brian,
Thanks for your comment – truly appreciate it..
I’m gonna keep that in mind (8am-9am).. Mark is a trustworthy guy so I’ll test it out and see..
thanks for sharing that info with the rest of us
talk soon
Hector
Hector these are good points you have made. Email marketing is part of the lifeblood of our business. We have to always be thinking of new ways to stimulate the interest and curiosity of our readers. I think the subject line is where it all begins and good content is the knock out punch. This is definitely something as marketers we want to be proficient at.
Steve Shoemaker
Steve Shoemaker´s last [type] ..Home Business Leads A Conversation
Steve,
Yea bro.. Email Marketing is such an important topic.. and I agree that it’s the lifeblood of our business..
..that, and our blogs.. right?
thanks for sharing
talk soon
Hector
Hector,
Great stuff! You are full of value and great content!
Getting people to open the emails can be very difficult, especially if you haven’t established yourself as a leader or a “guru”.
Love your tips and the subject of the email is the First Impression. We all know how critical it is to make a great First Impression in whatever we do. This applies to emails as well!
You are a true leader!
~Andie Petoskey
Thank you so much Andrea..
I agree with you 100%.. this can be difficult at first when people don’t know who you are, but after they see the stuff you provide – they don’t need to think twice about opening your emails ..
Thanks for stopping by.. so glad you did
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector
Great content as always, thanks for sharing! Love the tips on timing your emails and of course how important the subject line is, we all know how important our first impressions are, especially in our industry!
cheers
Nat
Nat,
Definitely!! Timing is everything and First Impressions are critical, so I hope these tips help you out
thanks for stopping by
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector!
Another Great Blog Post! Always looking forward to your posts, keep em coming!!!
Msja
http://ilovetobehome.com
MAJA´s last [type] ..Consumer and Marketing Psychology… The human brain is a funny thing
Thanks Maja..
talk soon
Hector
Great tips Hector.
I have to say I have never tested my “send out times” so might give that some attention. I usually aim for 8am and 8pm.
~Marcus
Marcus Baker´s last [type] ..How To Personally Sponsor Over 200 Reps in Five Months | MLM Tips
Marcus..
We always have to have a starting ground.. and 8am-8pm sounds like a great starting ground and start testing from there..
Hope it goes well
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector
From zero to thousands of vistors in two months – fired up!
Antonio Licchelli
Antonio Licchelli´s last [type] ..I Prayed I Did The Right Thing (with MLM Launch Formula)
Yea.. I’m still taking it all in –
thanks for stopping by
talk soon
Hector
Great tips Hector! I will have to test the sending times as well!
Cara and Jennifer Oberfoell´s last [type] ..Your Money Blueprint; Building a Millionaire Mind Set
Cara,
Definitely give a try.. and let me know how it goes
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector,
Great post here!!! I have to agree with you on testing out your email. I believe the best thing to do is to send out your emails at different times to figure out the times that give you the best responses.
Sherman
Sherman Smith´s last [type] ..80/20 RULE: WHO YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON IN YOUR BUSINESS
Sherman,
Yea.. that’s one of the test you can do and then you can perform some others ones to maximize response..
thanks for commenting
talk soon
Hector
I have to say Hector, Your content is really good man, keep pumpin. I have found that using sub headlines in My emails disguised as outbound links, combined with a tracking code, tells me what the majority of people click on.
This method gives Me ideas for future headlines.(The people will tell You)
Nice post champ.
Jonathan
Jonathan,
That’s a nice tip bro… there’s a good chance people click subheads thinking they’re like blog post headlines..
I never thought of that.
thanks for sharing that
talk soon
Hector
Thanks for these tips. I appreciate your insight.
Hope all is well,
Kathy
Kathy Sammons Dot Com
Thanks for stopping by Kathy..
Glad to help ..
talk soon
Hector
Hector,
I love using Curiosity evoking subject lines… make someone truly want to know what’s on the other side.
Or
If I know what I’m teaching is something that a lot of people want to know about… then I lay on a strong Benefit of reading my e-mail.
Jordan Schultz
~Social-Media Specialist~
Jordan Schultz´s last [type] ..How I Doubled My Blog Traffic In A Single Month In Less Than 60 Minutes A Week
Jordan,
Those are two very good approaches – thanks for sharing that J
talk soon
Hector
Hector,
Fantastic insight as always my friend.
Anyone reading better take heed of your advice and my earnest desire is that those that do, exercise the speed of implementation. That is, don’t sit on this knowledge, put it into action as fast as you can.
The speed in which anyone implements new knowledge learned is valuable to life and business and is directly proportional to how quickly you will GROW and your business will start to make more money.
Keep the knowledge coming Hector.
Stay growing,
Kevin Tyler Smith
Promethean Life
Kevin Tyler Smith´s last [type] ..Productivity Hack #5: Doing The Impossible
Kevin,
Totally agree with you about the speed of implementation.. For a long time I was learning so many different things – that it got to a point where I was saying “I know that already” but never put it into action..
This is great advice.. thanks for sharing that..
talk soon
Hector
its wonderful stuff you’ve got on your blog. Been searching for details on this everywhere. good blog
Daina,
Thanks for stopping by.. truly appreciate it!
talk soon
Hector
Great stuff Hector!
I would advise adding a call to action with the link that you would like your reader to visit (if you are including one in the email).
For instance:
Go here now-
Check this out immediately-
It seems to make the point a bit more clear.
Thanks for the information and congrats on your traffic!
Amanda´s last [type] ..5 Tips To Help You Fire Your Boss (I Just Did)
Definitely Amanda,
Once the email is open – that’s a whole other animal.. it’s all about what your message is, what you’re promising
and why they should click..
Calls to actions are very important to actually GET the darn click..
thanks for sharing
talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector!
Thanks for inviting me back to your Blog…it’s always nice seeing you.
WOW, a subject line has approx 7 seconds before it is passed on by…it must be short, sweet & MEGA emotional for sure!!
Have a pleasant day…your tribal friend Steven Suchar
Steven Suchar´s last [type] ..Is Your Psyche Powered By Inspiration?
Steven,
Thanks for that great insight.. didn’t know about the 7 seconds thing.
talk soon
Hector
I’ve just started off a blog, the knowledge you give on this site has aided me extremely. Thank you for all your time & work.
Haha, love that you have visited all your readers sites! That’s SWEET!
Melody
Melody Granger´s last [type] ..Are You Punctually Challenged Diana DeLonzor Has the Cure