How We Can Increase Your Average Open Rate and Click Rate for Emails
When carrying out email marketing campaigns, many businesses must remember that the emails are meant to be opened and generate clicks. Email advertising should contain enough captivating information with adequate hyperlinks, buttons, and images to take your target audience to your website for your product or service.
If your business’ email marketing campaigns are not gaining enough traction, reviewing the average open rate and click rate for emails can give you valuable insight into things you need to improve. Let’s analyze what these rates are, the benefits of using them in your email marketing, and how The List Warehouse can help you improve your rates.
What is the Email Open Rate?
The email open rate is one of the most critical data points for businesses conducting email marketing campaigns. It is defined as the percentage of recipients who open the email out of the total number who received it. The email open rate can vary depending on many factors, such as the content of the subject line, your target audience, and your specific industry. For many industries, a 17%-28% email open rate is a good benchmark. However, this metric is just one of many ways to measure success.
What is Click Through Rate?
The click-through rate is valuable for measuring subscriber engagement with hyperlinks, images, or call-to-action (CTA) buttons embedded within an email. Divide the number of clicks by the total number of emails delivered and multiply that number by 100 to calculate the click-through rate of an email. This percentage is consistently lower than the email open rate because only some people who open an email will click on a link within it. Yet, it is crucial to understand how many subscribers continue engaging with your emails and business over time.
What is Click Rate?
Although there are similarities, the click rate is derived differently from the click-through rate. The click rate percentage comes from the total number of clicks on a link or ad within an email divided by the total number of people that received the email. It’s an important metric to keep in mind when examining how many total email recipients interact with your content.
Why are These Rates Important for You?
Email marketing requires a lot of trial and error, especially if you are just starting out. With the proper guidance, analyzing the average open rate and click rate for emails is very beneficial for learning what may need adjusting in your marketing messages.
The open rates can tell you how effectively your subject lines and other details entice the recipients into opening the email. If your open rates are lower than expected, it may indicate that:
- The quality of your subject lines or preheader texts is poor
- Your sender name is unfamiliar to your audience
- You bombard your subscribers with too many emails too quickly
When the open rates are low, the click-through rates are often much lower. If your subscribers aren’t opening their emails from you, they are less likely to click on any links within them to get to your website. The click-through rate of an email can help you assess things like:
- If your subscribers like the content of your emails
- What kind of content generates the most engagement
- Weaknesses in the email templates, hyperlinks, CTAs, or images
So if you find that the rates for your marketing emails are falling short of hitting the mark, what can you do to improve them, and why would this benefit you?
Strategies for Utilizing and Improving Email Open and Click-Through Rates
Effective email marketing campaigns are essential for expanding your targeted audience and retaining current customers. People like to see that the businesses they engage with are communicative and reward their loyalty. Improving your average open rate and click rate for emails is vital for achieving a higher ROI for your email marketing campaigns. The following are tested tips for getting more desirable email-open and click-through rates.
Ensure Your Email Lists Are Fresh
When you purchase opt-in email lists, the data from the provider may not be up-to-date. Additionally, older subscribers may no longer be opening your emails because their email addresses have changed. One option for reviving inactive subscribers is sending out a survey with an incentive for completing it to see if some are still interested in maintaining communication.
Personalize The Subject Line
An eye-catching subject line tailored to your subscribers’ interests is one of the best ways to improve your email open rate. When subscribers check their emails, they are more likely to open one with an exciting offer or surprising phrasing in the subject line. Testing different subject lines is a great way to determine what piques subscribers’ interest.
Ensure Your Email Address is Whitelisted
Spam and advertisement filters are becoming increasingly sophisticated each year, leaving many email marketing messages stuck in the abyss of promotional emails that never see the light of day. Instruct your subscribers to move your emails to their primary inbox; this signals the ISPs that your emails are relevant messages from a legitimate domain, leading to a better email open rate.
Optimize Your Call to Action
Every marketing email message should contain a call-to-action (CTA) message with a hyperlink or button that is easy to spot. Targeted and compelling CTAs with easily-clickable links or images are vital for getting more subscribers to your website or product and increasing your click-through rates.
Find the Best Times to Send Your Emails
People check their emails at varying times throughout the week. Analyzing when your subscribers interact with your emails will help you find that sweet spot to ensure your messages are being opened and lead to more clicks to your website.
How We Can Help
Many elements are involved in improving and maintaining a higher average open rate and click rate for emails. It can quickly become overwhelming for businesses with inadequate staff or expertise handling email marketing. The List Warehouse offers extensive email testing and access to the most up-to-date B2B and B2C email lists to help our clients meet and exceed their email marketing goals.
With nearly 20 years of experience with opt-in email lists, our experts can save you time and money while helping create, analyze, and report results for effective email marketing campaigns. Reach out to us today to see how we can boost your rates and help you achieve a higher ROI for your email marketing.