Meghan Lyons
You’ve been sending out a lot of emails lately to reel in more customers. But it doesn’t seem to be working. In fact, some people have been unsubscribing to your email list. The frustration begins to set in, and you might ask yourself:
Why? Do people just not care about emails anymore?
As of today, there are 4 billion daily email users. Email marketing is only growing, as email marketing revenue is expected to reach $11 billion by the end of 2023.
So, to answer your question: no. Email is here to stay.
It’s most likely because your email open rates are low.
What is an Email Open Rate, and Why Does It Matter?
Email open rates tell us the number of recipients who open a specific email in comparison to the number of subscribers on your mailing list.
Email open rates are calculated by the following formula:
(# of subscribers who opened email/total # of subscribers) x 100
To put it into words for those who can’t math (I can’t), simply take the number of subscribers who opened your email, then divide that number by the total number of subscribers on your mailing list. Multiply that by 100. Then, BOOM! You have your email open rate.
Email open rate percentages give you an idea of how well your email marketing strategy is working.
The average email open varies depending on your industry. The overall average email open rate for all industries is 20.94%. There are several reasons as to why your emails aren’t getting the clicks that you want.
Causes of Low Email Open Rates
1. Dull subject lines
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but in the case of subject lines, impression matters. The subject line is the first thing that the subscribers see in their inboxes. Subject lines serve as a pitch to your subscribers to open your email. If you’re sending out emails with lame subject lines, it’s likely that your open rates will be negatively impacted.
2. Lack of personalization
Most people love reading/hearing their names. People don’t enjoy feeling like a number. Addressing recipients as subscribers/readers is more likely to decrease their chances of opening your email. If you’re not personalizing your subject lines, subscribers won’t feel as valued by your business.
3. Irrelevant content
Sending emails with content that isn’t applicable to your target audience is likely to reduce the chances of an email being opened. For example, if you’re sending an email containing redundant content that your audience is already familiar with, chances are they won’t care. There needs to be a “so what?” involved. Otherwise, there’s no point in opening up the email.
4. Quantity over quality
Have you ever subscribed to a business’s newsletter and found yourself begrudged by an unnecessary influx of emails? Don’t be that marketer. Quantity over quality is a bad strategy when it comes to email marketing. Sending out emails on a daily basis only invites people to unsubscribe to your mailing list. Unless your subscribers vouch for daily emails, the more you send out emails, the less emails are opened. That’s why it is crucial to send out emails with good content at a frequency that won’t overwhelm the inbox of your recipients.
5. Spam triggers
Using certain keywords and buzzwords in subject lines like “free,” “act now,” and “attention” will have your emails going places… places like spam emails. Additionally, WRITING IN ALL CAPS and spacing out words l i k e t h i s can also land your promotional emails in the spam boxes of recipients. Avoiding common buzzwords will prevent your emails from being labeled as spam.
6. Grammatical errors
This is sort of a given. Subject lines that contain grammatical errors are often viewed as red flags to subscribers and won’t be taken seriously. Same for the body of the email. If you’re consistently sending out emails with blatant errors, recipients will take notice and the likelihood that they open future emails decreases.
So, check your grammar. Please.
7. Using a bloated format
Sending out emails bloated with graphics, links, and unnecessarily long text can turn off your recipients from opening emails. Because smartphone users have a preference for receiving brand communications via email, it’s important to format emails in a mobile-friendly way.
What is content writing?
Content writing is the process of brainstorming, planning, and writing digital content to draw in consumers, such as blog posts and articles, social media captions, tweets, and of course, email promotions.
Writing good email content that will grab the attention of others is time-consuming. It’s more than just sitting down and churning out buzzwords: good content requires careful implementation, research, and editing. If you’re juggling other aspects within your business, content writing promotions on your own is a difficult feat, especially if writing isn’t your forte.
That’s why so many businesses turn to hiring professional email copywriters. Hiring a professional content writer is an excellent way to strengthen your email marketing strategy. Doing so will allow for a greater focus on producing content that entices (and it will save you loads of time!)
If you’re finding that you’re struggling with low email open rates, it might be time to hire a pro writer.
How a Pro Writer Can Help your Email Open Rates
1. Write compelling subject lines
A professionally trained writer can write subject lines that will pique the curiosity of subscribers. As mentioned earlier, subject lines should serve as a pitch to subscribers to open an email and should answer the “So what?” By writing a unique subject line that offers insight into the content of the email, readers will be more incentivized to click on it.
2. Build customer rapport
Recipients care enough to subscribe to be on your email list, so you should care about email recipients feeling valued. Not only does first-name personalization help to boost email open rates, but building rapport through email will encourage recipients to continue to open future emails. Asking for feedback and opinions and reaffirming the feelings of recipients are a few ways a pro writer can build client rapport through email promotions.
3. Incorporate humor
Who doesn’t like a good laugh? Hiring a pro writer that has a way with words and can incorporate humor into the subject line, and body of an email will have subscribers look forward to emails.
4. Create steady, but relevant content
Good writing involves planning. A pro writer can plan out the frequency and content of emails to maximize both efficiency and quality of email promotions. Taking into account the needs of your company’s target audience by providing relevant and timely content will keep subscribers engaged without inundating them with trivial emails.
5. Proofread
You might find time to crank out a promotional email, but you may not have the time to proofread after. A pro writer has the time to write interesting content and double-check it afterward. Additionally, a pro writer can save you time and find the right buzzwords without accidentally sending emails into spam folders.
6. Balance image and text
As mentioned earlier, nobody likes opening up emails that are aesthetic nightmares. A pro writer can pair the right text with the relevant graphics.
Conclusion
Writing good content takes time and energy, especially for email marketing. For a reasonable price, ContentCucumber can pair your business with a professional writer of your choice to increase your email open rates. Book your demo today!
