5 Easy Ways to Increase Email Open Rates for More Conversions

So you have built a strong email list, but your email marketing efforts aren’t as successful as you thought they would be. Now you’re wondering what could possibly be the reason behind this. 

Building a strong email list can be tough but what’s more difficult is to convince your recipients to open your emails. But doing that can be easy if you have a proper email marketing strategy for your business.

So let’s look at some of the most powerful yet easy ways to increase the email open rates to increase your conversions.

1. Add a Powerful Subject Line

The first important thing that people notice about your email is the subject line. Your subject line is enough for your users to decide whether they will open the email, ignore it or even worse, mark it as spam. In fact, you can increase your email open rates by 33% simply by working on your subject line.

There are marketers who repeatedly use the same formula every time they write a new subject line. This makes them appear too common and boring. As a result, they mostly get ignored. 

But this doesn’t mean you need to write something very complicated. Doing that will do more harm than good. People don’t like twisted or complex subject lines that make them think too hard. Instead, they prefer titles that are simple yet unique and exciting.

The best way to do that is to use subject lines that arouse curiosity in your readers. This will make your readers want to open the email right when they notice it. Here’s an example of such a subject line from my inbox. 

The subject line in the above screen is a good example to show you how to arouse curiosity in your readers. 

2. Know the Perfect Time to Send it

You may not consider it important, but the time in which you send your emails can play a major role in determining whether your emails will get clicked or not. There’s no easy way to determine what’s the best time to send your emails. The only way you can figure out your best timing is by performing some A/B test.

But according to many experienced marketers, sending your email newsletters on weekdays can have far more click-through rates than sending them on the weekends. 

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Although there’s no single day that marks the highest open rates, 10 am is considered the best hour for the purpose. But remember, this time should match the recipient’s time zone and not yours.

However, there are other resources that consider 6 am, 10 am, 2 pm, and 8 pm as the best time to send your emails if you want a higher open rate. 

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This actually makes sense because many people start their day by email from the bed itself. So 6 matches perfectly with that. 

Next is the 10 am slot when people open their laptops for work. So as they check for work-related emails at this time, there’s a fair chance for your email to draw their attention. After working all morning, as people stop for a break in the afternoon(around 2 pm), they are more likely to look for distractions in their inbox. 

Then, of course, most people have the habit of checking their emails before going to bed around 8 pm. So sending your emails around this time can also be a good idea to gain their attention. 

Having said that, you might see a slight difference in the open rate timings based on your business niche. For example, people might be interested in opening hobby-related emails before or after work hours which can be 6 am or 8 pm. 

3. Personalize Your Emails

The next important point to consider when working on your email marketing strategy is to personalize your emails. Sure, there will be thousands of users who will receive your newsletters. But if you want to make the best out of your marketing efforts, personalize them for your recipients. 

Draft your emails in such a way that each recipient feels like it was crafted only for him/her. Use the person’s name to address them, personalize your subject line and message. Doing this becomes easier if you know your buyer persona. For that, you need to know their problems, interests, likes, dislikes, and other such information to make your message more relatable to your readers. 

This needs some research, and if needed, you should even reach out to your subscribers to know them better. Another important thing to remember is to write like you’re talking to a friend. This will make them feel more comfortable, and they would want to open your emails. 

4. Scrub Your List

You might have a long email list. But you won’t be able to boost your open rate until your list is a relevant one for your business. Over the years, you’ll have a lot of users who have either changed their email addresses or have lost interest in your business. Whatever the reason may be, these leads will become inactive subscribers and will not add any value to your business.

That’s why it’s extremely important to scrub your list from time to time. You can do that by removing your inactive subscribers. This will keep your list fresh, and you’ll know that every contact on your list can bring more money to the table. 

5. Avoid Spam Filters

Nothing can be worse than your emails being caught in the dreaded spam filters. This can drastically reduce your open rates, which in turn can affect your overall business. If you don’t want that to happen, do your best to avoid the spam filters.

For example, the use of salesy words like free, discount, buy, cash, etc., can land your email in the recipient’s spam folder. Similarly, using attachments in your email can make it look suspicious and spammy. Sometimes you might send out your emails from an IP address that was previously used to send spam emails. This can make you look doubtful and forcefully mark you as spam.

But that’s not it. There are various other reasons why your email might be marked as spam. So do some research to know more about such practices and avoid using them in your email marketing strategy.

So these are some of the easy ways to boost your email open rates. But don’t be disheartened if you don’t see immediate results. It might take some time, but the tips discussed above will definitely work for you.