Email marketing is one of the oldest marketing strategies, yet it is still very effective. If you use it in the right way, it can substantially increase the conversion rate of your business. However, one of the common problems is that there is a very thin line between informing your customers about the best deals and spamming them with too much information. Businesses often cross this line without even knowing it, and customers stop reading emails and send them directly to the spam folder. To avoid facing this kind of problem, here are eight ways to improve your email open rate in 2022.
1. Know who your audience is
Understanding the nature of your customers is very important for a successful marketing campaign. One of the first steps is to segment your audience. That means splitting everyone into different groups of interests. You should leverage data about your clients and divide them into groups because that’s how you can send personalized emails.
If you start sending every email to every customer, half of the emails will never be opened. Keep in mind that your customers are going through a customer journey, and they are in different stages. That’s why you need to have a different approach for every group.
2. Create a trustworthy relationship with your clients
We mentioned at the beginning that it becomes very easy to start spamming customers with too many emails. People will just blocklist your email when this happens, and you lose them forever.
Instead, you should approach this very carefully and create a sense of trust. You can do this by sending relevant emails that target customers’ needs.
Once you feel like you managed to connect with a customer, ask them to safelist your email. The process is different for every device, so make sure to research how that process is done and what device your customer is using for reading your emails. That way, you can properly guide them.
3. Stop buying email lists
One of the common mistakes in email marketing is buying an email list. This strategy seems like an easy way to acquire customers quickly, but this is not true. You cannot possibly segment customers this way because you never collected data on them.
Even if you purchase data that other companies collected, there is still no connection between you and the customer. Imagine how you would feel if someone sent you an email, trying to make a sale, but you have no idea how they got your email.
Acquiring email contacts takes time, but it is worth it when done the right way.
4. Give your customers the option to unsubscribe
Another mistake you should avoid is hiding the “unsubscribe” button or even not giving the option at all. Customers don’t like anything that is forced upon them. If they can follow your newsletter and unsubscribe at any point, they are more likely to start reading the emails.
On top of that, you can use the “unsubscribe” option to collect more data on your business. Set it up so every time someone wants to unsubscribe, they need to fill out a short questionnaire and tell you why they are unsubscribing. This data will give you more input about your business and a potential reason why others may unsubscribe.
5. Use tools to analyze email metrics
If you are using WordPress to run your website, you are lucky! There are so many helpful email tools that will help you know your numbers regarding the most critical email metrics. These can be helpful because they allow you to track the success of your marketing campaign.
Furthermore, tools allow you to automate emails completely. You can save so much time setting up templates, sending welcome and follow-up emails, and much more. It is a brilliant idea to research email automation because it will help you get your business to the next level.
6. Pick a trustworthy email service provider
Choosing an ESP or email service provider is a massive part of this process. ESP is in charge of delivering your emails to the customers. If you pick a bad provider, you might have issues sending emails. This may turn into a really poor customer experience.
Unless you use a dedicated IP address to send emails, you need to do your research thoroughly and pick a quality ESP. Some of our recommendations are:
- ConvertKit;
- MailerLite;
- SendinBlue.
7. Clean your email list
You are sending email after email, but the client is not opening any of them. But you continue to send them anyway, hoping a change will happen. This is a common reason why most marketing campaigns fail. You spend too much time, energy, and resources on the wrong people.
If you notice that someone is not opening your emails for two or three months, try to reach out to them with a “re-engagement” email. If they don’t reply, remove their email from your list.
First, you will stop wasting time on someone who is not interested in your content. And second, there is always a tiny chance that the person will notice you are not sending emails anymore and reach out to you.
8. Encourage customers to reply to your emails
This is a very efficient strategy that not many people use. We often look at emails as an informational service. You send some information to your clients, they read it, and they contact the company via website, social media, or a phone call. However, you should create interactive emails that encourage customers to reply.
Always leave a few questions at the end and ask readers for their opinion. This is a perfect way to engage and make sure someone reads your emails.
Improve your email open rate in 2022 by using these simple strategies
There are many ways to improve your email open rate in 2022. These strategies are our top picks but remember to mix and match, so your business can benefit quickly. The last thought of the day is to listen to your customers. This is how you will know what’s wrong. Understanding what your clients want will substantially increase the success rate of your email marketing campaigns.
