How to Get Emails Opened (and Make More Money)

In the highly competitive realm of digital marketing, email continues to be one of the most effective ways to connect directly with your audience. Jay Schwedelson, founder of Subjectline.com, shares invaluable insights on how to optimize your email marketing strategies to increase open rates, engagement, and ultimately, revenue. Here’s a breakdown of his key strategies:

1. The Power of Subject Lines

The impact of specific words in subject lines can vary over time. For example, terms that were once detrimental, like "Hurry," might now improve open rates. To maximize effectiveness, use the following subject line strategies:

• Start with a Number: Numbers grab attention and make your subject line more compelling.
• Capitalize the First Word: This creates a visual hierarchy and makes your subject line stand out.
• Use Emojis: Emojis can make your emails more eye-catching and engaging.

2. Focusing on Open Rates

A common mistake in email marketing is focusing too much on the content without ensuring the email gets opened in the first place. Jay emphasizes the importance of:

• Testing and Adapting: Continuously test different strategies and adapt based on real-time feedback.
• Understanding Engagement Factors: It's not the specific words or symbols that determine if an email goes to the inbox or spam folder; it's the level of engagement with your database.

3. Tools to Optimize Subject Lines

Subjectline.com is a free tool that scores your email subject lines and suggests improvements using AI. It provides insights from millions of emails, helping you create subject lines that are more likely to be effective.

4. Rethinking Email Open Rates

Open rates, though not always entirely accurate due to bots and features like Apple’s auto-open, still provide valuable directional insights. A "good" open rate depends on your audience:

• Existing Customers: An open rate of over 20% is considered healthy.
• Newsletters: Open rates can range between 30-60%.

5. Why Email Marketing is More Valuable than Social Media

Email marketing offers direct communication with your entire audience, unlike social media, where algorithms limit the reach of your posts to a small percentage of your followers. The ultimate goal should be to convert social media followers into email subscribers to ensure direct access to your audience when needed.

6. Capturing Leads with Pop-Ups

While pop-ups can be perceived as annoying, they are incredibly effective at capturing leads:

• General Pop-Ups: About 5% of first-time visitors will fill them out when incentivized.
• Targeted Pop-Ups: Rates can rise to nearly 9% for return visitors, especially when pop-ups are triggered on specific pages (like the pricing page) with contextually relevant offers.

7. Optimizing Email Click-Through Rates

• Logo Clicks: Around 19% of email clicks are on logos, often redirecting to the homepage instead of the intended landing page. Ensure all links, including logos, lead to the right destination.
• Call to Action (CTA) Buttons:
  • First-Person Language: Use first-person phrases like "I want in" or "Get my 25% off" to increase click-through rates by over 20%.
  • Longer Button Text: Don’t limit your CTAs to one or two words. Provide more clarity and appeal.
  • Visual and Textual CTAs: Include both graphical buttons and hyperlink-based CTAs to cater to different devices and user preferences.

8. The Guru Conference: The World’s Largest Email Marketing Event

The Guru Conference is the biggest email marketing event globally, offering a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. This year’s event features:

• Keynote Speaker: Sarah Jessica Parker, known for her involvement in direct-to-consumer marketing, headlining the event with an 80s theme.
• Engagement and Entertainment: A unique mix of educational content, TikTok dancers, and other surprises to keep attendees engaged.

Conclusion: Elevate Your Email Marketing Game

By incorporating these strategies, you can boost your email open rates, engagement, and conversions. Whether it's optimizing your subject lines, rethinking your pop-up strategies, or attending events like the Guru Conference, there are many ways to refine your approach and achieve better results in email marketing.

Ready to increase your email open rates and drive more revenue? Start applying these strategies today!

Amy Porterfield, known for her expertise in email marketing, often highlights strategies like those outlined in this blog, 'How to Get Emails Opened (and Make More Money),' to maximize open rates and increase revenue.