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Greg B
Content Strategist, Community Builder, Newsroom Manager with Flair for Editorial "Edge" and Media Brand-Building.
Best way to increase e-mail newsletter open rates?
Does "reply to" addresses matter? Subject lines? What's an effective subject line?
Are these concerns even on-target, considering the goal: more open newsletters?
Good Answers (1)
Rich T
Editorial manager at Zondervan. (Also: media enthusiast, technologist, speaker, editor, freelance writer, photographer.)
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There are many metrics to measure, each with variables influencing trends: Delivery, Open, Click-Through, Forwarding, Conversion and Subscriber (Growth / Retention / Attrition).
Since you asked about open rates, I'll describe delivery & open rates first, briefly touching on others.
Test everything. If you're unsure what strategy to use, segment your list into campaigns & test one subject line vs. another, test one layout vs. another, etc.
DELIVERY
Before they can open it, you gotta get it there. So, pass all the spam checks first.
• Deliver from your own domain. A subdomain works, too (lists.x.com). Otherwise your msg may be flagged as possible scam, spam, or phish.
• Make envelope SENDER, FROM and REPLY-TO domains match.
• Make sure your DNS has an SPF entry field authorizing your sending IP & domain name.
• Use bonded auth. services for important stuff . (Ex: AOL is using Goodmail Systems. [$$$])
• Follow AOL's postmaster rules: http://postmaster.aol.com
• Track delivery issues: sub to your lists via major email portals such Gmail, etc.
• Check for spammyness using a content checker: http://lyris.com/resources/contentchecker/
• Keep your msg below 50-75KB.
• Don't use spammy subject lines, no ! marks, avoid buy, sell, hot, etc.
• No attachments. Use URIs to link binaries.
• Use X-headers that mimic common mail senders.
OPEN
• Make it EASY to unsub in every msg. Your advertisers would rather sell to list with 90% open rates vs 30%. If it's hard to unsub, many will simply delete — diluting your open & click rates. Use the X-header unsub links.
• Use a clear FROM address, use both parts, e.g. "Newsletter Name" <x@list.x.com>
• Use the user's full name in the TO address label.
• Be consistent with meta data (FROM, REPLY-TO), etc. For users with filters if meta data changes, filters break.
• Provide link to online version in plaintext portion of your multipart delivery.
• Use informative & compelling subject lines, not clever & ambiguous.
• Send during biz hours when users have already deleted the stuff they're too busy to read. Don't send on wkends.
• Be consistent with your content.
• Get content close above "see level," people often view msgs in preview pane. Grab attention & compel them to read. (This will probably count as an open, but you still want conversions & loyalty.)
• Don't over-deliver. Once a week is fine — unless you have time-sensitive stuff. Don't under-deliver: less than 1x a month & they'll forget you.
CLICKTHRU
• Use compelling, descriptive link titles. If users don't know what they're getting before clicking, they won't. Link in multiple ways, use text hyperlinks, link images.
• Use HTML+CSS. Design for 640x480. Use liquid design that scales well.
• Limit column width to make it EZ to read entire newsletter. Use Web usability rules (useit.com).
• Be personal & warm editorially.
• Test designs in multiple clients & via webmail. If layout breaks they won't read or click.
FORWARDS
• Encourage your readership to fwd. Tools like Lyris can track this.
• Put compelling & interesting content in your newsletter with enough information that it's worth fwding.
CONVERSION
• This is all about the landing page. Make it good or they'll stop clicking after enough disappointment.
SUBSCRIBER (GROWTH / RETENTION / ATTRITION)
• Promote the NL on your website. Provide archived copies. Get indexed by Google.
• Expect 3-5% attrition per month from bad addresses & unsubs. If there's an attrition spike, you maybe got blacklisted.
• Never, ever, ever subscribe others w/o permission. This is not only evil, but will only inflate your sub rate in the short run while diluting open-, clickthru-, forward- rates.
There's lots more to be said and I had to really work to get this below the 4,000 character limit, but these are the highlights based on my extensive experience. Hope it helps.
Regards,
Rich
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More Answers (13)
1- Start with a captivating headline. Make sure it does not sound spammy.
2- I believe that most people will give your e-newsletter one chance. A newsletter that tries to sell me products turns off completely. So I would not try to sell anything in a newsletter.
3- Focus on providing useful and unique information. Selling comes much later. I always appreciate and look forward to reading a newsletter that has informative articles.
4- Do not send newsletters too frequently. There is nothing that I hate more than receiving a weekly newsletter. I think a newsletter should be sent maybe once every 6 weeks or so.
5- Writing style is also important. Different people with different interests will be receiving the letter so you need to write in a way that address most of them.
6- A newsletter is an extension of your company. Make sure that it reflects quality in all aspects.
7- Do not forget the small details such as spelling and grammar.
Greg,
The best way of achieving results with any email campaign is to test. Set up a simple A/B split of your list and start testing different aspects of your newsletter. Make sure to keep a record of your tests and don't stop testing. What works this quarter may not work next quarter.
Seeing as you are going for open rates I would suggest starting with a test of your subject line. Adding your companies name somewhere in the subject line has shown an increase in open rates. At ISG we have recently gotten away from using the word newsletter anywhere in the subject line. People see newsletter and think boring. Try using something in your subject line that motivates opens, i.e. "Corporation X Newsletter" to "See Where Corporation X Can Take You". Personalization is also another subject variation you may want to test.
Preview panes have become increasingly popular across email inbox providers. This allows recipients to view and even read an email without technically opening it. One way to get to your preview pane audience is to provide a call to action click above the fold. If they click on a link they will automatically be counted as an open.
Robert B
Consultant in corporate communications, strategic planning and business development, turnarounds and start-ups.
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I agree with Khalid and would like to add that I appreciate a newsletter that I can reply to by hitting the reply button - I don't like it if I am forced to go to a website. I also believe there should be an opt out method that is convenient - reply with "unsubscribe" as the subject.
1. Headline
2. Headline
3. Headline
Take the time to do well planned and executed A/B testing to find the best headline and FROM lines.
Also, look at your list quality and delivery rates. Vertical Response is a good choice for smaller lists. Make sure you are using a service that provides high delivery rates and offers accurate tracking. You can't open an email that you don't receive.
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Liz O
Director, International at LinkedIn
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Agree with all the points above. If your target metric is open rates, then subject line testing is key. Some additional tips in this area:
- The more you segment your mailing list, the more you can target each segment with a relevant subject line (e.g business vs. consumer, new user vs. experienced)
- I've had success with the word "new!". But you can't overuse this -- use it only when you really have something new, otherwise you lose credibility
- Use your A/B subject line test to determine what really matters to your audience. In an email I sent at a previous job, I found that "3 easy steps" beat out "save 20%", even though everyone thought that people would be most responsive to a time-sensitive money-saving offer. You can then use this information beyond just the email channel.
Stephen A
Consultant in SDLC, QA, and Service Delivery Process and Improvement
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First off; there is no truly accurate way to measure open rates, take any claims or promises of reported open rates from your software platform or provider with a big grain of salt. At best they can guarantee that a message was delivered to the intended mail server, NOT that it was delivered to the intended recipient. Any claims to the contrary are nothing but bluster on the part of the salesman/consultant.
Second; make sure you are following recognized list management principals. Spamhaus.org is a great resource. Repeat the second guideline as often as needed, but no less than every 30 days.
Third; never, never, ever purchase an address list! This goes back to list management principals above but un-fortunately it seems that it needs to be repeated again and again.
Fourth; content, content, content. Even if you are running a truly valid/compliant e-mail marketing campaign many users will never bother to open and/or read it if it no longer has any value to them. In a lot of cases they won’t even bother to un-subscribe either, guess it’s an un-fortunate side effect of true SPAM., end users get it drilled in the their heads not to un-subscribe because it only confirms a valid e-mail address and often simply forget that they actually subscribed to a list.
Fifth; content, content, content. Customers demands and expectations change. Make sure you provide a means of customer feedback and identify the trends so you can keep your marketing on target.
Clarification added February 5, 2007:
There are steps that you can take to increase the likelihood of your e-mail being delivered to the Inbox and not being identified as SPAM/UCBE. White-list, Bonded Sender, and Habeas are a few that come to mind. But keep in mind these only increase the likelihood of delivery to the Inbox, despite some claims to guarantee delivery.
Jacob Nielsen, a well-known usability expert, has an article on his website about newsletter usability that you may find useful. The link is included below.
Links:
Hello,
To be efficient in answering I just want to give you an adress
http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp
There are a lot of info about e-mail newsletter efficiency, some white papers with god advice
Hope it will help
Frédéric VEVE
WAY TO GO
Links:
Scott G
Exceptional Personal Dental Care, featuring success with veneers and dental implants
I Agree, the headline must be interesting, but beyond that you have to DELIVER something that they really want, time after time after time. Repeat openers will be far more valuable than many ONE timers. Make it so tasty and valuable that they just WAIT for your next edition.
Sheilah E
Owner, SME Management:.......... Business Management and Accounting Consultant
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Hello Greg,
I can say from experience that if you want your newletter read, make sure the subject line contains volume and issue numbers. Spammers generally don't take the time to do that so yours will standout as legit.
Keep a good balance in the topics you choose. Throw in a smile for the week or an interesting quote that motivates along with all your normal topics.
Being able to reply is very important and allows you to get feedback from your audience. If you want your recipients to actually read the newsletter, then you should be will to read their thoughts as well. Perhaps they can also submit topics they would like to see in future issues.
As another member mentioned, spell check is critical. Nothing is worse than reading a book, magazine or news article and finding basic spelling errors.
Hope this helps.
Sheilah
sme@gci.net
Give someone a reason to open your e-mail. Curiosity-provoking subject line along with consistently entertaining experiences, stories, personal "reality" pop-culture items inside will do it.
At least... it does for me. Craig
Links:
Ahmad R
Internet Design, Development, Marketing, Management & Maintenance - Specializing in eCommerce and Content Management
Rich has some very excellent advise and very thorough.
You do need to keep in mind the preview panes... they will inflate your stats. But even users with preview panes sometimes actually open the email... but can only do so if they see some interesting content... a lot of email applications now block images by default, so I strongly recommend not using an image at the top of your email to "make the sale" to open the email...
Effective subject lines are completely dependent on what you are sending. You mention newsletter, in which case the comment to include volume/issue numbers is paramount. Even a month to describe the issue, for example "Company X Newsletter - January 2007"
SPAM proof: remember that an email can ONLY (sort of) be opened if it isn't thrown into the SPAM box... so be sure to test your email BEFORE sending it out. For example http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/ or http://www.gravitymail.com/spamscore.php
And at the end of the day, a newsletter will be opened more often if someone is looking forward to reading it... which involves 2 considerations: Why did the user sign up for it ? and the content. If the user signed up for the newsletter because the "Subscribe me" check-box was preselected during a form submission... then it isn't likely they really wanted to subscribe... Opt in should be very clear on a web site and should even give them samples of what they will receive... this is something that is very often overlooked. Its a simple check-box which isn't meaningful.
Hope this helps.
Cheers!
Liza B
Attorney - Compliance Counsel
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Rich Tatum's answer was excellent.
I want to emphasize the importance of following the AOL Postmaster rules. If you have any significant number of AOL addresses on your list and do not do so, you will likely be blackholed.
Also, consistent, matching From & Reply-To addresses that make it easy for users to filter messages (if they so choose), along with short, descriptive subject lines and introductory paragraphs.
Personally, I prefer mailing lists where I have the option of text-only or HTML, and where the frequency of the mail is clear when I sign up. For example, the 2 email newsletters I read most regularly are a weekly "Your Baby This Week" message on child development from the hospital where my baby was born, and the Center for Democracy & Technology "Policy Posts" on technology topics I find interesting. In the former, I know I will get exactly one message per week. In the latter, I know I will get "occasional" messages whenever something of interest is happening -- normally 1 message every 1-6 weeks.