Category: Content Marketing

5 Ways To Increase Your Email Open Rate

Not to be too cliché, but building a brand, email list, content and value to market your products and services is just not easy. It takes time and consistent effort to get to a point where people are looking forward to what you have to say and eager to purchase the new products and services you have developed, but it can be done.

The 5 ways to increase your e-mail open rate are:

  • Create an appealing subject line
  • Segment your list
  • Test e-mail frequency
  • Use first names
  • Keep your list updated

Breaking Down E-mail Open Rates

I think the best way to begin breaking down how to increase your e-mail open rate is to compare it to….dating. When you meet someone for the first time, you don’t expect to well **clears her throat**…jump to 3rd base right?

Instead you take the time and effort to get to know the person first, figure out who they are and appreciate the effort they are taking to get to know you first as well.

Essentially you expect that they take you out and buy you dinner first. A little wining and dining as the older folks like to say.

Do you expect anything less from the businesses which have you on their e-mail lists? You also expect that they continue to produce valuable content for you in exchange for your time and yes money, if they are trying to sell something.

If the following scenario resonates with you, then I urge you to keep reading.

At this point most of us are hip to the e-mail marketing game right? It starts with the lead magnet (or “freebie”) which gets your attention. You want it because there was something in it which drew your attention. You read through the post but as soon as the information starts getting juicy you see a message to either click a button which takes you to an opt-in form OR simply a place to enter your name and e-mail address.

Now you have to make a decision: you may decide to either bypass and go to Youtube or some other place where you can get the same information without having to exchange your e-mail address to get it or maybe you choose to enter your information download the freebie and unsubscribe another possibility would be that you enter your information, download the freebie but let the subsequent e-mails you receive go to your inbox or folder to die.

Decisions….Decisions….

Decide How To Approach Your E-mail Marketing

What Happens Next?

Typically the e-mail automation and sequence will begin and although the frequency of e-mails may vary there is usually something they are going to try and sell you at the end of this tunnel.

What makes the entire process trickier? If you are an Entrepreneur or Small Business owner then YOU also must include an e-mail marketing strategy into your OWN business as well.

So what’s a business owner to do?

Let me start with a few facts first for the e-mail marketing haters out there “You might be wondering if email is still a worthwhile marketing strategy. In fact, email generates $38 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 3,800% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available.” (Forsey @Hubspot, 2019)

What Does The Data Tell Us?

  • There are definitely folks out there who are successfully using e-mail marketing
  • People are successfully going through the sales process via e-mail and making purchases
  • E-mail marketing is still an extremely lucrative form of marketing.

Which brings us to this fact: E-mail marketing is still the best way to market to your audience, create raving fans and loyal customers.

How To Get Better Open Rates

The Good news is, I will ALSO include 5 remedies.

 Let’s get to it:

  1. Create an appealing subject line.  

Low click through rates or CTR (for short) typically mean that the e-mail the person is receiving is not relevant to them. Which starts with the subject line of the e-mail, it is important that your subject line targets the content.

Remedy: Try to stay away from urgent subject lines which sound spammy, ie: (This Offer Will Be Gone With The Wind In 2 Hours!) Relevant subject lines will help you to achieve a better CTR then clickbait sounding subject lines which may or may not have anything to do with the content in the e-mail.

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    2. You are not segmenting your list.

    All lists are not equal, every e-mail marketing database has a tagging feature which will allow you to segment and categorize your subscribers based on the specific actions that they take.

    Remedy: By taking the time to narrow your focus and send messages to specific groups within your lists, your subscribers will find your campaigns more relevant—and relevant campaigns get better results. For example, you can segment your list by job title, interest, and location like city, state or zip code.

    How to segment subscribers: Include Drop downs in your opt-in form which will help to segment the audience by category.

    3. You haven’t got your frequency right.

    Make sure to test a few options when it comes to the frequency of your e-mails. I can tell you that typically an e-mail every single day is too much in most cases, where not sending enough – say once every other month could cause your subscribers to potentially forget that you even exist.

    Remedy: Instead go for every other week, make sure that the information you are sending to your list is valuable to them to increase the chances of your e-mail being opened.

    Nurture Your E-mail List
    Find Relevant Ways To connect With Subscribers

    4. Use first names.

    Emails that are personalized in subject typically have a better chance of being opened. Also The value in personalizing your e-mail within the body of your email is that the recipient feels as if the content was written specifically with them.

    Remedy: Remember your content should always be relevant to your audience, opening your subject line with the recipient’s name and also including them within the content of the email helps to achieve a high level of attention and familiarity with your content. You want them to eventually begin to look forward to reading your content.

    5. Keep your list clean and updated.

    OK, sure who doesn’t want to see that there are 2,000 or 3,000 people in their list? Even 200! But when it comes to numbers, engagement and CTR are what counts. It’s not enough to have a list where more than half are people who signed up for your freebie but then failed to ever interact with your content again.

    Remedy: The key is to have a nice clean solid list of people who open your email and read the content you provide to them. Remove email addresses which are, inactive, have a high bounce rate, low CTR or have obvious misspellings in the name or domain.

    The most important thing to remember is to schedule the content you are going to send to your audience in advance. Think about why you are sending this communication and what you hope you and your readers will get from it for best results.

    At Least Buy Me Dinner First

    “At least buy me dinner first” simply implies that, you need to work to show value and proof that you can assist with the needs of your audience instead of just cycling them into a generic sales funnel.

    Take time to think about your email subject lines, make sure that your emails are optimized for mobile devices, “Mobile opens accounted for 46 percent of all email opens” (Hubspot Email Marketing Stats, 2019)

    Not to be too cliché, but building a brand, email list, content and value to market your products and services is just not easy. It takes time and consistent effort to get to a point where people are looking forward to what you have to say and eager to purchase the new products and services you have developed, but it can be done.

    No matter what the guru’s say, stay true to yourself and the message you want your audience to receive, be relevant and timely, never forget that YOU GOT THIS!

    Learn along the way EVERY DAY, remember the REAL secret is to ALWAYS solve for X and start with a PLAN.

    If you have a question or would like for me discuss a particular topic in my next Blog – Contact me: support@isimplyassistu.com  

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    About The Author: Jeanette Stevens is the proud owner of iSimplyAssist LLC Holds Certification in: Google Digital Garage – Fundamentals Of Digital Marketing, Human Resources Management and Digital Entrepreneurship, she is currently completing an MBA in Digital Entrepreneurship, LOVES pancakes, Jazz and fantasy novels.

    Why Content Marketing Matters

    Content marketing is valuable to your business
    Great content is very valuable for your business

    The reason why content marketing matters is because of the value it brings to your customers and business.

    When it comes to the value of content, did you know that according to Hubspot, marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI? (HubSpot, 2019) Which confirms that creating a strategy around valuable content like blogs are typically a much more successful approach to handling your marketing efforts.

    So many times in digital marketing we hear the same buzz words floating around: social media (in general), Linkedin, discussions around Ads whether they are Facebook, Instagram or Google, but what we hear less of is the word content and the impact it can have on your business. Many times even hearing the word content or content marketing what comes next is Blog. But even that is not the whole picture. What ties everything together is the value that the overall content you are producing and distributing is having on your audience on any channel. Because it is that value which will make them comeback for more.

    How To Create Valuable Content

    The best way to create valuable content is to talk about what you know. I like to say teach, yet another buzz word is “Thought Leadership” which is a similar concept. In both instances what you are doing is coming up with topics around your industry that relate to your business and the target market that it serves, creating informational content which will educate your audience. When your audience begins to see you as a resource and can go to your content to learn something new or figure out how to solve a pesky problem or issue, they will continue to consume your content.

    Remember though, this is not coming from an arbitrary place. The goal is to truly add value, you’re not just saying that you can sell them something, instead you are proving your authority within the industry you are doing business in and you are working to attract and convert customers who trust your authority and know the value of doing business with you.

    Content Marketing Strategy

    Your content marketing strategy should follow a system, one which is based on a few factors:

    ·        Knowledge of your industry

    ·        Knowledge of your target market and audience

    ·        Competitor Analysis and Research

    Learn How To Use Content To Attract Leads

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      Knowledge Of Your Industry

      You can only write or create content about what you know right? It is important that you have some knowledge and insight about your industry. If you are trying to establish yourself as a thought leader then getting educated on topics you plan to create content about or staying abreast of important industry changes and updates is of the utmost importance. Keeping your information fresh is not just good for SEO but it is also good and valuable for your audience. A trick that I use which has been very helpful for me is to create Google Alerts which are focused on my chosen keywords.

      To create your own Google Alerts click here: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/4815696?hl=en

      Know More About Your Target Audience

      Lately knowing about your target market is synonymous with buyer persona’s, a buzz word, overly used certainly, but is it still a relevant and important part of the content puzzle?

      1000% Yes!

      Here is why, until you put in the due diligence to get to know who your audience is, discover where they are online and what they need, you will always have a problem with getting your message to the right people at the right time.

      So how do you figure this out?

      You have to start by narrowing down who you’re targeting and yes, really complete that buyer persona to gain a clear understanding of who your audience is. According to Inc.’s article, How To Define Your Target Market it suggests, “Try searching online for research others have done on your target. Search for magazine articles and blogs that talk about or to your target market. Search for blogs and forums where people in your target market communicate their opinions. Look for survey results, or consider conducting a survey of your own. Ask your current customers for feedback.” (Source: https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/defining-your-target-market.html)

      Competitor Analysis and Research

      It is very important to incorporate competitor analysis and research into your content marketing strategy. You get valuable insight by looking at who the competition is targeting and asking yourself a few questions like: what platforms are they doing well in? What conversations are they having? Where are they weakest and how can you take that information to strengthen your own position? Determine what ways you can be different and possibly find a niche opportunity they could be potentially missing out on. Just be very careful, you have to make sure that you are taking an objective and strategic approach to your competitor analysis, to put it plainly, ensure that you have a plan and purpose for the research. It is very easy to get caught up in what you think they are doing better and if not careful, could end up just being a copycat instead of an innovator.

      Conclusion

      Content marketing matters at every point of your business. Your content should move your prospects and leads through the buyer’s journey. That journey begins when they first notice the existence of your business. It then moves them along as they evaluate what your business is all about, soaking up all of the valuable resources that you have provided to help them understand what you do, why you do it, what you know and why they should get on board. Never underestimate the power of good content. Focus always on the customer, speak to their need with solutions. Have questions about creating your own content marketing strategy? Let’s Chat!