Do you know the open rate for your email newsletter? The
open rate is the percentage of people who actually open and
read your newsletter. Most better email distribution
programs can give you fairly detailed statistics about your
open rate, including the percentage that opened the
broadcast, the links that they clicked on (called
click-throughs), the specific subscribers who opened the
ezine, and in some cases, info about which issues were
forwarded to others.
A good open rate is considered to be 30-40%, which means
that between 30 and 40% of your list is actually reading
your broadcast. That number mean seem disappointing, as
you want everyone on your list to read your ezine.
Unfortunately, a 100% open rate will probably never happen
for most of us, as most people are simply too busy to pay
close attention to the bulk of email that they receive.
If you're using your ezine as your "stay in touch" device
for your email list as the way your prospects get to like,
know and trust you so that you'll be the top of mind person
they contact when they are ready to fix the problem that
ails them, then you want to ensure that as many of them as
possible open your ezine when it arrives. It's a crowded
world out there in the world of email newsletters and can
be difficult to make yours stand out above the rest.
Here are 5 strategies you can use to increase the open rate
of your ezine:
1. Publish regularly. Your list needs to be accustomed to
hearing from you, so publishing on a regular schedule is
important. Many studies have been done to determine the
"best" day to send an email broadcast, and as soon as a
bunch of email marketers follow those guidelines, then the
days change again according to another study. In my
opinion, it doesn't really matter what day you choose to
publish -- just do it the same time every time. The more
frequently you publish (preferably weekly), the more
quickly your list will get to know you.
2. Personalize your ezine headline and body. What happens
when you see your name in an email? You look at it, don't
you? That's why it's so important to use the customization
features in your email broadcast program to insert your
recipient's first name in the subject line and in the body
of the email. Many readers aren't savvy to the world of
Internet marketing strategies, so they think that you've
crafted an email solely for them. And, of course, to
personalize the broadcast, you need to request both a name
and an email address when someone signs up for your list.
3. Create a compelling subject line. A great subject line
(or headline) is just like a book cover -- it will make
people curious/compelled to open the email, or not. The
subject lines that get the highest open rate are
consistent, or are formatted in the same way each week.
Secondly, they give a glimpse of what's inside the email.
Lastly, they aren't too long -- no more than 50-60
characters, which is the average subject line length that
most email programs will display. I used to publish a
month/year of broadcast and an issue number of my email
newsletters and quickly discovered that I was wasting my
subject line space. Now, I'd suggest your format to be:
[Ezine name]: first name, subject line here.
4. Identify yourself to your readers. When you send an
email broadcast, be sure to identify yourself in the "From"
line so that the reader knows exactly who is sending the
email. If you think your reader identifies more with your
company name, then send it using your company name rather
than your name in the From line. However, the majority of
clients of small service businesses identify more with the
company owner's name, so I recommend that you use your name
in the From line of your email broadcast.
5. Highly useful content. Typically most ezine recipients
will give you 1 or 2 chances to make an impression on them.
If they're not "wowed" by your content, then they do one
of two things -- unsubscribe from your list, or let your
broadcast languish in their email inbox until they get
around to reading it, which may never happen. Every time
you send out an issue, you're making a first impression, as
you've got new readers who join your list every single
week. You don't get a second chance to make a first
impression, so ensure every issue is your best issue. Your
primary article needs to answer a key question asked or
issue encountered by the majority of your readers.
Despite the advent of blogs and other social networking
platforms, I still believe the email newsletter is a great
way to stay in contact with your prospects. By using the
strategies outlined above, you'll have more readers opening
your broadcasts than every before.
----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .
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