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Email is one of the closest connections we have with customers. An engaged email list can lead to increased sales and successful launching. On the other hand, a disengaged email list can lead to a lot of disappointment.
One of the challenges you may be facing is a low open rate. OptinMonster has a list of the average open rates for each industry here. If your open rate is below average, here are a few reasons your customers may not be opening emails:
You Have Bad Email Subject Lines
People can get hundreds of emails a day. There’s a lot of information attempting to divert them away from your email. If the email subject line isn’t eye-catching, they’re going to delete it and move on.
An email subject line is like a headline for your email. It has to be enticing enough for someone to click. If you go to write an email and get stuck at the headline, you’re not alone. OptinMonster has 164 examples of good email subject lines that may give you some inspiration.
Many email marketing services have a feature where you can A/B test email subject headings for engagement. In ConvertKit, for example, you can put in two headlines. ConvertKit will send out both to a small percentage of your list as a test. Whichever headline gets the most engagement will be sent to the rest of your list.
Your Content Isn’t Unique Enough
Think about the email blasts that you always read. What’s the content like? What’s the writing style?
For me, there’s one or two business owners that I read religiously. I immediately open every one of their emails as soon as they hit my inbox. A common theme I see in emails I enjoy is unique perspective.
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Engaging emails are not usually a roundup of news updates or blog posts. They’re a story or anecdote that relates to a problem I’m having or a topic I’m interested in.
I actually tried both approaches in my own business—I sent out roundup emails with some links to blog post and then I tried story based emails. The story based emails get more engagement.
Not sure what content you should be writing? You can learn techniques by studying other email marketing tactics. Sign up for the email lists of some competitors. Check out what they’re sending to their customers. Look at what’s working and not working and implement your own strategy.
Too Much Promotion
Unless you run a retail site or one that’s specifically for promotions, flash sales, and deals, promoting all the time can turn people off. How do you feel when you constantly get promotions from a business?
Don’t be so heavy handed with the promotion. Instead, you could try sending out emails with resources, testimonials, or a behind the scenes look at your business. Get creative with it!