6 killer ways to Get Your Emails Opened

It’s unlikely you’d be reading this if you didn’t already know email marketing is a great way to market your business. But email can be intimidating because it can be such a pain to get them opened. Improving your email open rates will mean more prospects and more sales.

People are overrun with emails every day, mostly from companies trying to sell to them. In order to stand out from the crowd and get your emails opened, you can’t make the mistakes most other emails are making. So, you may be wondering…

How can I get my emails to stand out?

You’re in luck. Here are 6 ridiculously simple ways to automatically improve your email open rates. There is nothing more important in email marketing because if they don’t open the email, the content in the email is useless. These tips are in no particular order but just adding a couple of them will ensure more success in getting your emails opened. 

Let’s get into it!

1. Stay Out of the Spam Folder

You could be sending emails no one will ever read because they are going straight to the spam folder. Spam filters have slowly gotten smarter at detecting what is truly spam, but they don’t get it right every time. 

Just because you are sending quality emails that aren’t spamming the email recipient doesn’t mean they aren’t going to the spam filter dungeon, never to be seen. 

To ensure your emails go to the primary inbox, follow these best practices to avoid being flagged by spam filters. 

• Avoid overusing “salesy” words and phrases like discount, clearance, buy, etc. These words attract spam filters. 
• Have email subscribers respond to or whitelist your welcome email.
• Don’t use click-bait subject lines that have nothing to do with the content. 
• Have an opt-out option that can be easily found.
• Use verified domains.

2.     Keep It Short

Having a short and sweet subject line is proven to increase open rates. Generally, it’s best to stay under 45-50 characters or about 4 to 6 words. The best way to look at it is the shorter the better. Say everything you need to say as briefly as possible.

Keeping it short keeps you from over-explaining but leaves you just enough room to intrigue readers without giving away completely what the email is about. You want to do more of the explaining in the first sentence or two of the email, not the subject line.

3.      Write to One Person

Whether your email list has 10 people or 10 million, it’s natural to try to write to the audience as a group. But this could be hurting your open rates and engagement.

People want to read about themselves and the more your emails can come across like it’s been written directly to that subscriber the more likely they will open it. 

A few awesome ways to do this are, 

• Use their first name in the subject line.
• Say you, not phrases like you all, our customers, subscribers, etc.
• Keep it casual, like you’re emailing a friend.

4.      Write Emails Actually Worth Reading

It may sound like a weird tip for tips on getting the email opened but it’s so important. If you write bad emails, people won’t keep opening them. 

On the other hand, if your emails are awesome and the reader loves reading them, they are more likely to open every email you send, which will drastically increase open rates. 

If you can’t write engaging fun emails, hiring a copywriter who can write well for your target audience and your ideal customers is worth it. 

5.     Be Funny, Sometimes

Businesses often try to be too “professional” when really, they are coming off as dry and boring. If you can get them to laugh at your subject line as they scroll through the sea of emails that just describe their sales, you’ll be the email to get clicked on. 

Using humor automatically creates a bond between you and the reader, so not only do they want to open your email, but they will also trust you more because of it. 

It shows that your company doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is good in the eyes of consumers. 

Just don’t overdo it. Subtle humor that’s witty is better than dying-for-attention humor. If you know your customers well, you won’t have trouble writing something they find funny. 

Pro tip: You can use an emoji in the subject line or an animated GIF in the email itself to up the comedy game and keep your readers coming back. 

6.     Send Emails at Better Times

When you send your emails can improve open rates so knowing when your customers typically view their email will put you ahead of the competition. You can try doing A/B tests to see what times work better than others. 

A general rule of thumb is that Monday and Thursday are best, with Wednesday and Thursday slightly better. Email reading drops off substantially during the weekend. For the time of day, between 7-10 am typically is the prime time for email reading, and the numbers drop slowly from noon onward.