60 per cent of business decision makers say the Internet and email is the best way to reach your customers as it is targeted and relevant to them.
So how do you engage your audience? The e-comms team have put together seven top tips how to improve your open and click rates.

60 per cent of business decision makers say the Internet and email is the best way to reach your customers as it is targeted and relevant to them.  So how do you engage your audience? The e-comms team have put together seven top tips how to improve your open and click rates.

The FROM field is very important when sending a newsletter as your email should be immediately recognisable to the recipient. The ‘from’ field – both the sender line and the email address – should fulfil this task.“An email newsletter is probably the single highest ROI action to improve online presence.”~

Jakob Nielsen Ph.D., a User Advocate and principal of the Nielsen Norman Group.

With that quote in mind, how do we attract the recipient to open and click on the crucial marketing information we are providing them?

The answer is that we have to engage with our audience as best as we can through our newsletters, but how do we do this?

  • What are your ‘from’ choices with the sender line? There are a number, actually – and the one you select should correctly reflect the relationship you have with each recipient. Send from the Account Manager, Director or even the Customer Relations person that has spoken or had direct contact with the recipient
  • The SUBJECT line is at the top of the list for influencing an open this time. In fact, a recent ReturnPath study found 58% of subscribers will decide what to do based on the subject line which is why it is crucial to gain the reader’s attention. Attract them by personalising this, or suggesting a ‘call to action’ whereby the recipient wants to learn more
  • WELCOME text – introduce the recipient to the newsletter and highlight, in a nut shell, the topics covered. Cover all varieties so that there is something in the newsletter that will be relevant to them. Make them feel special and build on the relationship with them by using their first name; Dear Bob…First impressions are highly important therefore acknowledging who the recipient is, is crucial.  The customer will make their decision as to whether they will carry on reading within the first top three inches of the newsletter/email and within three seconds!!
  • Don’t overcomplicate or flood the reader with lots of text, use space and short punchy paragraphs with images to attract the eye
  • If you can, segment your content so that you are only aiming specific content at the correct type of recipients, so all of the articles visible to them will add value to their business – by making an email relevant to group attributes increases clicks by 70%!
  • Lastly, be CREATIVE with your content – think of embedding Flickr, videos, webcasts and presentations into the back pages of your newsletter, content doesn’t have to be just words!

    FACTS

    • 65% of newsletter recipients forward newsletters on
    • 81% of executives subscribe to industry email newsletters for product information and business intelligence – they like to receive this information as it helps them to make decisions
    • 60% of business decision makers say Internet and email is the best way to reach them as it is targeted and relevant to them

HAPPY WRITING!