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By next year, people around the world will send and receive 376 billion emails every day. Inboxes are overflowing, so capturing your customers’ attention is becoming increasingly difficult. Do you want to stand out and get more clicks? Stop obsessing over the object. Instead, focus on the relevance and quality of the emails.
A ZeroBounce report suggests that 47% of people open a branded email Not because of the subject matter but because they always receive relevant messages from that brand. The subject line comes second in enticing someone to open an email, the report shows, based on a survey of American and European email users.
So how can you improve your emails, deliver consistent value, and increase your metrics? Here are eight habits to adopt today.
1. Make sure people recognize you
Since email open rates often depend on trust in the sender, you need to be instantly recognizable in people’s inboxes. Make sure the “From” name is consistent across all the different types of marketing emails you send. For example, if your sales team contacts prospects, their “From” name should reflect your branding, such as “Paul from Entrepreneur” rather than “Paul Jones.”
Related: 11 Common Email Marketing Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
2. Introduce yourself to your audience
The value your emails provide carries the most weight, but it will only have an impact if you send those emails regularly. To determine your sending schedule, be realistic: How many emails can you send? If all you can send is one newsletter a month, that’s fine, as long as you show up in your inbox like clockwork.
3. Segment your email list
Sending the same email to all your subscribers is unlikely to drive engagement. Your customers are at various stages of their journey with your business. Some may be new members who have yet to make a purchase, while others are repeat customers. Use filters to create separate groups and reach emails that make sense for each segment.
4. Personalize each message
Segmenting your email list is the first step towards personalizing your email. But if you want to build further trust in your brand, make each subscriber feel like you wrote that email just for them. Address their pain points and provide simple ways to alleviate them. Offer new ideas and content that directly meet their needs. This approach fosters a deeper and more immediate connection.
5. Listen to your audience
Want to improve your email content overnight and increase engagement? Dive into customer support tickets, social media channels and industry forums to find out exactly what people are discussing. If you host webinars, save all the questions people ask in the chat. Collect all this information in one document and you’ll have a constant flow of relevant topics in your emails.
Related: 5 things you can do to improve your email marketing
6. Keep your emails short
28% of email users surveyed by ZeroBounce said the length of an email doesn’t matter as long as the email is tailored to them. Once again we see how important segmentation and personalization are. However, 66% said they prefer short emails, so if you can make your emails relevant both AND in short, you will get higher open rates. Bonus: You’ll likely spend less time on your email marketing.
7. Infuse warmth into your tone
Before you send your next email, take a moment to read it aloud. Ask yourself, does this sound like a conversation you would have in person with your customers? Corporate jargon can be a communication barrier. Consider toning it down and infusing your emails with more warmth and personality. In the age of artificial intelligence, looking more human helps you stand out.
8. Make it easy to unsubscribe
Allowing subscribers to easily leave your email list doesn’t just make sense; It’s also a fundamental rule for email deliverability. Recent sending requirements from Google and Yahoo emphasize that people should be able to unsubscribe from emails with a single click. Consult your email marketing platform and test the unsubscribe process. If you don’t follow this rule, you may notice a spike in spam complaints, which can relegate your emails to the spam folder.
Bonus Tips: Make sure your emails land in your inbox
Adopting the good habits above will give you a boost in clicks, but imagine putting all that effort into your emails only for them to end up in spam. To help them access their inbox, remember to:
- Remove invalid contacts and avoid bounces: Your bounce rate should never exceed 2%.
- Authenticate your emails to meet Google and Yahoo requirements.
- To avoid spam complaints, avoid sending emails to people who have not given you permission.
Finally, sending emails from a reliable platform is crucial for email deliverability. Choose a reliable company and get expert advice if you suspect your emails are not arriving in your inbox.