Improving Open Rates For Email Marketing for Numpties

Improving Open Rates For Email Marketing for Numpties

When it comes to improving your email open rates in your marketing, I have a surprise for you, because it's counterintuitive and seems to go against what science tells us is true about most humans most of the time.Improving Open Rates For Email MarketingI strongly suspect you'd find it very hard to find a stranger species than homo sapiens anywhere in the universe; indeed, the best sci-fi 'aliens' possess, in magnified and perhaps sometimes caricatured form, the traits we recognise as being odd in ourselves.For example, it's long been known, and demonstrated time and time again with research that we'll work harder to cling onto something we already have than we will to gain something we don't' what's more, we'll also work harder to avoid pain than we will to seek pleasure.Weird, eh?Well if you think that's weird just get a load of this: if you want to sell more by email couch your subject line in terms of gaining something positive, even if what you're sharing with them or selling to them is ultimately about avoiding something negative. Let me repeat it, because it's staggering when you think about it: if you want to sell more by email couch your subject line in terms of gaining something positive, even if what you're sharing with them or selling to them is ultimately about avoiding something negative.Isn't that strange?Here's a real-world example of a recent test I carried out. Two subject lines from otherwise identical emails: 1. How to Get Your Copy Read 2. How to Avoid Screwing Up Your HeadlineYou'd think the second would outpull the first, wouldn't you?Why? Because it's congruent with our human nature in wanting to avoid pain rather than seek pleasure.But no: 35% more people went for the first as went for the second -- and that's definitely statistically significant (these stats are based on open rates, which while being inaccurate are consistent across the two emails and will be good relative measure).So in this example you'd just make sure your email sales copy was aimed at getting them to achieve the first (get their copy read) by not doing the second (screwing up their headline).Remember: this isn't just an interesting but useless observation, though. This kind of knowledge will make you a lot of money.Why?Because your emails will make you money only if they get acted upon, and they'll get acted upon only if they get read... and they'll get read only if they get opened!Most email marketers get this badly wrong and spend far too much time trying to sell in the email instead of going for the 'low hanging fruit' of maximising the open rates. Yes, your email content is important... but if the email isn't getting read, then it's completely irrelevant.

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