Get your emails opened

The first goal for your sales or marketing email should be to get it opened. The second is to engage your audience. We’ve designed a lot of emails in the last year, here is what we’ve learnt:

Have short direct subject lines

Your subject line can make all the difference. Here are a few tips to writing subject lines that are open-rate friendly:

  • Avoid words like “free,” “help,” “percent off,” and “reminder”
  • If you send regular newsletters, give each one a fresh subject line.
  • Steer away from flashy phrases or marketing-heavy language.
  • Consider localizing your subject line by including a city name.
  • Think about making yourself relevant by referring to popular news or events.

And last but not least…

  • Keep it short

Contact Monkey, an email tracking and analytics company, has put together a great infographic that we love! Take a look at the useful stats they’ve collected:

Make sure it’s coming from the right name

Think about what’s in your “From:” line. Make sure your subject line, content, and “From:” line all play nicely together. You want it to be clear in the reader’s mind who this email is being sent from.

Also keep in mind that different reply-to addresses send different messages. An email from “SketchDeck Team” tells the reader that we, as a team, have something to share, while an email from “Hilda Jones” tells the reader that Hilda, Head of Sales at SketchDeck, has a message or question.

Send to a relevant audience

Tailor your send-to lists to reach only the highest-quality and most engaged users to achieve the best open rates. Also consider targeting certain emails to certain lists (i.e. information about your subscription options should be sent to contacts who don’t yet have subscriptions).

Engage your audience

A great open rate doesn’t do much good unless it leads to action! Here are a few tips for driving engagement:

  • Create quality content that your audience cares about
  • Include a call-to-action link or button (i.e. “Read More”, “Start a Project”) so it is easy for your audience to take the next step
  • Keep your content fresh by sending different types of emails from one week to the next
  • Illustrations and beautiful photography are a great way to make emails more enjoyable

Thanks!

Every day we design beautiful emails for our clients. If you’d like to work with us on improving your marketing, get in touch below!

jroberts

jroberts

Redefine what's possible with SketchDeck.

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