10 Ways to Skyrocket Your Email Click-Through
Rate (CTR)
1.A/B TEST YOUR SUBJECT LINE –
Every good email needs a good subject line. As it is the first thing that people see when your email comes in, it must be enticing, unique, and personal. During the creative process, you’ll likely have many different ideas for a subject line. This is where A/B testing comes in.
It’s unlikely that you’ll get a perfect subject line the first time. That’s why testing is important. Try out different words, different formats, and different methods of personalization. You never know what will resonate with your target audience until they respond to it. As you develop your email marketing strategy, be sure to keep testing to see what works and what doesn’t.
2. USE PREHEADERS –
Preheaders go hand in hand with the subject line and are there to hook your potential customers. A good preheader will be a jumping off point from the subject line while leaving a cliffhanger for the reader. A good practice is to end it before the sentence is completed. For example, a subject line with a preheader could look like this:
“Mike, your final offer expires in 3 days! – Act now or you’ll lose…”
In this example, the preheader is “Act now or you’ll lose”. Being a sentence fragment, it will effectively flow right into the body content of your email like a cliffhanger. It’s an easy thing to add that will encourage readers to open your message.
3. SEGMENT YOUR CUSTOMER LISTS –
The first two tips will land you better open rates, but that’s only half the battle. Once you reel in your customers, you have to get them to bite. One of the best ways to do that is segmenting your customer lists.
Your customers are all interested in your business, but there is no one-size fits all approach that would grant you the most amount of clickthroughs. If you break up your customer list into subcategories depending on what products they purchased, how long ago they had service from your company, or where they live, then you can tailor your email messaging specifically to them. The more personalized your content is, the greater clickthrough rate you will get.
4. MAKE MOBILE-FRIENDLY EMAILS –
Computers are on a desk, but they’re also in our pockets. The reality is that any digital marketing effort must be mobile-friendly and not just desktop-friendly. The same is true for email. You want customers who open your email to read the content and view the images without any issues. Most email platforms automatically format your campaigns to mobile, but it’s important to preview what the final draft will look like to ensure that you don’t drive anyone away with a poorly optimized message.
5. INCLUDE A CLEAR CTA –
If you want to increase your clickthrough rate, your customers need to know where you want them to click. In other words, you want to have a clear call-to-action (CTA). If you’re sending an email about needing more workers, include a button on the bottom that takes readers to your careers page. If you want people to use a coupon for an item, have a button that takes them to the product on your website. Your email click-through rate should act as a guide, so you must be as clear as possible.
6. INCLUDE SPECIAL OFFERS –
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a common tactic when advertising. If people feel like they could miss out on something exclusive, then they’ll be more likely to click through your email. By including a limited-time discount or freebie, then you can incentivize customers to interact with your email.
7. IMAGES ARE A MUST –
Text can convey a message, but if you don’t have an image, you’ve lost a lot of your customers. Studies show that email campaigns have 42% more clickthrough rates when they use images. By having a visual aid to bolster your message, you’ll encourage people to stick around and see what you have to say. However, don’t just throw in images willy nilly. Be sure that they are relevant to your topic and reflect your overall message.
8. INCORPORATE VIDEO CONTENT –
Another great way to boost your email click-through rate is by using video content. If you have any ads, promos, product videos, or more, you can use those in your email campaigns. Video content, even a GIF, can prove more attention-grabbing than static images and lead to a higher CTR.
9. ADD SOCIAL SHARING –
It’s inevitable that your message won’t always be delivered to customers who are ready to buy. However, they may know someone who is, which is where social sharing options come in. Email platforms allow you to link your social media accounts and place buttons in your campaign. By interacting with those, readers can share your message on their social accounts and tag people who may be more interested in your product or service.
10. ADD A P.S. –
Recency bias is a phenomenon that points out most people tend to place greater emphasis on new or recent events or information. That’s why adding a P.S. is important (and why we made it the last tip on this blog). It is essentially your last chance to hit your main message home and get people to remember you. This is where you reiterate your main offer or purpose to your campaign and get your readers to take action.
