One of the biggest challenges businesses have today when it comes to email marketing is their click-through rate – people clicking at least one link in your email.
How important is this? Because it is the easiest indicator that shows your email marketing campaign is a success or not.
Sadly, however, 53 percent of businesses are suffering from low click-through rates. If you’re experiencing this, you might consider partnering with lead generation services professionals to craft emails that effectively capture and convert your prospects.
There are many factors that affect this and one of the biggest is that people are already desensitized by such emails so they delete or archive them without clicking the CTA(s) or even without reading them. That response is understandable given the fact that each person receives 88 emails a day on average.
The Truth about Email Click-Through Rates
Despite those large percentages, it’s not all bad news for email marketing because it has been improving all through the years. Compared to the 3.5 percent click-through rate in 2010, the present rate is 7 percent, which shows that email marketing strategies are improving.
More so, there are several factors that affect whether people will click on the links/images/CTAs in your email or not:
When did you send your email?
Studies show that Saturday and Sunday have the highest open and click-through rates. Email performance by the hour shows that people are more likely to click your email between 9AM and 4PM.
Who are the recipients?
Each group of people has varying interests depending on their age, gender, career, the region they live in, and more. If you know who will read your email, you’ll be able to engage them according to what interests them.
Is it responsive?
Those who open their emails using their desktop are three times more likely to open them. However, 55 percent of people are using their mobile devices to access their emails. Moreover, 70 percent of emails are abandoned simply because they are not optimized for mobile.
When did you update your email list?
According to GetResponse, email lists have a natural churn rate of up to 30 percent every year. Some of the reasons include people unsubscribing, complaining about your emails, or haven’t seen your email at all because they get straight to their SPAM folder. It makes sense, therefore, to clean or update your email list on a regular basis.
Another way of solving this is to send re-engagement emails or create an opt down where people can unsubscribe from your mailing list.
Related: 6 Secrets of a Sales Prospecting Email that Prospects Can’t Say No To
How to Make Prospects Read Your Emails (and Click the CTAs)
If you want to improve your click-through rate, you need to convince people to open and read your email first. And here’s how you do that.
Ask them first
If you received a letter from someone you don’t know, what are the chances you’re going to open it?
That’s very unlikely, right?
The same goes for people who will receive an email from you without knowing you beforehand.
Thus, if you want to increase the chances of your emails getting opened, ask for them first whether they want to receive an email from you or not. You can do this using an opt-in form on your site.
Wow them with your preview text
The preview text gives readers an idea of what is inside your email. If you are able to entice them at this point, you have hurdled the first level.
When it comes to killer subject lines and preview texts, leadership, and coaching website, EntreLeadership, nails it. Let’s take a look at their emails:
It has a subject line and a preview text but what stands out is they have managed to make the subject line a preview text and call to action all rolled into one. The words are well thought of – short but address the pain point immediately.
Stay true to your word
When you asked for their email in return for valuable content, make sure you make good with that promise – one mistake will break that trust.
Aside from that, make sure that they recognize the email they are receiving is from you. Create a standard format of how your preview text and your email will look like; otherwise, your email will go to the trash bin.
Inspire (not just entice) them to take action
Getting them to open and read your email means you are one step closer to the goal. But, of course, the best part of the batch is when you persuade them to take positive action – click your email CTA.
Just like subject lines and email previews, you need to take extra steps to ensure that your copy is not only well-written but offers actual value. Go beyond a first name and step up your personalization game. And finally, nail your links and CTAs. Make sure that your links and/or CTA go smoothly with the flow of the content, so position them strategically.
Conclusion
You can boost your email click-through rate using the suggestions we gave above. If you need more help on how to do this, contact us so we can help you create an email marketing strategy that works.
