Email is one of the most powerful marketing tools for building customer relationships, increasing brand awareness and driving sales. It’s a worthy part of your digital marketing strategy, but impact hinges on getting people to open your messages. Here are some tips for boosting your open rate.

Personalize

Personalizing email marketing based on customer behavior, history, interests and preferences can increase open rates and conversions.

Segment your list so that you can tailor messages to specific needs and interests. Personalization increases relevancy and builds trust and relationships with customers. Data from Statista shows that open rates for personalized emails average 18.8% compared to 13.1% without personalization.

Invest in the Subject Line

Spend as much time perfecting the subject line as you spend on the rest of the content. Readers make split second decisions on whether or not to open an email and that decision is based on the email’s subject line. A marketing email can be visually appealing and contain great content, but if the subject line is not compelling, the email won’t be opened.

Subject lines should be short and attention grabbing. Use action words that motivate the recipient to open the email. Use 40-50 characters and 4-6 words. Emojis that add to the meaning can be effective. Use strategically and sparingly.

Provide Great Content

Email newsletters should include content that brings value to the reader. Content should be brief, attention grabbing and relevant. Giving customers information they want to receive makes it more likely they will open the email.

Design with Your Brand

Your email design should reflect your brand. Don’t let the recipient question the legitimacy of the message because it does not look like it came from you. Use eye-catching images, short blocks of text and white space that allows the eye to rest.

Invest in ROI

According to the Data & Marketing Association, every dollar spent on email marketing has a return on investment of $42. To achieve that ROI, you need to send emails that people open. Take time to create email campaigns using these tips and you are on your way!