3 Things It Takes to Get Your Emails Opened

3 Things It Takes to Get Your Emails Opened

By Kate Morrison

So you've followed all the rules to make sure your email promotions don't get caught up in the online spam filters, and now your messages are reaching their destination.

Well, don't congratulate yourself just yet...

NOW you have to deal with the toughest spam filter of all -- your customer!

With floods of email arriving every HOUR, most people are ruthless about deleting anything they even suspect won't interest them. Not only that, they're almost as likely to report unwanted emails as spam as they are to delete them.



Here are the top three reasons someone will open an email you sent, according to a DoubleClick survey:

• They have an established relationship with the sender. If email recipients know who their emails are from, they're more likely to open them, with 65% of recipients saying the "From" line is the most compelling reason for them to open their opt-in emails.

And 74% of recipients said that if the email was from "a brand I know and trust" they were more likely to respond to it.

• The offer is relevant to their needs. You need to know your target audience and tailor the content of your emails to meet their needs. DoubleClick found that the most important factor in generating a response was offering a product that they wanted at the time (83%).

To make sure your offers are timely, create separate campaigns for each segment of your audience (e.g., newsletter subscribers and people who have purchased from you before).

• The email offers a good price on something they want. Price is important in most online transactions, and when it comes to emails, the DoubleClick survey showed that offers of free shipping and discounted prices in the subject lines of emails were more likely to compel recipients to open them.Email is one of your most potent sales generators -- but only if your emails are getting opened. It's worth your time to build your credibility by offering lots of value in your regular emails, and study your market to understand their wants and needs.

Then, when you send out that promotional email, you know it's something they'll open with no hesitation.

Think about it... is there an easier way to make money online?

The Internet Marketing Center

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