Email open rates are a key indicator of whether your audience is resonating with your content. If your email open rates are below average, it’s time to address the issue and re-engage subscribers.
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1. Inactive Subscribers
A big reason your open rates aren’t where they should be is inactive subscribers. It’s important to prune your email list regularly so you only have active contacts on your list. This will improve your overall deliverability and email opening rates. You can easily identify inactive subscribers by tracking the dates they last opened an email or clicked on a link. Then, use a tool like InactivitySensor to isolate email and SMS contacts that haven’t interacted in a set period of time, or a gmass alternative. Once you’ve figured out how many inactive subscribers are on your list, you can begin to plan an email re-engagement campaign.
Inactive subscribers are likely to miss out on your latest promotions and sales, so you need to do everything in your power to win them back. Try sending them a re-engagement campaign that is more relevant to their interests. For instance, you can offer them a discount coupon or a free sample of your product. This will help them remember your brand and re-engage with your email and text messages.
Another way to re-engage inactive subscribers is by sharing an email highlight reel that highlights your most popular content and products. This will make them feel valued and show that you’re interested in their needs. Additionally, you can also send a re-engagement campaign that includes a behind-the-scenes look at your business or personal stories about your products and services.
With SMTP Ghost, you can take your cold outreach to the next level. This comprehensive email marketing platform provides unparalleled deliverability and a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to manage and automate your campaigns. With advanced features like email warming, inbox rotation, and team collaboration, you can achieve better open rates and conversions. Plus, with streamlined billing and advanced analytics, SMTP Ghost is the best value for your money.
2. Generic Content
The email content you send your subscribers is one of the most influential factors in whether they choose to open or discard an email, so it’s important that you put thought into what you’re sending. If you’re using a generic sender name that doesn’t stand out, or if your subject lines give too much away, it can lead to your subscribers not wanting to read what you have to say.
Additionally, if your emails aren’t relevant to the subscribers you’re communicating with, they will feel as though you’re trying to market to them in a blanket fashion, and they may ignore your future campaigns. It’s important to segment your list based on location, interests, buying history, recent activities, etc. so that your emails are more engaging to each individual, and more likely to be opened.
While we’ve heard a lot of talk about how open rates are “dead”, it’s still an extremely valuable metric to help guide your strategy and identify any potential issues with inbox placement. If you have a high average open rate across all destinations, but a low one at Hotmail or Gmail, it could be an indicator that your emails are landing in junk folders.
A good way to avoid this is by doing a regular “list hygiene” process where you identify inactive subscribers, and then clean up your lists so that only active, engaged subscribers are receiving your communication. This will significantly increase the chances that your messages are being read, and reduce the risk of them being marked as spam. Also, by identifying the specific destination that’s having a problem, you can address it directly, rather than waiting for your recipients to complain about the issue. This is the fastest and most effective way to solve email deliverability issues. SMTP Ghost offers a powerful & affordable email marketing platform with advanced deliveryability features like email warming, email verification, inbox rotation, and A/B testing to ensure your messages reach your subscribers.
3. Uninteresting Subject Lines
A well-written email subject line is one of the most important components of an effective marketing campaign. It’s the first thing that a potential recipient will see when scanning their inbox, and if it’s uninteresting or irrelevant to them, they will likely ignore or delete it. This may also lead to them marking your emails as spam, which can have a negative impact on your overall open rate.
A good email subject line is both intriguing and direct. It should convey a sense of urgency and provide a clear call to action. It should also avoid being too salesy or boring, as this will cause recipients to ignore your message and/or mark it as spam.
In order to create an engaging email subject line, it’s helpful to know who your target audience is. This will help you understand their desires, struggles, and concerns so that you can address them in your content. Additionally, it will give you an idea of what type of subject lines they respond to the most.
It’s also important to keep the length of your subject line in mind. According to Mailchimp, subject lines that are 8 words or less have a higher average open rate than those that are more than 9 words in length. Additionally, subject lines that are written in all caps or include exclamation marks are often seen as spammy and will not be opened.
To increase your email’s open rate, try using a subject line that communicates a sense of urgency. This will encourage recipients to act quickly, which can lead to conversions. Alternatively, you can use a subject line that suggests the time is running out on a limited offer or giveaway. This will compel recipients to click on the email and take action before it’s too late.
Another way to increase your email’s open rate is by personalizing it. Including the recipient’s name in the subject line can make it feel more like a personal message and will decrease the likelihood that they will ignore or flag it as spam. Lastly, you can also personalize an email by referencing a subscriber’s past trends or buying habits.
4. Spam Filters
Spam filters are designed to detect unsolicited, unwanted or virus-infected emails and prevent them from reaching the primary inbox. Unfortunately, not all spam filters are created equal. This can result in legitimate emails being flagged as spam and dumped into the junk folder instead of the subscriber’s inbox. This is why it is important to know how spam filters work so that you can take steps to avoid having your email marketing emails flagged as spam.
Many of the major email service providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc) have built-in spam filters that use advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyze incoming email messages. These filters look at a variety of factors when assessing the legitimacy of an email, and a pass or spam score is assigned to each message. A high spam score typically means that the email will be rejected.
If a spam filter determines that an incoming email is likely spam, it will examine the header information to see if there is any suspicious or malicious information included. The header will also usually contain a list of IP addresses that are known to send spam. These lists are regularly updated to prevent spammers from spoofing legitimate email servers and avoiding being blocked.
Content filters scan the text of an incoming email for keywords that are often associated with spam. These keywords may be related to financial offers or explicit material. Spam filters also commonly target certain words or phrases, such as “free”, “discount”, and other words that are triggered by the human emotions of greed and fear.
A greylist filter will temporarily block an incoming email and then send the message back to the sending server with a 451 error code. This means that the email has been rejected, but that it is not dangerous and will be delivered to the subscriber’s inbox at a later time.
SMTP Ghost is a powerful cold email software that is praised by users for its user-friendly interface and robust features, including AI-powered personalization, spam filtering, email warming, and email automation. The platform is also highly regarded for its deliverability and effectiveness, with user testimonials citing significant improvements in response rates and engagement following the switch to SMTP Ghost.