You have probably already heard the phrase that “the money is in the list”. True as that may be, the more accurate way to say this is “the money is LOCKED in your list.”
If no one will open your email’s then it doesn’t matter what you are selling. Everything else means nothing if you can’t get your emails opened. You can take all the copywriting courses, buy big and expensive autoresponder services, or send them free stuff up the yin-yang but…
No open, no deal!
Fortunately all is not lost and I have a list of twenty things you can do to start improving your open rates today.
1. Free Kangaroos!
Most people who get an oddball subject line will at the very least open the email. Provisional of course that they actually see the subject line (this issue covered in the following tidbits).
The “curiosity” subject line can be very effective but it can also cause someone to delete you from their inbox and from their life. If the curiosity is interesting but the first thing they then read is “buy this, buy this, buy this…” a probable reaction will be one of extreme displeasure and off to the junk bin you go. Possibly even being marked as a phisher or a blocked sender which can temporarily end your emailing career.
Be very careful with this curiosity subject line or you risk getting a bad senderscore and losing even more.
If your subject line is a curious one follow it up immediately with an explanation as to why it is not just a relevant subject for a segue into your email but also why your email is going to be helpful to them. For example an email from me with the title “Free Kangaroos!” would have the first line say “How email subject lines increase open rates”.
2. Pick an Autoresponder Service
If you are using a private email service and sending out group or bulk emails using the bcc there is a good chance all your emails are being dumped right into the junk pile. This practice has long been frowned upon and most free email services will limit the number of people you can send to at a time anyway.
Understandably you want to save money but do yourself a favour and choose one (or two) of the email autoresponder services that are in the business of sending emails. You can get free one’s like MailChimp but you need to be very cautious of their user agreement which may restrict what you want to do.
3. Get Rid of a Cheap Date
Commonly people will scour the internet for information that they never use. If you have a freebie on your site that you are giving away in hopes of building a responsive list then the likelyhood is most of them didn’t read your download and if they didn’t delete you right away, your emails are either being auto sorted to a folder or to an email address that never gets used.
Using an autoresponder service you will be better able to tell who is not opening your emails AND you can segregate these non-responsive folks. Then you can either get them active by using some of the methods listed below OR failing that – delete the free loaders. These people who aren’t being responsive are costing you money. It costs money to keep people on your list.
The best way to avoid the cheap date in the first place is to have a double optin requirement. I know many preach that this will reduce the number of subscribers but I figure if they won’t click a link to get a free thing then they likely won’t open an email to BUY a cheap thing. Plus it’s law in Canada 🙂
4. Email Warm-up Series
This is helpful in two distinct cases. First – if you haven’t emailed in awhile people probably won’t know who you are. To help avoid getting marked as a spammer you will need to tread lightly at first. Second – use this when sorting through your deadwood pile. When you are trying to entice people to become active subscribers this method works well.
If all you’ve done is send out “buy this” emails then there is a good chance you are segregated or because others have marked you as spam – you might just be going to junk. You need to start getting your emails opened so first thing to tweak is your subject.
Next try gifting them something useful. Give them something they should find irresistible.
This a good time to segregate your list into smaller more active lists (see below for more on this). What did they sign up for from you in the first place? Send them a
5. Make Sure your Email IP has a Good Quality Score
If you are using an autoresponder service you might be in a bad neighbourhood. If you are NOT a spammer and you are getting no response from your email list, check your email IP quality score.
6. Pull yourself out of the Junk Pile
There are two fast and dirty ways to get out of the junk pile. If you have tried the tactics already listed here are two more things you can do. One – switch autoresponder services. It’s as simple as downloading your list from one and uploading to the other. Both GetResponse and Aweber have free trials so it won’t cost a penny to do this.
If you already have GetResponse then sign up for Aweber right away. No need to delete your GetResponse account to try this out.
7. Pull Yourself out of the Filing Cabinet
If your emails aren’t being opened you could be “filed”. This means that your emails are being auto-sorted and stockpiled. The methods already listed should help but failing this you can try something a little more invasive. You need to do something to get them to voluntarily move themselves to a new list.
The series emails of relevant goods. For example you send a series entitled “How to Make $1000 a week [Day 1/7]”. Put together a 7 day helpful series of emails on the subject you know is of interest to them. Perhaps not right away, but at some point they will notice there is a series in their emails.
Inside is a link to sign up for a tasty free thing. Make this new signup a double optin and make sure that this time – they will be intrigued enough with you that your emails will stay in their inbox.
8. Don’t be Afraid to Email Often
People are afraid of annoying their list. Some fear this so much that they NEVER email.
No good! If you have good stuff to offer you can email every day, even two or three times a day. Why not be there when they check their mail? Some people check first thing, others in the evening, some at lunch, and some check all day long.
You should Tweet and post your emails on Facebook too. That is why each email should have an invite to sign up to your signature gift. This way people who are in your social circle will have a chance to be on your email list too.
9. Make Little Lists out of Big Lists
It’s easiest if you did this from the beginning but most people don’t learn about the value of segregation until later. Not to worry, you can niche it down at any time. The advantages to segregating your followers into more narrow email lists is to ensure the content you send is always relevant to their interests. For example if you have a pet supply store you may want to separate your cat folks from your dog folks. From there you can go even further by segmenting into breed or size. Indoor, outdoor. Long hair, short hair. Neutered, breeders. No list is too tiny when you are servicing a precise target market.
The fastest way to segment a broad list is to use a simple survey style question or even a stealth survey by offering specific info. For example: Send out a broad email stating a common interest like “How to Keep Your Pet From Getting Cancer”. Inside the email will be a short intro to the specific blog post BUT the difference will be you will offer two links. Link 1. Dog Owners Cancer Prevention or Link 2. Cat Owners Cancer Prevention.
You will be able to track in your autoresponder account who clicked on what. Then send a relevant followup to that segment specific to their interest and offer a NEW optin freebie that will permanently move them to the new list. You can avoid all the rigmarole if you have a more sophisticated autoresponder service.
10. Make it Personal
There is a better chance of someone opening an email that is specifically addressed to them. This can be done simply by having them enter their name when they first optin and then using the special short code like {name!} in the subject line.
However, there are two strong drawbacks to this.
Not pretty!
11. Keyword for Target Market
Once you have gone through the above steps to segregate your list, now you can laser focus your targeting. Your subject line can be so compelling they will have to open your email.
“How this 5 year old Siamese WON First in Class!”
12. Send A Warning Countdown Email to Unresponsive Subscribers
Send out a short series of emails warning people they will be deleted from your list. Subject “Warning! You Are being Deleted” and let them know inside that “Congratulations – you opened so you will be staying on the list. You were sent this email because I noticed you haven’t opened in awhile and you were almost deleted.”
I would also suggest offering a new but interesting free thing and the opportunity to put them into a new and more interesting list.
13. Walk the Dog
Maybe they really need a change of scenery. If all the above is failing then maybe they just aren’t interested in what you offer anymore. If they originally signed up for weight loss and nothing seems to be getting their attention then maybe they don’t need or want to lose weight anymore.
Refocus and try something completely different like:
“Prince William Baby Pics [do not bend]”.
Inside you can have a short opinion paragraph and link to one of the tabloid blogs. The point is just to get them to open.
See if they are still breathing! Take their pulse, monitor their temperature.
14. First Line Up
The first line in your email is just about as important as subject line. Many email services will allow a person to see the From, Subject, and the first line or two of the email without even opening the email itself. This is good news because it gives you a chance to take another run at arousing their interest enough for the open.
15. Rent Them Out
If they aren’t responding to you they might open for someone else. Here is your chance to rent your list for SOLO ads. I don’t recommend doing this with your responsive list. For these people you can do a JV or affiliate agreement instead.
16. Metrics don’t Matter
A metric is the razzle dazzle corporate types try and sell you on with their voodoo solutions. Although measurements and quantitative information is very important to business, it shouldn’t limit your expectations. For example you may read that the metrics for open rates expected for a specific niche should be 30%. Does that mean that you should stop there? If you only have an open rate of 3% should you find a different niche?
This information is useful provided it is clean and applicable specific to your business and your market. Too many metrics are general. They are good for guidelines and identifying where improvements can be made.
17. Do NOT delete the Deadbeats until AFTER you do This.
Just because a person isn’t registering as opening doesn’t mean they aren’t looking or reading. A email will register as opened if the tracking image opens. If they have their email set to not allow image loading then this won’t register. Also some email services allow for “browsing” emails without actually opening them. As well, they could be looking and keeping your stuff but just not ready for you yet.
You don’t want to delete people who are interested. These people should be moved to a new autoresponder to try and get a rouse out of them. The new IP will ensure you aren’t auto-separated and gives you a chance to offer them a new list or offer.
18. Who are you?
Make sure your “from” is clear on who you are. Just putting “Bob” or “Mary” without a last name will improve your chances of being deleted or junked. If you are using your business name make sure it is associated clearly with the thing they signed up for. Vague or incongruent sender info has a greater chance of getting marked “spam”.
It is simple to change this quickly in your autoresponder portal.
19. Move your More Active Subscribers to a New List
Keep your active folk happy. Treat them differently from your non-active. You want to be more caring and generous with these people. If they are active they likely know who you are. They have probably already read your About Me page and are interested in what you say. This group is gold so you need to treat them that way.
20. Keep Your Email’s Clean
Don’t use known spam words. Using phrases like “make money” or “lose weight” can trigger the spam filter on Hotmail, Gmail, Outlook and other email accounts. Corporate inboxes have even greater filters that can bounce your email right out of their servers.
You can’t outsmart them either because they are set up to recognize and block even the most innovative ways of saying words like F·R·E·E!
Keep it clean, relevant, and helpful.
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