We have discussed a lot of tips about how to create awesome email blasts (or e-blasts), how to design email blasts and how to increase your email blast open rates. Now we're digging in deeper, exposing the e-blast secrets that you may not yet be aware of. Did you know about these?
1. Break the rules every now and then. Experimenting with a new technique can mean tapping in to a whole new audience and a new way to engage with your e-blast subscribers. You can't break rules that pertain to anti-spam regulations or privacy laws, obviously, but you can always try something new. Test out new email designs or try something that you may have heard was crazy. For example, you could include a negative customer comment in your e-blast then go on to explain how you resolved the situation. Or send out your email at 11:00 p.m. And always keep a close eye on your email reports to see how your subscribers responded to your strategy.
2. The sender name on your e-blast is very important when it comes to improving your open rates. Subscribers are more likely to open an email that has the sender name of a real person than of a business. By using the name of a prominent member of your business, such as the owner or CEO, you can personalize a mass e-blast. Subscribers will also come to recognize the name and trust the sender. If you still want to stay brand consistent, it's a good idea to include the person's name and the business name. For example: John Smith, Company XYZ
3. You can hurt your e-blast open rate and subscriber engagement by having a "do not reply" email address as your sender name. This makes it seem like your business is not interested in hearing from its customers and will not respond to customer questions, comments or complaints. Even if you have other ways for your customers to contact you, it is still important to include a valid email address to which customers can reply.
4. Include a game or contest. If you can enable your e-blast subscribers to truly have fun when they open one of your emails, they will be more engaged and more likely to click through or convert. Offer a "mystery promotion," a "guess the answer to this trivia question to win" contest or a time-sensitive e-blast where the first 100 subscribers to respond will win a product or free service. Get your subscribers excited and get them interacting with your e-blasts. If you enable real subscriber interaction, your open rates and engagement rates will increase. Remember the dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama? Who could resist the chance to win a meet and greet with a celebrity?
So did you know any of these e-blast secrets? If not, try them out to see if you can increase the open rates on your next e-blast campaign! Download our free email marketing whitepaper to learn more about e-blasts today.