12 Powerful Tips to Dramatically Increase Email Open Rate

By: David Aston     Topics: Email Marketing     More posts about: Conversion Optimization, Email Marketing Campaigns

Looking to Dramatically Increase Open Rate?

This will help…

People are always talking about money being in the list.

But what good is a list of subscribers if you can’t get anybody to open your messages?

Email marketing is only a virtual cash machine when done right.

But before you’re making the big bucks mesmerizing your subscribers, you need to build your list by capturing emails.

I highly suggest utilizing Popup Domination to do just that.

It’s proven time after time to increase subscribers by 524% overnight. Over 35,000 websites are currently using it!

And while Popup Domination is a great tool to help build your list, you’re still going to need to get all those new subscribers to open your messages.

I’m not only going to show you how to get your emails opened but how to actually have people looking for them.

Here are 12 powerful tips to increase open rate:

#1. Make It Personal

These days, our inboxes fill up quick and a lot of times get flooded with junk mail. We all deal with it.

We sign up for some product or newsletter that looks promising only to be inundated with spam and nonstop affiliate offers.

One of the easiest tactical approaches many use to filter nonsense is seeking out their names.

Make sure you’re collecting first names with your email capture and personalizing subject lines with first name. This is an instant attention grabber and subtle trust builder.

#2. Have A Double Opt-in

I know it’s hard to choose between list size and list quality and I’ll be up front with you, your list will be smaller with a double opt-in.

BUT…

It will be much higher quality!

Think about it, your subscriber just proved they’re opening and clicking your links. Whatever it is you’re offering they’re seriously interested.

If you offer something of great value, you don’t need a massive list to make a living. Just don’t forget your subscriber jumped through a couple hoops – reward them to show your appreciation.

#3. Get Mobile Optimized

Nearly everybody has a smart phone, in fact, there’s a growing belief that in the near future we’ll exclusively use phones for email, work, shopping et cetera.

133.7 million people own smart phones in the US alone and 43% of all email worldwide is opened on mobile devices as of April of last year.

People are using their phones to check email now more than ever…

And if the links in your email are always leading back to a site that’s not mobile optimized they’ll stop opening because it’s a pain in the neck to deal with.

#4. Use Enticing Subject Lines

This should be a no-brainer, but I still observe marketers using dry and boring headlines.

Just this week I was consulting a friend who’s getting his feet wet in online marketing… I suggested he get into it, because he’s a natural salesman.

I know he doesn’t have a sales background and asked if there was something specific helping him create fantastic headlines.

Without hesitation he says, “sea-puck.” He meant CPUQ. and it stands for controversy, power-words, urgency, questions.

Those are the only styles you need to utilize in order to craft irresistible headlines… And here’s an example of each:

Controversy	Power Words	Urgency	Questions
A Little Mistake That Cost a Farmer $3,000 a Year	YOU Can Make BIG MONEY EASILY	Warning: Read This NOW Or Kiss The Rest Of Your Money Goodbye	Free Website Review: What Do You Struggle with Online?
But What if You Could See Her Naked?	OUTSTANDING Methods Are The SPECIAL EDGE For Open Rates	What You Must Buy And Sale Now: The ONLY Way To Protect Your Weatlth	Are You Frustrated By Internet Marketing?
Nazi UFOs to attack U.S.	HILARIOUS CONFESSIONS Of Real DESPERATE Housewives	What You Must Do Immediately To Rank In Google	Are You Making These Blogging Mistakes?

#5. Offer Real Value Consistently

You’d think this is obvious, especially with how I opened this post saying email marketing was like a cash machine.

While I still consider that to be a spot on analogy, you have to understand it’s only possible by offering fantastic content from the get go and not stopping.

Once people understand that you care and truly want to share high quality information with the world they’ll be looking forward to your products and recommendations.

But nothing will get you marked as spam or unsubscribed from quicker than constantly pounding your list with offer after offer. The only people that get away with this are those with MASSIVE, 100k + lists that can afford to lose a few subscribers.

#6. Build A Relationship With The Reader

The best way to manage your online reputation is to build strong relationships. That goes beyond email marketing, it should be your goal with all of your interactions online.

You’re the premier representative of your brand so hold yourself to a high standard and your work will reflect that.

People will give you great reviews, testimonials and leave positive comments on your various content. You’ll find loyal fans silencing haters for you which is always great for brand management.

Loyalty must be earned, it cannot be bought.

#7. Have An Open Loop

These are fun because you get to sharpen your storytelling skills.

Basically you build up anticipation by giving the impression you’re about to reveal some outstanding information and always make them wait until tomorrow by coming back around to the beginning of your story.

You’re giving information, but you’re disguising it…

For instance, here’s a really quick example. Matter of fact, what I’m about about to show you, took me 2 hard years online to figure out, spending thousands on products that were supposed to put my business on auto-pilot…

I nearly went bankrupt and then it finally hit me!

What I discovered was so blatantly obvious and simple, I made over 4k my very first day. And it didn’t cost me a penny.

All I had to do was use google trends and open loops to see a 720% increase in traffic, it was that powerful … I could rinse and repeat forever.

I mentioned it to my friend who had been marketing for years, but he brushed off the thought of quality free traffic.

So I showed his little brother, a complete “noob.” I gotta tell ya, he’s the only 17 year old I know driving an M3 that he paid for – cash.

Not bad for open loops and Google trends?

You’re going to want to see how you can do what this 17 year old did… I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

See what I did there?

#8. Clean Up Your List

It’s normal to get inactive subscribers but sometimes they just need a refresher.

There are two simple methods you can use…

The first is send an email reconfirming they want to be on your list. You can do this through Aweber or whatever auto-responder you’re using.

The second thing I do when a subscriber has been inactive for a month is put them on a separate list where they’ll no longer be mailed daily.

I’ll hit them with 1 more daily email blast and a reconfirmation 7-14 days later, if neither get’s opened they’re removed completely. You can typically automate this entire process through your auto-responder’s “list segment” option.

#9. Remain Consistent With Delivery Time

When I’d send emails at inconsistent times the open rate was much lower compared to mailing at the same time daily.

All major auto-responders have an option to have your message sent out at a specific date and time.

I use Aweber and usually set my followups to “send 1 day after previous” which sends at the time the individual received that last email which is the same time they signed up. Be sure to have several emails queued in advance.

#10. Run Split tests

If most of your content is the same for all subscribers, you can run several split tests to identify what resonates best with your audience.

I’ll test several different mail-out times based on time of day in PST, EST & GMT. Typically I’ll test 8am, 2pm and 6pm mail-out times for each timezone and set my broadcasts to the most active.

The second is test what CPUQs are getting opened the most and include that style in the subject lines more frequently.

The third thing to test is whether it’s best to have messages coming from myself or the brand. Typically it’s best to have your emails “from” a person, but I’ve seen otherwise, which is why I test.

#11. Great First Impression

How many times have you heard, first impressions are everything?

Well they are, and the same is true online. Your first impression is your best shot at earning trust and ensuring future emails get opened.

Assuming you’re already running a clean email capture software like Popup Domination to grab attention and build your list, it’s crucial to give away awesome content like problem solving reports, info-graphics, podcasts and videos.

#12. Have A Second Lead Magnet

This next tip is perhaps one of the most effective things I’ve ever done to dramatically increase open rate…

Creating a second lead magnet in the form of an eCourse, audio or video series spread out over several days is a clever and incredibly effective way to get your emails opened and consumed.

You’ll notice Income Diary employing this very method with their Free 7 day money making eCourse…

A great way of enhancing the relationship with your list is simply surveying them from time to time.

This will help clearly identify what problem it is that you’re audience needs solving. Once you identify what that “problem” is, make it a point to over-deliver on the solution.

Always try to empathize and respect your reader. You’ll have no problem earning a living online if offering high value is 100% of your mission,

Don’t meet expectation, exceed it!

Success by choice, not by chance.

– David Aston

Read more: ‘10 “Fill In The Blank” Email Subject Lines (That Made Me The Most Money)’