Email Open Rates: Your Best Marketing Test
By: Dave Berkus
No–one needs to tell you that mobile readers now outnumber desktop readers for your message. A recent Experian marketing survey revealed that 52% of all email opens are from mobile devices, and that 38% of all clicks are from mobile devices. Experian looked at three hundred brands and 21 billion emails—a few more than you or I have as a resource for our marketing intelligence.
So the very first thing to be sure you cover is that all of your communications are responsive – able to display text, photos and video clips equally well on smartphones, tablets and desktops. If you have not done so, let Google tell you whether your web site is responsive. Go to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile–friendly/ and enter your web address for a quick, free, analysis. And treat the result seriously.
How about your emails? Same thing. How many times do you have to open an email just to read the right side of the text or see the content, but delete the email instead just to avoid the “work” of that extra click? Responsive emails allow any viewer pane to display the whole message in readable form.
Now the big question: If you have a readable format and excellent messaging, how is your open rate and more importantly your click rate? Although both metrics vary widely between types of audience, you should work to exceed a six percent open rate and two percent click rate for your emails containing sales or marketing information. Always, force a click to another web site to obtain the full information, in order to measure whether the reader engages or dismisses your message in short order.
If these several tips interest you, it is time to delve much more deeply into the world of detailed email marketing—through one or several of the excellent books on the subject. Don’t waste your email budget with ineffective communication or hidden offers.