Crafting content and distributing your organization’s weekly newsletter takes a lot of time and effort, so it’s frustrating when your open and click-through rates are low. So why aren't your subscribers opening your emails? Here are a few things that may contribute to spiraling open rates.
No customization
With content coming at your users from all corners of the internet, the last thing they want to do is go through generic, recycled articles. Sifting through content not tailored to their interests isn't something they are inclined to do, so they might delete the email without reading it. Know who you are targeting and give them content that will spark their interest. This will give them more of a reason to open up your next email and engage with your organization.
Not optimized for mobile
Last year, over 50 percent of email was opened through mobile devices and this trend is expected to continue in 2015. Making sure your newsletter is accessible and readable through mobile devices should be a top priority if you plan to continue sending out email newsletters to your sponsors and customers.
Subject lines
Using the same subject line format week after week quickly gets boring for your email subscribers. When users go to clear their inboxes, emails with repetitive subject lines often go to directly in the trash, if email providers don’t send them to the spam folder first. To avoid this, switch up your subject lines frequently. Grab your audience’s attention right off the bat and they will be more likely to open the email and browse through the content.
New customers don’t know what to expect
While your more experienced, consistent audience members are still looking at your company’s emails, new signups have no idea when the newsletter is coming or what to expect from it. To keep them in the loop, set up your system to automatically email them with information regarding what to expect from you and when. With a timetable and expected information nailed down, your new subscribers will be prepared for your emails instead of dismissing them as junk mail.
Not enough audience-value
While you always want to get out more information about your business to your followers, you also need to consider what they value. If you want your audience to real your newsletter, it should give them something of value beyond company-exclusive information. This could be tips, tools or free resources they could benefit from in their daily lives. If your sponsors, clients and audience members get something they can use from your emails, they will continue opening them.
