Maximizing Your Results

Here are five solid guidelines for increasing your email campaign results…

1. Get permission.

The best thing you can do to boost your response rates is to follow the first rule of permission email marketing: send only to people who’ve asked to receive your emails.

2. Proof your content.

If your open rates are lower than you expected, there’s a chance that a phrase or two in your email kept it from arriving safely in your recipients’ inboxes. The fool-proof proofing tab tells you how your campaign’s content might fare against a standard spam filter, so you can pinpoint any potentially troublesome content before you send.

3. Keep your email size reasonable.

As you’re putting your newsletter together, remember that straightforward, easy-to-read content encourages your recipients to open your message. And in addition to being reader-friendly, shorter campaigns are server-friendly, too. Lengthy blocks of text and lots of images can make it harder for receiving servers to accept your content.

4. Send your messages when people are more likely to respond.

It’s important for your email to arrive when the majority of people are most likely to read it. The ideal send time for your organization depends largely on who you’re sending to, so keep your audience in mind when scheduling or sending a campaign. Avoid scheduling a campaign for the close of business day or first thing Monday morning.

5. Entice with your subject line.

Along with the “From Address,” your subject line plays a major role in encouraging people to open your email. If you want to see whether a spicier subject line makes a difference in your open rate, try dividing your audience into two groups, sending the campaign with two separate subject lines, and comparing the results.