Boost Your Delivery and Open Rates

Now that the year is drawing to a close, it’s time to take stock of how your email campaigns did. Are enough of your subscribers opening your messages? What about your deliverability? How can you make sure your emails are getting to the inbox instead of a junk folder?

Here are a few tips to help you when you’re answering those questions.

Measure Your Success

Use the Email Statistics Graph to take a “temperature check.” Constant Contact measures the average open rate across several industries, so you can have an apples-to-apples comparison to look at. By seeing what the averages are for others across the board, you can more accurately pinpoint how well your emails are really doing.



Use the Tools at Your Fingertips

Once you know how your open rate compares, you’ll want to look at some ways Constant Contact can help you do even better by focusing on your deliverability.

• Authentication Improves Your Rate
  In a nutshell, Authentication lets ISPs trace the origins of an email, so that legitimate email can come through more easily. It also helps you gain a track record as a reliable email marketer over time; this can boost your deliverability, which in turn will give your opens a lift.
• Spam Check Gets You to the Inbox
  Our Spam Check feature scans your email for any potentially problematic content that could cause your email to get filtered and delivered to the junk folder instead of your subscribers' inboxes. Fixing minor issues up-front will increase the likelihood that your email will land right in the inbox, where it belongs.

Kicking It Up a Notch

Putting a little thought and research into your lists or sending practices can have a big impact, too.

• Is your list showing its age?
  Don’t let your list get bogged down by email addresses that stopped being active years ago. Those addresses not only hold your open rate back but can cause you deliverability issues as well. Keep your list up-to-date by managing bounces on a regular basis.
  
  Plus, if your list was gathered a few years ago or if you haven’t kept in regular contact, you’ll probably want to perform some additional maintenance, such as sending out a confirmed opt-in campaign.
  
  
• Stay on subject
  The subject line is crucial to getting your emails opened. Spend a few extra minutes here to make it the best that it can be and reap the rewards. Just offhand, there are several ways you can give your opens a boost like including a date or deadline, an “exclusive” offer, or even mentioning your Facebook Page.
  
  
• Sending Day and Time
  Opens are also often influenced by the time the email was sent and your customers’, clients, members', and supporters' reading habits. After all, emails that are at the top of the inbox when your subscribers are checking for new messages are more likely to be seen than ones that are buried at the bottom. There is no one “right” time, but we can provide some guidelines for finding your own best time.
  
  
• List Segmentation
  Your subscribers will be more likely to open emails when they’re timely and relevant to their particular interests. You can segment your list by location or interest in order to provide targeted content that really gives your readers what they want. You can even analyze your click-throughs and learn how to save these contacts to a new list.

Though it may take a little testing to see what works best for you, higher open rates are definitely a goal worth reaching for. Include these tips in your marketing model, and enjoy a successful holiday season!

For more information on deliverability and opens, check out these great resources:

FAQ 1784: About open rates
FAQ 3194: Average open, click-through, and bounce rates of Constant Contact customers
FAQ 3814: Aging a list using date added information
Webinar: Subject Line Design
Support Blog: Segmenting for More Effective Lists
Support Blog: 3 Steps to Dissect your Email Un-Open Rate
Hints & Tips: 3 Ways to Maintain Your Growing Email List

Contributed by: Becky Annacone, Customer Support Representative, Constant Contact