Know-How Exchange : E-Marketing

Depends on the product. For some clients its real easy "Holiday event" gets massive open rates.

Others we've been massaging for months without much success. Obviously it has to be relevant.

Election terminology is flagging right now. (vote, elect, choose) but that also has to do with what spammers are using.

Michael

One thing I can advise you against is doing your subject line in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS or using exclamation points!!!

That is a ticket to the junk mail folder not the Inbox.

I know that does not help with what to do but I hope it helps a bit with what not to do.

Some approaches:
https://www.palmerwebmarketing.com/blog/subject-lines-that-grab-and-dont-le...
https://www.imediaconnection.com/content/13549.asp
https://themarketingguy.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/getting-your-email-read-st...

2 Suggestions to make your newsletter stand out.
What helped me getting higher open rates
It's the subject line that matters.

Use the subject line of your most important article and place the article at the top of your newsletter.

Also, if you are not sure, always use a subject line with a benefits in there. Not too long or too short. In normal letter case. Monetary benefits have the highest open rates, then benefits of a personal nature.

Also make sure the meat of the newsletter, the most important paragraph of the most important article, is right at the top, where it can be viewed immediately in people's preview window. No big graphics at the top of your newsletter.

Dear Maynard

You could borrow an idea from the 1971 Monty Python Bid-Red-Book.
As a heading, use the following:

“Make $$$ by selling lard to out-of-work Actors”

It will certainly get your emails opened, regardless of what you are marketing.

Sadly, the legitimate email from an unknown sender is less and less likely to get through the Spam filters, so you need to spend time building a list of people who at the best want to receive your invitation and at worst are willing to receive it, without throwing a hissy-fit!

That takes time, but garnering emails from your website in return for something of interest or of values, remains the best way to grow a list.

Most of the automata, spybots and list rippers just don’t work unless you are mailing to millions and don’t mind if a bit of shit sticks. In fact, they don’t care about the ethics and if an email costs them $0.001 to send, so what if 99% of recipients are pissed off with it!

I’ve got two email lists on the same CRM system (It’s actually one list, sectored into two categories) those where mutual trust exist and that gets the works and they thank us for it. Then there are those we know less well who will get the invites to seminars, meanings and luncheons along with an invite, from time to time which covers their specific problem.

Its not short term, but it works. By the way Crawlers and algorithmic address spammers are so easy to track down these days that they can get the sender an acre of bad press and sanctions for every square yard of useful contacts.

Steve Alker
Xspirt