Email marketing is still vital in any marketing strategy. A strong subscriber list with high-quality content delivered directly to their inboxes is one of the most effective ways to motivate your audience to act. To get the most out of your email campaigns, you should always track and compare your own KPIs to those of your competitors and the industry as a whole (CTR). This article will discuss ways to increase your email’s click-through rate.
How do I calculate email click-through rate (CTR)?
As obvious as it may seem, the number of people who clicked a link in your email is the click-through rate. But it’s important to understand what that means in terms of email performance.
CTR is often expressed as a %. To calculate it, divide the total number of emails sent by the number of people who clicked at least one link. Divide that number by 100 to get your percentage.
What should I do before sending out a campaign?
1. Control your email list
You won’t get very far without a subscriber list, so build one up first. Keeping active subscribers engaged and growing your list is important. Remember to regularly remove dormant subscribers as a best practice. If they are uninterested, do not hang on for the sake of numbers – this will result in inaccurate statistics and lower CTR and open rates.
2. Adapt your opt-in offer
You want the subscriber’s email address, but you must provide value in return. Add a ‘subscribe’ pop-up to your landing page. If your brand allows it, give new subscribers a discount on a purchase or early access to events.
3. Start segmenting
In essence, segmentation is simply grouping your subscribers based on shared characteristics. Effective segmentation lays the groundwork for future personalization. Begin with the basics, like age, gender, and location, and work your way up. What do they do on weekends? Do they drive or take public transit? Relevance of content increases with depth of research.
What should I check before sending?
1. Content
No amount of design can make up for bad content. Indeed, design should support, not carry, strong content. It also cannot correct obvious errors, so proofread!
2. HTML template
When formatting your HTML, make sure all links are present, none are broken, and all sharing buttons work properly. Check for image distortion and improper design formatting. Consider including a web-based version so that if anyone has trouble viewing your email, it is not immediately deleted.
3. Deliverability
We recognize that emails can end up in spam folders, which is why we discuss email deliverability, also known as inbox placement. Most popular email sending platforms calculate deliverability based on content quality, sender reputation, and authentications. These tools also suggest ways to improve.
Now, how can I improve my email CTR?
1. Structure
It’s important to have quality content, but it’s also important to present it well. Convincingly skimmable emails Use clever headings and bullet points to entice readers to click on your links.
2. Heading
Your subject line matters. What your email contains and why your recipient will benefit should be clear. It’s difficult to balance clarity and interest without overpromising, but the best-performing emails nail it. You could also ask a brief question. ‘Long day? We have three products to help you before bed.
Check your email subject lines! Most email marketing tools allow you to send two versions of an email and compare which subject line gets the most opens, clicks, and unsubscribes. As a result, you’ll get better at figuring out what your audience wants.
3. Personalization
Email personalization is a long-standing practice for one simple reason: it works. Why? Personalization increases marketing visibility and increases email click-throughs. Once you’ve segmented your list (as previously discussed), you can easily tailor your messaging to each group and capture their attention. Precisely targeted emails will almost certainly boost your conversions
4 Annotation
The preview text (also known as pre-header text) is vital to getting your email opened. After the subject line and sender, your email recipient sees this. It should complement (not duplicate) your subject line and be used to add additional keywords, a call to action, or personalize further.
5. Timing
Sending one email per week has the highest average CTR. This is also the most popular approach, with 49% of businesses receiving one weekly newsletter. Begin identifying times of day when the CTR is higher than the open rate, rather than when both are higher (this will separate your active customers from idle readers).
6. Design
Keep your email campaigns’ visual elements consistent with your brand’s marketing collateral. Consider the latest email marketing trends for inspiration. Remember to make your email template responsive to different devices and formats, including plain text and HTML.
7. CTA placement
Your calls to action will increase your CTR and ultimately convert your audience – whether it’s to follow you on social media, contact you, or buy something. Visually appealing and clearly communicating what the reader will receive by clicking. Again, try different approaches and compare the results – you’ll eventually figure out what works.
Conclusion
That’s all. We realize that optimizing your email CTR requires a lot of thought. If you plan properly and keep track of your progress, you will see results.