I received a very good question from
a subscriber and I wanted to share it with you:
“I have almost 500 people sigend up to receive my newsletter
but each time I send it 8-9 open it and 1 =3 click onto the
website. Now what do I do?”
Honestly, there could a lot of factors involved in the low
open rate. If 8 or 9 actually open it and then you get 1-3
click…that’s pretty good. But the problem here, seems to
be with getting people to open the darned email.
Here’s a couple things to think about:
1. How much of your email is getting through? Could your
email or the service you’re using be blacklisted by certain
ISPs? I would check and see if you can see how many of your
emails are actually going through.
2. How about a compelling subject line? Test out different
subject lines to see what grabs your subscribers interest.
If you’re still writing:
“MyDomain.com Newsletter Issue 1 Vol 14”
Then cut it out!:) That’s not going to get people to open
it. Try to give them a quick glimpse of what’s inside and
make it interesting. You’ll probably find certain things
grab your subscriber’s attention than others.
3. What are the contents of your newsletter like? Is there a
reason for people to open it if they don’t have their wallet
ready to buy something? I know that many people who sell
products only place information about product specials,
etc….but if your subscriber is not in a buying mood, they
may not open your email.
Go the extra mile and provide them with VALUE in your
newsletter. Give them special tips and advice related to
your product that will help them solve problems.
For example, if you sell corporate gift baskets – give tips
on developing client relationships or anything related to
the goal of corporate gift giving.
4. If you reach a broad audience, customize your mailing
lists. I happen to know the lady who submitted this question
does sell gift baskets…but she sells all kinds of gift
baskets. What kind of value can you deliver to your
customers / prospects if some of them:
– buy new baby gift baskets
– buy corporate gifts
– buy Valentine’s gifts
It’s tough. I’d look to Amazon as the ultimate model to
emulate — they customize information for you based on your
interests. They know what you looked at when you visited
their website and they also keep track of what you buy. Then
they deliver relevant products and content to you.You can
apply the same plan to your mailing lists.
You can give opt-in subscribers tell you what topics they
are interested in or if you are putting your customers on
your follow up list — make sure that follow up list is
related to what they bought.
Keep working at it and learning what your subscribers WANT
and deliver it to them. Don’t give up…just get better.