In SMTPeter, it is possible to see if your emails are opened or clicked. If you notice that your open-rate is low, it might be because your emails do not get delivered to the recipient's inbox, but rather to their spam folder. Or your readers get so much mail they don't even make it to yours. Maybe you're sending mail to people who don't want it? To overcome (or prevent) this, we've collected some tricks to one-up your inbox placement.
1. Subject and pre-header
Get your readers curious by making your subject line exciting. A snappy/funny/interesting subject line will cause more people to click on it than simply stating "[company] newsletter week 34". Try not to look spammy though, using words like "FREE" or overuse of punctuation (FREE!!!!!).
The pre-header deserves some attention as well. It's the tiny bit of text displayed before opening an email in most clients, usually behind the subject line. By default, this is the first bit of text in an email. In many emails it's the opt-out link or a link to the webversion, so you'll see something like "click here to unsubscribe", which does not sound very inviting. Instead, give a very short introduction to the components of your email, or greet the reader. You'll come across friendlier.
2. Display your name
You don't want your readers asking themselves this question. Make it clear that the email came from your company by not displaying the from-address, but your (company) name. Also, don't send from addresses that look anything like "donotreply@company.com", because it sounds harsh.
3. Sending time
The time on which you send your email is highly important for your open-rate. Sending emails on times you expect your readers to open it makes sure your email is at the top of their inbox when they open it. This prevents your emails from being buried by other emails and your recipient not reaching it by the end of their email reading session. Try monitoring on what times your emails get opened most, and send your mailings a bit before that time, so that they will arrive before the reader opens their inbox.
4. Sending frequency
Just like time, frequency is also something to mind. Try not to send too often, because your readers will be annoyed by your constant presence and stop opening your emails. On the other hand, not sending often enough might make your readers forget about you. It's a bit of a trial-and-error process, and it's different for every email flow, so you should see for yourself what works for your readers.
5. Manage your database
We can't stress this enough, and we'll keep saying it: a well-maintained database is one of the key components of successful email marketing. Make sure you send to all -and only- people that want your emails by setting up a double opt-in and an opt-out procedure that automatically add subscribers and remove unsubscribers from your list. It's also a good idea to remove people from your list that never open your emails. That way you send to all people that actually want your email, which, logically, makes for a higher percentage of opens.
6. Become a local
Easier to say than to do: become the person whose emails are opened before others. Whether people want to read (and keep reading) your emails is purely something content-related. Optimize everything all you want, bad content is bad content. Try personalizing emails based on profile values. Be relevant, funny, interesting, insightful. Be whatever your readers need. That way, you'll become a local to their inboxes and they'll welcome you with arms wide open everytime you visit.
7. Set up a sender domain
Sender Domains are SMTPeter's solution for the hassle of email authentication. What this means, is that after you register your domain as a sender domain, we do all the authentication for you. This includes SPF, DKIM (with automatically rotated keys) and DMARC. It also makes sure that all of your domain names are aligned, meaning that every address you use has your domain in it. Proper authentication hugely improves your inbox placement, thus your open rate. Learn how to set one up here.
