How To Get The Best Email Open Rates

As a small business owner, and especially if you’re the only one doing everything, you can get either fed up or even annoyed at good results not happening when you feel like you’ve put in so much effort into your marketing and social media. Let’s face it, you’ve got so much to focus on as a business owner, not everything gets 100% of your time. Add in the need to write emails, and good ones at that, email marketing can be something that gets pushed aside.

Let me tell you, you’re not alone.

… Even when you feel like you are.

So, let’s twist this thought on its head and think –

a) Because the subject line sounded enticing or interesting?
b) Because you trust the person sending it?
c) Because you were just going through all your emails and opening everything?

Usually it’s either a or b.

Your inbox is a sacred place, and to have an email opened needs to be earned. That’s how I look at it anyway!

I only open emails from either people I already know I can learn from and who I trust, or emails that look like I can gain some value and hopefully put that into practice. Your time is valuable – you don’t have time to look at every email that comes through (especially when you’re good at subscribing to lots of lists)

You see, the more relationship you build with your audience, the more they get to know you. From here you can build rapport and trust. This is important – and we’re always taught to ‘build your email list‘!For me, it’s not about selling and promoting a service every week, it’s about giving value to the readers and knowing that if we can help just one person get further in their online marketing, then we’ve done a good job. If we help more, even better!

 

Communication is key in marketing. Understanding, knowledge, relationship, nurture, value… the list is endless, but all relates back to communication. How you communicate and what you communicate really matters.

It’s common courtesy to respect the person you’re emailing and to think of them when you email. Keep providing uninteresting content, sell consistently, go on about you, you, you – or are not relevant to the reason why they signed up to your newsletter in the first place – you’ve lost their trust.

So, when you’re struggling to know what to do next with your marketing, what post to create for social media, or what to write on your blog, I urge you to reach out to the people you already know are doing what you want to achieve. Open the emails which look like you can learn something. Reply to the emails where you’re invited to and get to know them. Comment on social media content and start conversations. DM prospective mentors or collaborators.Always think further than the now. 

 

Coming up with new ideas for marketing can be challenging – so, seek advise, get ideas and speak to others in your industry who could help. Even consider outsourcing your marketing for a little while to give yourself a break and a breather – you might come back with new inspiration and fresh perspective.
Tip: taking just a 3 month break from your social media channels can be good for you!

 

Just because someone is doing these tasks for you, doesn’t mean that you have failed. It means that you can focus on other important tasks – and ones that you enjoy the most. You can then bring in a little extra money, so that you can afford to pay someone else to take the things that are not your strong points. This is a win-win situation!

Focus on what’s right for your skillset – and the rest will fall into place.

 

 

We invite you to reply to this post, let us know what you struggle with in your marketing – or what you enjoy the most! Let’s have a conversation and get to know each other 🙂 Either comment below, or send us an email – we’d love to chat.

~ Karen, owner of KJP Creative

 

In the meantime, why not download our free social media awareness days calendar, to give you ideas on what to talk about with your audience!