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How do I get people to open my emails – part 2. In our last video, we talked about how to get more people to open your emails by writing better subject lines, and if you only do one thing the subject line is the place to start.

But there’s so many other things you can do to improve your open rates. I thought it was worth a second video. So here are seven ways that you can get more people to open your emails besides changing your subject line.

Hi. I’m Tom Malesic, founder and President, of EZMarketing and you’re watching Ask EZ. This is where small business owners go to get real answers to their marketing questions.

Tip 1: Change The Sender’s Name

A top deciding factor people use to open emails is who it’s from. You’re probably going to open an email from your lawyer or your biggest client or your mom no matter what the subject line says.

Now I’m not suggesting that you pretend to be somebody’s mom, but you can change the sender’s name to a real person in your organization. Someone your customers know like and trust.

We send emails out from me so that the sender’s name just says Tom Malesic, which sounds more personal and less salesy than having EZMarketing as the sender’s name.

Tip  2: Use The Preview Text

Many email programs show a line of text just below the subject line and this is called the preview text. By default it will pick up the first line or two of your email. But in your email marketing program you can actually set what shows up there.

It’s like getting a bonus headline. Put something there that supports your subject line and tell the reader what’s in it for them and you’ll see your open rates increase.

Tip  3: Use An Opted-in List

Who you’re sending to makes a huge difference in open rates.

Don’t send to a cold list of people who have never asked to get emails from you. Not only will you get terrible open rates, but you’re likely to get reported as a spammer. Instead build a list of people who know you and are expecting to hear from you.

>>Related Video: How Do I Grow My Email List?

Tip 4: Tell Subscribers What To Expect

One of the best ways to get an opted-in list is to tell your subscribers what they can expect when they first sign up.

An example of this would be:  “Get free weekly money making tips,” or “Receive coupons and deep discounts you won’t want to miss.”

We can also send them a welcome email after they sign up to introduce them to your company, so they know exactly what to expect in the future. Welcome emails usually get two times the open rate of normal emails and with our email marketing services, we can help you put together your automated welcome series for your business.

Tip 5: Segment Your List

Most businesses send the exact same email to everyone on their list but chances are, different people on your list are interested in different things.

A simple example: you probably have both existing customers and prospects on your list. An existing customer isn’t going to open an email asking them to buy something they’ve already purchased from you.

Sending more targeted offers to customers versus non customers is going to net you a higher open rate.

Tip 6: Clean Your List

If you have people on your list who have never opened your emails get rid of them! It’s going to immediately make your open rates go up.

You might be hesitant to do that. Even if they haven’t opened your last 36 emails there’s a chance that 37 is the charm right? But a smaller more engaged list is more valuable to your business than a huge inactive one. You don’t want to pay to send to people who are never going to open your emails.

Tip 7: Measure and Test

Look, you’re not going to get email marketing right the first time. Keep track of your open rates on every email, and constantly test and improve.

I want you to test different versions of your subject line and preview text. I want you to test the different ways you can segment your list and test different times of the day that you send to.

If you do all these things plus write great subject lines you’re definitely going to get more people opening your emails.

We Can Help With Your Next Email Campaign

If this sounds like a lot, we can help. We handle all the details for every email marketing campaign we run.

We setup the emails, we write the subject lines and all the copy, we manage your list, track the results and constantly look for ways to improve.

And if you sign up in the next 30 days I’ll give you $100 off your first email.

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