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to TRIPLE your e-mail open rate, simply...

by Derek Soto
38 replies
Fact: People are trying too hard when it comes to e-mail marketing.

Fact: Most people's headlines suck. ...But, yours doesn't have to. If you follow what I'm about to tell you.

These are common headlines I pulled from my in-box today from various marketers...

A/ I've got a new blog post up...
B/ this pdf rocks!
C/ Killer program, check it out now!

These are what the headlines should look like.

A/ The first VITAL step to building a list is to...
B/ Your biggest weight loss MISTAKE was that you...
C/ The EXACT Step I Took To Make $14k was simply to...

1/ The first step is not even a good headline anymore, the first step is to get people to even look at your headline...

2/ A bolded word was used to grab the eyeball. Anything that's different enough will grab eyeballs. The word you choose to bold will determine whether the person will read your headline or not.

3/ The headline is long enough to get the reader engaged and then ends before they get closure.

4/ It's human psychology that we need closure and it's going to bother them if they don't click your e-mail. ( it's why you'll finish a movie, even if it's crappy! )


If you use leading headlines like this, you'll easily triple your open rates.

Today I CHALLENGE you to try this and see the results.

As you noticed, I used underlines, bolds and italics, etc. to grab your eye balls to read each sentence.

Our brains still perceive these things as important and if we see them, it's human nature still to pause and check it out.

This is great when you want people to read what you write instead of just skim.

Also NEVER have a paragraph of more than 2-3 lines so that you give your work the illusion that it's easy to read and more important.

All these decorations can get ANNOYING, but they are effective, so play with them and find a balance that you are happy with...


Respectfully,

Derek Soto
#email #open #rate #simply #triple
  • Profile picture of the author Chad Heffelfinger
    That's one of the best FIRST posts I've ever read.

    Nice Job!
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  • Profile picture of the author Slade556
    I agree wholeheartedly with the part about not having a paragraph that reads more than 2 to 3 lines. I am surprised how often this is done when people mail their information/promos to me. When they have more it just looks like a jumbled mess and I unsubscribe virtually every time unless the info is just downright dynamite. Bite size paragraphs makes me MUCH more likely to click and take action. Good post.
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    • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
      Slade, thanks for your reply. People are too ADD these days and it's only going to get harder and harder as more and more things compete for our attention. It is up to us as marketers to stay ahead of the curb and continue to pioneer ways to get and keep prospects attention.

      Derek Soto
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  • Profile picture of the author Britt Malka
    Do you have any kind of statistics to show that it matters, what you put in your headline (subject, right?)?

    My personal experience shows that the subject have only little influence on my open rate.

    And when I'm clearing up my own inbox, I rarely glance over the subject. I sort by sender, and then I mass delete, and read only the few people, I know from experience will send me interesting stuff and not just fluffy sales letters.
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    • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
      Britt, the best thing you can do is split test with your list. Your autoresponder should be able to tell you your open rates. Yes, the sender is definitely a factor, but the headline is more important. After you split test this, message me and tell me your results. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

      Derek Soto
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
      Originally Posted by Britt Malka View Post

      Do you have any kind of statistics to show that it matters, what you put in your headline (subject, right?)?

      My personal experience shows that the subject have only little influence on my open rate.

      And when I'm clearing up my own inbox, I rarely glance over the subject. I sort by sender, and then I mass delete, and read only the few people, I know from experience will send me interesting stuff and not just fluffy sales letters.
      I have found that the subject line does affect open rates... I have a couple that are old standbys that always get a high open rate... and when i deviate and try others, they rarely do anywhere near as well.
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      • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
        kevin_hutto,

        Yes, it's mandatory to always have your proven controls, then have a regular schedule to continue split testing new headlines to keep your controls up to date and your conversions high as you'll find old controls start to decline.

        Derek Soto
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      • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
        Zara K,

        I am glad to hear this and I wish more people were like you. We should not subject ourselves to things that steal our joy, but set healthy boundaries for what we are willing to endure and more importantly, what we are not.

        Derek Soto
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  • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
    It's gotten me better results through rigorous testing.

    Derek Soto
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      It's one of those amazingly simple tips that make a lot of sense.
      A/ I've got a new blog post up...
      B/ this pdf rocks!
      C/ Killer program, check it out now!
      That's all about "ME" (list owner) and what I want you to look at, read, etc.

      A/ The first VITAL step to building a list is to...
      B/ Your biggest weight loss MISTAKE was that you...
      C/ The EXACT Step I Took To Make $14k was simply to...
      All about YOU - the list member - and your interests ....

      I can see how that could make a huge difference in open rates.

      Do you have any kind of statistics to show that it matters, what you put in your headline (subject, right?)?
      I've never talked to a list owner who didn't think the subject line was extremely important.

      kay
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      • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
        Thanks for your reply king ray.

        Derek Soto
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      • Profile picture of the author hometutor
        I hate to state it, but the old trick of RE: still works on me at least as far as taking a second glance at the email subject and who it's from to make sure I didn't actually get a reply back from something. Still, a second glance is another chance I'll open it.

        Rick
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        • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
          hometutor, yes, there are a lot of tricks out there, but this is one of the fastest ways to burn your list. You can only trick your list to open emails so many times. However, if you train them to realize that every time they open an email, it's of great quality, while at the same time, being really intriguing in the headline, you'll have a very RESPONSIVE list. I had to learn this the hard way.

          Derek Soto
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          • Profile picture of the author Kay King
            king ray
            LOL - I have a new forum name

            I don't see this as a "trick" but as a focus for list owners - and it's good enough to be mentioned on occasion.

            kay
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        • Profile picture of the author Gary_The_Ace
          Originally Posted by hometutor View Post

          I hate to state it, but the old trick of RE: still works on me at least as far as taking a second glance at the email subject and who it's from to make sure I didn't actually get a reply back from something. Still, a second glance is another chance I'll open it.

          Rick
          The old trick of "RE:" is against the CAN-SPAM act as it's a misleading subject line that indicates to the person getting the email that they previously sent something that you are not responding to ... clearly, and unquestionably against the rules.

          -Gary Ambrose
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          P.P.S. Viral Marketing Doesn't Work ... Tell Everyone You Know! ;)
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          • Profile picture of the author CatherineC
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            Originally Posted by Gary_The_Ace View Post

            The old trick of "RE:" is against the CAN-SPAM act as it's a misleading subject line that indicates to the person getting the email that they previously sent something that you are not responding to ... clearly, and unquestionably against the rules.

            -Gary Ambrose
            Wow, never knew that. Nice Gary.
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            • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
              Catherine C,

              Yup. taking the time to do things right the first time will reward you greatly and make life so much easier in the future.

              Derek Soto
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          • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
            gary_the_ace,

            You are correct.

            Derek Soto
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  • Profile picture of the author ZaraK
    I'm not going to argue your subject line makeovers because they absolutely make logical marketing sense, but I do want to point out I have bailed on many a crappy movie. Life is too short to watch bad film, eat bad food, or read bad email.
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  • Profile picture of the author FrankieTP2
    Excellent tips! And right on time... I'm having a hard time getting my emails opened!
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    • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
      frankie tp 2,

      I've been there, these work now, and as time goes by we'll have to keep refining our methods that is why it is VITAL to be continually split testing.

      Derek Soto
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  • Profile picture of the author Ken Strong
    Originally Posted by ricocrownmedia View Post

    2/ A bolded word was used to grab the eyeball. {snip}

    As you noticed, I used underlines, bolds and italics, etc. to grab your eye balls to read each sentence.
    I'm confused -- I thought your post was about email subject lines? But I don't remember ever seeing an email program that allowed formatting in subject lines, or that showed it in incoming mails.

    At least Gmail and Outlook don't allow that, and AWeber doesn't on emails you're sending out. So I don't see how you could have tested this since it's not possible to do it in the first place.

    Or else I'm totally misunderstanding you, which is possible.
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    • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
      ken strong,

      The only formatting I did in the subject line was make one word in all caps, you can do this in any e-mail platform.

      Derek Soto
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    • Profile picture of the author imguru
      Originally Posted by KenStrong View Post

      I'm confused -- I thought your post was about email subject lines? But I don't remember ever seeing an email program that allowed formatting in subject lines, or that showed it in incoming mails.

      At least Gmail and Outlook don't allow that, and AWeber doesn't on emails you're sending out. So I don't see how you could have tested this since it's not possible to do it in the first place.

      Or else I'm totally misunderstanding you, which is possible.

      I'm confused too. Thread title says "to TRIPLE your e-mail open rate.." and then in the message OP talks about "headlines" and says "2/ A bolded word was used to grab the eyeball. Anything that's different enough will grab eyeballs. The word you choose to bold will determine whether the person will read your headline or not."

      Of course you can bold a headline in an email body but you can't bold the email subject line which is what makes people open the email in the first place
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      • Profile picture of the author oneplusone
        Thanks for sharing this, I'll definitely be testing it out.

        I can add a killer subject line tactic which has worked well for me...

        I put [1ST CLASS] or [FIRST CLASS] before or after the subject line, I don't know what the psychology behind it is - but it nearly always increases the open rate dramatically.

        My guess is people often see 1ST CLASS or FIRST CLASS on stamps etc when they open their mail up, so they associate these two words with opening.
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  • Profile picture of the author NetGrid
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    • Profile picture of the author creative
      Thanks for the advise, Derek!
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    • Profile picture of the author Derek Soto
      netgrid,

      good point, subscribers get jaded about desperate tactics to get clicks. If your subscriber opens your email and quickly finds out that it's not what they thought it was, this is going to drive them away like they have done with netgrid.

      Derek Soto
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  • Profile picture of the author BlogTipss
    Ill keep it up in my mind. thanks for the tip Derek
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  • Profile picture of the author jordanmicah
    Nice tips. I'll try this soon. Thanks, Derek.
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  • Profile picture of the author ikelove
    Just what the doctor ordered...
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