5 Top Tips For Getting Your Mails Opened & Read

I posted in my blog yesterday about the importance of getting your mails, not only noticed amongst all the other stuff that drops into your subscribers mail box, but also read.

As we are all marketers here I'm sure I don't need to go into the why. Suffice to say if the shop front is shabby, you are not even going to consider going through the front door to check out the contents of the shop.

However I thought it would help some people if I went into the how by repeating my top 5 tips:

1. Pose a Question

A great way of capturing the attention of the reader is by asking a question.

'What would your reaction be to this?'

A question has the psychological effect of 'hooking' the receiver, who now wants to know the answer.


2. The 1-2-3 of Headlines

Research has shown that people love subjects/headlines, that contain numbers.

'6 Top Tips For Success'
'Success in 3 Simple Steps'
'5 Top Tips'

It would appear that people like the certainty that numbers bring. Whatever the reason they work.


3. Time is Ticking

Similar to the tip above, adding a specific time to a title focuses the mind of the reader.

'Double the Size of Your List in Just 30 Minutes'

This is especially the case if you are introducing a time limit and therefore the chance that the reader might miss out on something.

'The Offer Closes At Midnight - Forever'

Again it has been proven that we are hardwired to hate the idea of missing out on something.


4. Use Vibrant Vocabulary

Let's face it, life is too short to be bored, therefore we need to ensure our Subject line contains vibrant, exciting, positive words or phrases.

'Get Your Hands on This Powerful Secret'
'An Exciting New Strategy To Attract Customers'


5. Introduce Scarcity

As I mentioned earlier, we are all 'hard wired' to hate missing out on something. Therefore if you introduce some sort of scarcity in your headline you are guaranteed to capture a lot of attention.

'Only 6 Left and They Are Going Fast'
'Last Few Spots Remaining'

If I were to give you a bonus 6th Tip, it would be that there is nothing stopping you using several of these techniques in one title to multiply its effectiveness:

'Are You Going To Miss Out On One of the 6 Remaining Slots?'

Of course I use all these techniques, plus a few others for good measure to make the maximum number of people open and read the mails I provide and I hope they might give you a few thoughts of your own.

All the best

Andy