Sick of Emails Not Being Opened?

Many of the truly successful "big boys" are split-testing all the time ... so one shouldn't assume that what one sees is "what's working": there's often a 50% chance that it will be the worse-performing end of the test, and might be abandoned at the end of the week/month.

To be honest, I'm not actually convinced those "big boys" always know what they're doing at all, anyway.

You know those squeeze-pages with a pictorial background which are so popular and fashionable at the moment? I've seen at least a couple of those "big boys" using them (for extended periods of time) but everyone I know who has actually split-tested them has proved for themselves that the same thing against a plain white background (i.e. without the picture/photo) converts significantly better. So to a skepchick like me, it looks like those big boys may sometimes just be copying each other without split-testing for themselves. That's how many IM decisions are made.

You know all those "prices ending with a figure 7"? Everyone just copies those, assuming that "they must work because otherwise everyone wouldn't be doing it, and besides, it must have been tested". The reality is that people who split-test them methodically usually learn some "surprising things".

Copying what other people are doing, in an industry with a low overall success-rate, is a very high-risk strategy. What "most people" are doing is typically what doesn't work.

In general, copying what you see "big boys" doing isn't typically a recipe for success, for quite a few reasons: your perception of which big boys are successful can easily be mistaken; you might be looking at the losing end of a split-test; there might not even have been a split-test at all; it might be something that works well for someone else because of unknown specific reasons that apply to his business but not to yours (that's really common!); testing for yourself is invariably wiser than copying what other people - even "perceived experts" - are doing.

But every sense in finding out for yourself (rather than guessing/assuming) whether it actually works for you.

I promise I don't mean it rudely, Edward, but I think it's pretty much misguided; sorry. This kind of mistaken approach is actually a big part of the underlying reason for all those assumption-based teachings of the Urban Myth School of Internet Marketing being perpetuated and propagated, and that's why so many people go wrong: they imagine that they're copying what "must" work, only to find, a year later, that unfortunately they're still not making a living at all.

No - I have (and maintain) very high open-rates because I've avoided doing what you suggest above, and have tested things for myself. For anyone interested, these few posts/threads explain some of what I've learned, by doing so ...

What are the essential things to know about list building?
Lists: How Long to Presell - Averages
Website or squeeze page
Where to get reports to give away on opt in page?
Autoresponders vs. Broadcasts

Alternatively, if you want to get your emails opened, you could simply send out good quality stuff on a regular basis.

Will

Interesting thread for sure. I agree with both sides of this. I don't want to blindly copy someone, even if they are a 'big boy', however I have used this exact technique to look at what else is out there.

I didn't want to get into list building and blindly go off on my own thinking that I know better than people who are actually having success in this business, even if it is 20% opens. That's better than nothing, which is where you are when you start. 20% opens isn't my goal, but studying what is out there is learning, blindly copying what it out there, not so much.

So, as a starting point, and to learn the trends and techniques being used out there I studied what everyone else was doing. The ones that peeked my interest and maybe even motivated me to buy were the ones that ended up in my notes. From there I know what techniques I want to implement with my list and what I don't.

There ARE folks whose lists I am on who are not in your "20% open rate" category. I get to learn from them too!

I am aware that the senders name should be what drives the open rate, not the subject line. I am also aware that when folks are bombarded by emails, a great subject line can add a little extra encouragement to open that email.

Have to agree with Alexa about all the 'big boys" testing. I think much of it is copying and assumptions about what works, not facts.

However, I think there's a big factor she didn't mention:
WHO is sending the email. That will affect open rates a lot. If the sender has branded themselves already, you really can't assume you'll get good results just copying what they do.

I've seen it in my own mailings. The more 'known' I've become, the more my open rates have gone up. If you are Frank Kern, you can get good results from subject headers that may flop with lesser known or anonymous marketers.
_____
Bruce

Nice Tip Ed ...

The other thing you can do to get more emails opened is to connect better with their subscribers.

If they like you , then the subject line doesn't really matter that much

-Shawn

I wonder about some of the 'big boys' and 'gurus' because I read a report recently that
Ryan Diess get's just a 7% open rate on emails.

I am sure he has a list of 500,000 or something so it's worth while but if I had a 7% open rate I'd just not bother.

Great report! I do utilize this method. It works!

Ed, this is going to be dangerous advice for many, simply because so many of the people running those (at least 20) lists you want people to sign up for are already doing the same thing.

Everybody copies each other because they see so many other people doing it, and they all assume that if so many people do something, it must work.

And that "every now and then" is often several times a day, using a copy/paste of whatever the vendor gave them.

I've been doing this myself for some time and I can confirm that it really does help!

Thanks for sharing anyway I know a lot of people will have use of this

I would also look for vendors known for doing good adswaps and solo ads( especially the ones that don't ask for ad swipes). If their solo ads and ad swaps are being open frequently they obviously doing something right.

I have tested it in the past and the truth is sometimes you will see some positive results of that sometimes not, it is as Alexa said, the big boys also doing the tests so we have a pretty good chance to get their best open rate subjects as well as the worst ones.

Only our own tests can show us this what really works I think.

This is an awesome idea and It will certainly work.
Kudos to you.
Thanks.

This is great place to start. We have to start somewhere but eventually you will begin A/B testing your own stuff. Not bad for starters but the ultimate goal is getting high click rate, not just high open rate.

What a simple and transparent guide. bookmark it .

Who it's from means a lot more than the subject line. People are going to be inclined to open your stuff or they won't. Your primary focus should be on developing a good rapport and reputation amongst the people on your list. Once you do that a good subject line will boost opens, but if they can't stand you, don't trust you etc - it won't get open.

Be different. Give them a reason to look forward to opening your emails - and don't teach so damn much, it gets boring - people want to be infotained!

"losses loom larger than gains". I try to trigger fear emotion in most of my mails and i found this approach works best for me.

In fact... creating a new email address is not even necessary. You can filter those emails and segment them to avoid the inbox and just go into the folder.

I've never been a fan of deceptive subject lines. As Alexa and others have already mentioned if somebody opens your emails it's because they want to hear from you. I shouldn't have to "trick" people into opening my emails, if they want to hear what I gotta say they'll open my emails. I don't even open emails based off of what the subject line is, sometimes, but I mostly open emails entirely because of the sender. It's the trust that counts in the end.

If you are not one of the big boys, this can be very tough! I think the quality of your first product that you offer for your subscribers to optin is very important. If you offer garbage, you will receive rubbish!

Even the gurus spam their subscribers to dead! What do you expect?

I have got 3000 emails on my ID. Now I have change my email ID and finding relief as there was so many mails which is not important. So I deleted.

If I look at myself and why I might open an email it's mostly because who it is from. When I come to think about it I don't scan the subject matter so much as I scan the senders first, and there are simply names I will most always open because I know from experience they give value. Subject matter is only second, so I may open an email from someone lesser known to me but with an intriguing headline. On the other hand when they start off with "Hey", that's a sure delete on my part!!

bottomline

If you have some worthy content to send them, they will be waiting for your emails.

I am using these tactics, but the thing is that the gurus use different approaches and in the end it may seem confusing. Though you can still find lots of great tips when spying on your top competitors.