Thursday, Yahoo! released an email visualization tool. Updated every second, it shows the volume of email being delivered through Yahoo! users across the globe. Click on the map, and it’ll zoom in to a breakdown of emails in that area (with all emails anonymized). Keep clicking, and it’ll display fascinating facts about Yahoo!’s user base. [...]

This is a guest post from Danny Iny. Danny is an author, strategist, serial entrepreneur, and proud co-founder of Firepole Marketing. “Bad news” – have you ever received an email with that subject line? It has been used by a number of internet marketers to increase response rates, notably during product launches, often achieving particularly [...]

Did you know split testing is actually part of everyday life? It can happen when you try on different outfits. Or if you try a different ingredient in your recipe. Or maybe you’re comparing ways to tell people you want to take one of those vacations to the moon so you know how you should [...]

While working with customers to optimize their email campaigns, I reviewed A LOT of messages. As I was going through all them, I took notes on which ones performed well and I was able to identify some common threads. Just like I was able to share strategies to get more subscribers and keep those subscribers [...]

>If you aren’t asking the question “How can I get more people to read my messages?” about your email marketing campaign, it’s time to start thinking about it! Even if you’re happy with your response rates, there is always room for improvement.

First off, it’s important to think about what influences a subscriber’s decision to read your message or not. Whether your end goal is a click or a sell, the subscriber won’t be taking any action until they actually open your email.

We’ll be looking at three different email newsletters that did a good job getting people to read the message, bringing in a unique open rate of over 50%, and then you can apply their strategies to your messages.

How the Messages Appear in an Inbox

These are what our examples look like in a GMail inbox:

These three businesses have some different and some similar methods for getting subscribers to read their messages. We’re going to take a look at how they approach the subject line and how they make the from line something the subscriber will recognize:

• Lawrence Chan’s Tofurious mentions a new product that the subscriber gets for opening the message.
• This type of approach is great if you have a free report to share, a sample page from a new report or ebook, if you have a coupons, or if you are promoting a new product.
• Lawrence takes a personal approach on his site by signing his blogs and including detailed personal information. People like to hear from people, and signing his emails with his name will carry over that personal touch.

• Gary Rosenzweig’s Macmost has a different approach for their subject, and it’s very straight-forward: it’s the new MacMost newsletter and it even gives the issue number.
• This is good for businesses that send out newsletters that are meant to be more informative than promotional.
• Gary from MacMost doesn’t have his name come up a lot on his site, so if he used his name in the from line then subscribers may not recognize who it’s from. This is why it’s good he used his company name.

• Frederick van Johnson’s This Week in Photo uses the subject to pose a question. This can make the subscriber interested in knowing what the answer will be. Is it the end of medium format cameras? If so, why? They’ll have to open the message to find out!
• Asking a question will make your subscriber curious, so try and find what question your message answers.
• Frederick has others contributing material on his site, so his name is not the only name there. Recognizing he name would depend on what pages the subscriber has seen on the site. His from line should be his company name since it’s on all pages.

Branding In the Subject Line

You want to use your brand as much as possible so that when a subscriber looks at your message in their inbox they immediately know who you are and what to expect from you. All three businesses included their company name in the subject line. Might seem redundant, but it’s working!

Other Tests for Increasing Opens

The best thing you can do is split test your broadcasts to find out what gets the best results. Besides what we talked about here, you many also want to consider:

• Time and day the message is being sent: There is no universally agreed upon day or time to send your message, so your best bet is test. For a look at your own stats, you can go to the Reports page and look at the “Opens over time” graphs.
• Snippets: certain email clients show a snippet of text from the beginning of your newsletter. You can use this to your advantage by putting catchy text at the top so they’ll open it or mark it to read later.
• Preview panes: certain email clients will also show preview panes that displays part of the entire message. You can test this out by putting catchy text in the upper part of your email, or moving images around if it was initially top heavy with images, and see if this changes your open rates.

How Do You Get Subscribers to Read Your Messages?

Of course there are still even more factors that will determine whether or not your message gets reads. For example, setting expectations plays a big part in your ongoing subscriber response right.

So what do you do to ensure your subscribers keep coming back for more? Share your thoughts!

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Did you know that your “from” and subject lines aren’t the only inbox tools you have to convince subscribers to open your email marketing messages?

Some email programs also display an auto-preview of the top of your email, sometimes called a snippet.

That snippet could be the extra nudge subscribers need to open and investigate further.

The power of the snippet hasn’t yet been proven, so before you make any permanent changes, we encourage you to split test a few broadcasts. To get started, here are four ways to set up a snippet-friendly version in under five minutes.

Extend Your Subject Line

If your emails are topped with a line of text, those words will also display after your subject in the inbox.

So choose these words carefully. They’ll act as an introduction to your content, and you can also use them supplement your subject line with a tease of what’s inside.

Remember, snippet length will vary depending on each reader’s screen size, so frontload the important words.

Programs this will show in:

Gmail Outlook iPhone

Viewed on iPhone

Relegate Requests to Sidebars

You may have housekeeping items at the top of your email, such as a whitelisting request or a link to unsubscribe.

To keep them from monopolizing auto-preview space, shift them slightly from the main body to the top of a sidebar. They’ll still be easily accessible, and they’ll give you room to put snippet-worthy text where it needs to go.

Programs this will show in:

Gmail Outlook iPhone

Snippet-ize Your Images

Your message may be designed with a logo, header or other image at the top. These won’t show in a snippet, but if you set alt text, some programs will show that instead.

So write this text in a way that serves two purposes. It will need to stand in for the picture in case images don’t display, and it should also be able to pick up where your subject line leaves off.

Programs this will show in:

Gmail Outlook

Viewed in Outlook

A Secret Strategy: Slip It In

It’s possible that you’re thinking, “These ideas don’t work for me. I don’t want text or an image at the top of my design, and I don’t want to move anything. Can’t my snippet just disappear once the email is opened?”

Actually, in some places it can. There’s an easy way to make a snippet that doesn’t show in your email. The mechanics? Assign alt text to a tiny image – then render it invisible by matching it to your background color.

If you’d like more specific directions, they’re available here.

Programs this will show in:

Gmail Outlook

Viewed in Gmail

Test It Out!

Send your originally planned broadcast to half your list and a snippet-friendly version to the other half. Do you notice any changes in engagement?

Let us know your results and your own thoughts on creating snippets in the comment section below!

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A good subject line is like a good tweet: it earns a click to read further.

We tweet links that amuse, outrage or inspire us. We write our tweets to get others to click. And sometimes we’re more effective than others.

Your subject line has the same mission: earn a click to open the email. The same principles prompt this response for both tweets and subject lines.

So how do you write effective “click-this” text? The Nielsen Norman Group just unveiled the answer. Let’s look at how you can apply it to your subject lines.

Start Off Right

See how early you can position your hot topic keywords in your subject line.

This not only catches the attention of subscribers skimming through, it works well when designing for mobile email, which has a relatively short subject area.

“This email is about your child.” For an audience of parents, there is no greater incentive to click.

Provide Eye-Catching Context

There are millions upon millions of products and services for sale online. Give your subscribers reason to pick yours – offer value beyond the product itself.

Suggest an unusual and helpful use for your product. Link your service to current events. Surround your products with context that fascinates your readers.

Yes, I do wonder how celebrities look so good – are you saying your clothes can make me look that good too?

Keep it Short (Enough)

The right length for a tweet is long enough to make the point, short enough to be usable. The same is true for your subject line.

Only the first 25 or so characters are usually guaranteed to display on computers. Mobile email shows even less.

Test your message in different email clients to find out if enough of your subject fits into the allotted space – you may even find you have extra space you can make use of.

“$5″ and “now”. That’s all I need to know.

Make Every Word Count

The fewer words you use to get your point across, the better. It’s especially important to suck out vampire words.

Be careful, though – don’t chop words you need. Nonsensical subject lines might grab attention, but it’s probably the wrong kind.

For even more punch, work in romantic words or heroic language to fire up sluggish subscribers.

Who doesn’t want to be a rock star? And I can get work done at the same time? Even better!

Keep Your Focus Clear

Tweets and subject lines both have a brevity that demands simplicity.

Even if you have several articles or offers in your email, don’t try to highlight them all in your subject line. Pick your strongest selling point.

If you’re unsure which that is, run a split test and note what works best for next time.

DD was also running a create-the-next-donut game and just launched a new mocha line, but they avoided overload by sticking to one focus here.

Don’t Forget the Law

Writing eye-catching text demands a certain level of creativity, but it’s important to keep from going overboard. To stay safe, bump your subject line against the ultimate test: the law.

According to CAN SPAM, misleading subject lines are actually illegal, so make sure yours accurately reflects the focus within.

Please Unveil Your Own Answer Below

Nielsen Norman’s study shows us a big picture based on hundreds of examples. But you’ve got your own story about what’s worked for you.

How do you write an effective subject line? Do you have formulas you stick to or strategies you use?

Let us know!

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As the multitaskers of the business world, marketers have a lot on their plates. Ideally, each day would provide ample time for creating and sending stellar newsletters to your eager subscribers.

But the truth of the matter is that very often, email marketing is pushed to the bottom of your never ending “to do” lists. There are so many pressing tasks at hand and sending email is so quick that you usually put it off until later, right?

Fortunately, these last minute tips for messages that should’ve gone out yesterday will get you out of the office by 5:00 and cozied up in front of the TV in no time.

Your 20-Minute Manual

Choose a Template

Not sure how you want your email to look? Picking a template can save a lot of time and aggravation. Depending on which one you choose, the columns will dictate the content and give your email focus.

Once you pick a template that suits your needs, simply pop your logo and important company information in and you’ll have a unique, customized template that you can use again and again – just by clicking copy.

To Insert Your Logo:

1. Copy the image URL from your website.
2. While editing your HTML message, place your cursor wherever you want the logo to appear.
3. Click the yellow “Insert/Edit an Image” icon that appears in the HTML editor.
4. Paste the image URL in the “URL” field, then click the “Insert” button:

   

Get Link Happy

According to Dr. Flint McGlaughlin of Marketing Experiments, your email has one job: it invites your subscribers to a mental conversation.

That conversation should take place back on your website, whether it be making a sale, sharing a blog post, offering a discount or taking reservations.

When you’re in a rush and hurrying to send your newsletter it’s easy to skip the extra steps. Be sure to make the invitation to conversation very clear with a few well-placed links to your contact page, store hours, menu, FAQ or other frequently sought pages.

Remember though, these secondary links shouldn’t distract from the main point or the call-to-action of the email.

Review Discarded Content

If you don’t already, get in the habit of saving the work that doesn’t make it into your messages. When you’re short on time and in a pinch, it’s the kindling for an incendiary newsletter.

If you find that you ramble on and always cut portions of text out of your pieces after writing them, keep the content that ends up on the cutting room floor and devote your newsletter focus to your brilliant insight that was previously too lengthy to publish.

You could even keep a folder with snippets of abandoned blog posts or newsletter articles handy when you’re working on your emails – so long as the content is valuable, your newsletter will build itself.

Spend Time on Your Subject Line

If your subject line doesn’t compel readers to open the email, the rest of your content goes unseen. Make sure it clearly presents the email’s value while staying consistent with your past subject lines.

In fact, you can use existing messages to guide you. Keep track of patterns in open rates to see which subject lines earned the most opens, then mimic the format with your new one.

Treat it like a game of Mad Libs and fill in the blanks:

If “Free Shipping – All Handbags, One Week Only!” was your message with the most opens, take out the specifics and replace them with this week’s deal.

“Free Shipping – Spring Essentials, Wednesday Only!” is new and different from the last, but the format worked for you before and should work again, according to the stats.

Procrastination in Moderation

It’s nerve wracking, but waiting until the last minute to send messages can actually work out in your favor…when you don’t make a habit of it!

Great campaigns do take time to plan and implement.

How do YOU save time when writing your messages?

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Sometimes we have to wonder what causes a subscriber to delete our messages instead of reading them. Maybe they don’t connect with the reader’s interests. Or, maybe they’ve gone with a competitor and just haven’t unsubscribed yet.

There are several reasons we can guess at, but few are more troublesome than the idea of the subscriber simply not recognizing the sender or the fact that they’d requested information in the first place.

It’s frustrating, and it seems to happen all to commonly. Fortunately, it’s easily preventable. Let’s take at easy-to-implement ways to ensure your subscribers remember you and their subscription to your campaigns.

I brought up the topic of split testing a while back. However, I
didn’t have a sample split test to refer you to at the time.

So, I went back and found an example. Let’s take a look at a split
test, what was varied, and what we might infer from our results.