CTR. A 3-letter acronym with the ability to make or break your website’s success. Are your emails catchy enough to get the click?
The subject of this article is how to boost your Click Through Rate. Your website’s traffic and income both depend on your email subscribers clicking your links.
You only need to take one action to get them to click: Put catchy emails together.
Whether you’re looking for traffic, sales, or both, you need an email list. When people say, “The money is in the list,” they are not kidding.
You need an email list to generate traffic and sales. Here is why:
- If you blog at WordPress.com, WordPress.com owns your email list.
- When a social media site folds, your followers go away with the site.
Plus, not everyone uses social media. For example, the trend today is away from Facebook due to their recent security breaches.
For these reasons, email marketing is superior to social media marketing. It’s imperative you have an email list you can market to that you own.
The question is how to get people to click through to your content.
There are many ways to craft emails so compelling that people will want to click on your links. By the end of this post, you’ll be able to craft catchy emails that have a greater open rate.
Realistically, what can you expect?
Research maintains the average open rate is at 20%. If you follow the tips in this post, your open rate should double according to the Blogging.com blog post linked above.
What This Post Will Teach You:
- How to compose catchy subject lines.
- Craft compelling content.
- Have visuals that compel people to click.
- Design aesthetically-pleasing emails.
- What other factors to consider.
Let’s dive in.
Compose Catchy Subject Lines
No one will read the content of your emails if you have boring subject lines. You need to use catchy subject lines to intrigue readers to click through.
What constitutes “catchy”? What would you think of emails that started with these words or phrases:
- Good news!
- It’s true!
- Let me start with an apology.
- This ends today.
- My research is complete.
- I’m pulling the plug.
Would any of those intrigue you enough to open the email? I sure would be curious enough to click. I’ve researched the best subject lines of the last few years, and these phrases are on many of them.
The beauty of using an email marketing tool is you can check your analytics to see which subject lines resonate the most with your readers.
Did you notice how short the subject lines all were? Keep your subject lines short. How short? Research recommends fewer than 50 words.
Less is more when it comes to email marketing.
Craft Compelling Content
How to craft compelling content that will keep people reading:
First, you want to write like you’re talking to a friend. This means starting with their first name in the greeting.
“Dear… ” makes many people feel bonded to the website creator before they’ve even read past the greeting. I’ve read seeing their name at the beginning of the email makes people feel “warm and fuzzy.”
According to research, personalizing email results in an increased open rate six times greater. But only 30% of all marketers personalize their emails.
You should be one of them. This will give you the edge over competitors not making those personal connections.
Crafting compelling content also means using simple language just like you would in your blog post or other website content.
Additionally, many marketers report telling a story in the email worked wonders for boosting their open rates.
For example, many marketers told a cliffhanger: a story without an ending. They explained in the email that in order to find out how the real-life story ended, they needed to click to read the website content.
These anecdotes intrigue the list member as well as make them feel close to the website creator.
When people read true-to-life stories, it makes them feel like they’re friends with the writer. Trust is boosted. People are more likely to click and even to buy from people they trust.
These personal stories prevent each email from sounding like every other email or even canned.
Your readers want to know you’re a real person with real-life experiences to share– life experiences that can help them overcome their pain points.
Next, in your email, discuss how clicking the Call to Action button which will take them to the blog post will help them.
This is where Bucket Brigade words and phrases come in. Bucket Brigade words draw people in like a magnet. Think like your email subscriber.
What does your email subscriber want more than anything? People like things that are fast, free, easy, and quick, for example. Use these words in your content.
Have Visuals that Compel People to Click
Third, you should insert an eye-catching graphic in your email. The graphic should arouse curiosity about the content of the newsletter while at the same time giving an indication of what the website content will contain.
Many tools exist for you to make your eye-catching graphics. Canva, FotoJet, and Fotor are three free graphic design tools you can use.
Design Aesthetically Pleasing, Catchy Emails
How to design visually attractive emails that will keep your list members reading until they come to the Call to Action button:
The point of the email is for your list subscribers to click the link to your site. Make sure you have a link to your content in your email.
If your email is visually attractive, people are more apt to stay on the email and keep reading until they get to the “Call to Action” button which will take them to your website content.
First, many email vendors have beautiful templates you can use to design your professional-looking emails. Your email should look so pleasing and contain content so interesting people will want to keep reading to the bottom.
Next, at the bottom of the email should be your CTA, or Call to Action. Your “Read More” or “To Read This Article, Click Here” button should be eye-catching.
The button should stand out against the white background of your newsletter.
According to a study done by OptinMonster, red works best as a color for the Call to Action button. One marketer reported seeing a huge increase in the open rate when the button turned green when the user hovered over it.
Another way to make your emails pleasing to the eye is to pay attention to mechanics. Would you show up to a first date with stained clothes?
The date will turn around and leave, just like your readers will head for the hills and delete your emails if your writing contains errors.
Using Grammarly is a great way to ensure you won’t have “stains” or mechanical errors in your writing.
Consider Other Factors that May Play a Part in Your Email Campaign
Have you ever considered that what may be intriguing to one person may not be intriguing to another?
For this reason, email marketers use segmentation. They split their lists into groups based on interest. This is reported to play a huge role in increasing the success of the email campaign.
Also, the time and day you send your email may play a part in whether your list members consider your email’s subject lines and content “catchy.”
Even the time of year may matter. For example, around the holidays, people are bombarded with Black Friday emails.
Many email vendors send your email at optimal times. For example, these could be times your readers are at their computer.
Research maintains that the beginning and middle of the workweek are optimal times for sending your emails.
Wrapping Up: Crafting Catchy Emails
This post started with the CTR acronym. Here is another acronym for you:
AIDA. AIDA helps you remember the structure of a successful email:
- A: Get your reader’s attention. You will grab their attention if you start with their name in the greeting.
- I: Get their interest. For example, tell a story. They can only find out the end if they click your link. Intriguing visuals also grab interest.
- D: Desire: Use Bucket Brigade words that appeal to people’s fondest desires: for solutions that are simple, fast, and free.
- A: Action: Have a bright Call to Action button that compels people to click.
This post laid out a 5-step action plan. Follow these email marketing tips. Your Click-Through Rate, website traffic, sales, and connections to your readers will all improve.
