Marketers know how tough it can be to maximize return on investment for their email campaigns. Luckily, statistics recently published by marketing solutions provider GetResponse provide some guidance as to how and when promotional messages can be most effective.
According to the study, click-through rates are highest for emails sent during the fourth quarter of the year. This phenomenon is likely due to the holiday shopping period, the researchers suggested. The email open rate during Q4 averages 18.3 percent, which is slightly lower than Q1 2013's 19.1 percent, though this may be the case because of the high volume of promotions sent during the fall and winter months, which account for 29 percent of the year's marketing emails.
Furthermore, the study showed that emails sent on Friday have the highest click-through rate, at 19.6 percent. As firms send fewer messages on weekend days – Saturday and Sunday each accounted for less than 9 percent of all emails sent, in comparison with Tuesday's 17.93 percent - GetResponse suggested that recipients may be following up on Friday's promotions during their days off.
Perhaps the most impressive statistics revealed by the study surround promotions sent to recent email acquisitions. The research showed a 67 percent open rate and a 37 percent click-through rate among emails sent on the same day that new contacts sign up for an email list.
Strive for a higher open rate
While you can use these statistics to help plan campaigns, they shouldn't be seen as simply a series of tricks for better email performance. Rather, it's in marketers' hands to attract the attention of their email contact lists and achieve the open and click-through rates they've set as their goals.
Fourth Source suggested that creating catchy subject lines is an important strategy. In particular, consider promoting discounted items, as digital marketing firm Adestra's 2013 Subject Line Analysis Report showed that emails with subjects that offer products at a specific percentage reduction were more effective, according to the news source.
Optimizing for mobile is another key method. Research by Cisco showed that mobile Web traffic in 2012 was almost 12 times greater than laptop and desktop Internet activity in 2000.
In a post for Marketing Profs, Michael Linthorst suggested that it's essential for emails to be mobile-ready.
"Not preparing your emails for mobile is a mistake you can't allow yourself to make. Create your email templates using responsive design, which will adjust the email to, for example, screen size used or the orientation of your screen," Linthorst wrote.
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