35 Easy Ways To Skyrocket Your Email Open Rates

Today’s marketing mission is to optimize your email subject lines to increase your email open rates.

Your open rate tells you how many people opened your email. It is not exact because some people skim through emails on their phone and then read them at their computer. But it’s a great and simple marketing project for even a beginner business owner to take on!

The success of your email marketing campaign depends entirely on two things:

1. the quality of your list
2. the relationship you have with the people on it

Proof: Your best friend doesn’t pay attention to her email subject lines, but you open her emails. Right? How about if you email some big superstar in your industry? Chances are she has hundreds of emails flooding her inbox daily. You’re going to have to work a little harder to make your email subject line stand out to her.

So let’s get more of your subscribers opening and reading your emails! I’ve rounded up 35 tips from my own experience and research done by top email providers (MailChimp, Aweber, Constant Contact). I’ve also included and some tips from marketing science sites like Hubspot and Litmus.

Here are 35 Easy Ways to Boost Your Email Open Rates

1. Email your list frequently. Hubspot said 16 emails per month seems to be the sweet spot! ♥ Sweet 16 ♥
2. Just like this blog post – email subject lines containing numbers have higher open rates
3. Stand out in your reader’s inbox by using emojis – test to see if it works
4. Make it easy for your readers to find your emails by using [Brackets] around a category or product name
5. Keep email subject lines short: 35-90 characters – although MailChimp says 50 characters is best
6. Use personalization (your reader’s first name) in the subject line
7. Use your name in the from field (include your business name as well)
8. Don’t ever send from a Do Not Reply email account
9. Keep your email subjects and contents on topic and relevant to your audience
10. All CAPS may help increase open rate
11. Use the pre-header space in the email. It is like an extra headline!
12. Remember your readers are thinking “What’s in it for me?”
13. Use words like FREE occasionally. But don’t use too many, or you could get flagged by spam filters
14. Use locations in the email subject line for local business marketing
15. Ask a question
16. Subject lines should be specific and timely
17. Do not use slimy sales headlines
18. Use a Call to Action (CTA) in your email subject line
19. Remember that 53% of emails are opened on a mobile device
20. Responsive email designs are a must! ^^^
21. Send a welcome email immediately after someone subscribes
22. Spoil your subscribers with extra value and surprises in their inbox
23. Keep emails simple – one call to action per email
24. Use ALT tags on images since many email services block images from people not on the safe sender list
25. Know your audience and what’s important to them.
26. Use testimonial headlines, “Choosy Moms Choose Jif!”
27. Use How To subject lines
28. Include the words and phrases like: Latest News, News, Update, Today’s, or Announcing…
29. Build exclusivity by including phrases like “Sneak peek” “For Subscribers Only”
30. Include keywords in your email subject lines
31. Split test subject lines to see which performs better
32. Check your own email subject lines to see which ones got the most opens
33. Use one-word emails like “Hey” and “Wow”
34. Use larger fonts for the body of your email and headlines so it’s easier to read on a phone
35. Pay attention to headlines on emails from others that YOU open!

So now I want you to put it to the test! Go, check your email open rates. Then tell us in the comments below what types of email subject lines work best for your business?

Please pass this post on if you know other bloggers, entrepreneurs, and business owners. We could all use a little boost in our email open rates!