If Your CTRs Are Dropping, Make Sure Your Emails Are Relevant
I just read the following statistic in an emailInsider article by Morgan Stewart: Average click-through rates dropped 14% between Q3 2009 and Q3 2010, from 6.2% to 5.4%.
What was your reaction when you read that email marketing statistic? Did your stomach knot up? Did you start thinking the naysayers who proclaim the death of email might be right?
Well, I have one word to say in response to that statistic: relevance.
If your email marketing best practices are focused on delivering the right message to the right person at the right time, you’re click-through rates should be safe.
If, however, you’re cutting corners, if you’re neglecting to segment and to time your emails, if your organization is still operating with a batch-and-blast mentality, then you likely will see your click-through rates go down. With good reason, I might add.
There are so many email marketing tools and so much email marketing expertise available to you that relevance is possible for you. Don’t think relevance requires an expensive investment in software or consulting. Even a little work in the right direction will pay you back with a higher email marketing ROI.
These days you can test email rendering. You can test drive email service providers to find the one that offers the best fit and highest email deliverability rate. You can set up a simple preference center. You can easily segment your audience. It doesn’t have to be micro-segmented by hair color and pet names. You can start by segmenting by geography, perhaps. Something. You can run simple A/B test to establish your email subject line best practices. And more.
My point is, you’re not stuck with irrelevant email marketing and declining click-through rates. And as consumers get more bombarded at the inbox and click through less on the emails they don’t care about, wouldn’t you rather be delivering the emails they want to get?
Relevance will get you there. And we can help.
About the Author: LaRock
