Marketing

3 Tips to Improve the Open Rate For Your Email Marketing Program

Without a doubt, open rates determine the success of a email marketing program but can also be used to measure subscriber engagement too.

A number of studies have showed that an open rate of 10 to 15 percent is good for any email marketing program but anything below is definitely a cause for concern.

So, if your program is below that number, here are 3 tips to improve your open rates:

#1: Get the sender name and from email address right

On iOS devices, the sender name is far more prominent than the subject line. How recognizable your sender name and message is matters with email marketing experts, and is termed as ‘sender familiarity’. Also, make sure you keep the sender address the same as it will be more recognizable and professional too.

#2: Get the subject line right

Different people like different types of emails. Some people might prefer subject lines with flash or monthly sales while others might want information pertaining to current events or holidays. Yet another group might want subjects lines with number or special characters in them. It’s up to you to do some split testing.

#3: Send at the right time

One of the factors that determine open rates is the time at which they are sent or even the day of the week. In fact, you can test this using some data that is available from industry reports. Doing so will ensure that you increase your open rates substantially.

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Display Advertising Best Practices

This article was written by Ted Dhanik

Following some of the best practices in banner advertising helps reduce the costs of your campaign, and drive your CPA higher. You could read entire books on copywriting, banner design and branding to master these concepts. These tips are meant to help anyone get real results quickly.

Adhere to Sizes

When you adhere to the standards of sizing, you cut the risk of competing with the rest of the content on the page. Too large, and your banner overlaps with the text. Too small and your banner won’t look right when users visit the page. Be sure to ask your representatives which ad sizes they prefer, in case they require a special size that is out of the norm.

Use Buttons Effectively

Although your entire banner is clickable, buttons help users focus on your call to action. Make sure that the button is relevant to your display advertising, avoiding clichés like “click here” or “buy now.” Try to contextualize the call to action by using language that will ring true to the ad: “order online,” or “research options.”

Tips for Branding

If the objective of your campaign is to increase brand exposure, consider what gives your brand sticky value. Are users likely to remember more about your free shipping offer, a discount coupon, or a touch of customer service that you pride yourself in? These will be different for each business, but a simple ad that states the benefits of working with you has a powerful impact to consumers still on the fence.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is the president and co-founder of engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik specializes in display advertising and helping businesses to acquire new leads. For more information about direct marketing trends, find Ted Dhanik online.

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Testing Tips for Any Conversion Funnel

Written by Ted Dhanik.

The conversion funnel a user takes to get to our “Thank You” page refers to the path that you set for the user. Each click that gets the user closer to a thank you is part of that funnel. The smartest marketers set up extensive testing systems to track their display advertising.

AB Testing

The first thing you need to know about A/B testing is that it doesn’t work with more than one variable. The purpose of this testing is to try and pinpoint a change you can make that will actually impact your conversion funnel. Change too many things and spotting which change actually made the difference becomes next to impossible.

Messaging

Begin with your messaging, and be sure that what the ad says is consistent with what is on the home page. Any disconnect, no matter how small, can dramatically affect your sales propositions. In banner advertising, customer trust is paramount. Breaking your messaging is the fastest way to lose that trust.

Testing Banners

Banner testing is extremely difficult, because you don’t really know the source of conversion or lack thereof. Before you go making dramatic changes to your copy, pinpoint the things you can learn about your traffic:

• Find out the ad size that your banners display at, then create banners that fit those dimensions.
• Add a tracking pixel so you can see when someone converts.

Once you have a few constants to rely upon, proceed with testing.

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Ted Dhanik, provider of display advertising and high performance marketing solutions. Ted Dhanik has his own marketing company called engage:BDR. Ted Dhanik devotes his free time to blogging and mentoring start-ups.