So much is written about creating a good looking e-newsletter that you might think that is all there is to it. Getting subscribers to open your e-newsletter is just as important. Following are some tips to help you get the maximum return on your e-newsletter investment.
What day of the week is best to send your e-newsletter? Many, but not all, researchers hold that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are best, but it might depend on your subscriber demographics. Most advise avoiding the first and last day of the month.
What time is best? Researchers also contend that the best time windows are 8-10AM, or 2-3PM local time. Middle-of-the-night mailings are more frequently caught in spam filters.
What is the average open rate? Non-profit e-newsletters enjoy an open rate of about 40%. Commercial e-newsletters suffer an open rate of about 20%. A reasonably interesting artist’s e-newsletter might have a much higher open rate (even though it is commercial) because people who subscribe are interested in art in general, and yours specifically. My current open rate is 55%, and my target is over 65%.
How do you track the open rate of your e-newsletter? It’s easy, especially if your website is with FineArtStudioOnline.com Make a simple 7-column chart like this:
|
Issue
|
Day Sent
|
Date
|
EST Time
|
Number Opened
|
¸ Total
Subscribers
|
= %
Opened
|
|
Aug 09
|
Sat
|
8-1
|
9:18 AM
|
58
|
98
|
59%
|
|
Dec 09
|
Mon
|
11-30
|
7:40 PM
|
39
|
110
|
35%
|
This chart reflects only two of the seven e-newsletters I’ve published. With all seven issues listed, the first thing that popped out was that the two lowest % months showed I sent the newsletter in late afternoon in California. The highest open rate was sent at 1:45PM EST (10:45AM in California where most of my readers are.) It also reveals that I need to contact by e-mail the non-openers to tell them about the content of recent e-newsletters, and ask what they would like me to write about. If, after several months and the follow-up email, a subscriber is not converted to an opener, unsubscribe him yourself. Also, unsubscribe bounced e-addresses.
Where do you get the info for this chart? FASO gives you this information when you subscribe to the Gold Plan or higher. Log in to your Control Panel > Marketing Center > Email Marketing > View Details About Sent Newsletters. You are now viewing a summary of all the e-newsletters you ever sent. Fill in all the spaces you can in the tracking chart you drew. At the right side of the Details page click on View Newsletter. Look at the top of the page in the yellow box to find time sent. To determine what day of the week you released the newsletter, consult your calendar.
What do you do with the information? Calculate your open rate with this formula:
# Opened ¸ #Total Delivered = % Opened
Notice the highs and lows in your % Open. Look for patterns in day, date and time sent. Use these patterns to adjust the release of your e-newsletter. Keep the chart updated to see if your changes improve your open rate.
For additional information Google "improve open rate". Good luck! And let me know what you think of this posting.
Ammendment: The March “Palette Keeper” went out Sunday morning, February 28 at 6:30AM PST (most of my readers are in the West.) Releasing on a Sunday morning resulted in an open rate of 56%--on par with other top days.
It is also important to me that lots of subscribers reopen the e-newsletter, indicating they are seriously reading it.
