At first glance, it can be easy to assume that improving your email click-through rate comes down to simply writing great subject lines and crafting engaging content.
However, several other factors can influence how well your emails perform, including things like using personalized greetings, sending emails at optimal times, and optimizing for mobile devices.
To start improving your click-through rate, you should begin by taking a deeper look at what email click-through rate is and how to calculate it.
Once you have a solid understanding, go through the 13 sure-fire tips this article lays out for you on how to improve email click-through rate effectively.
So, let’s get started.
What Is Email Click-Through Rate?
Email click-through rate is defined as the percentage of people who clicked on a hyperlink, CTA, or image within a specific email.
Basically, it is one of the most crucial email marketing metrics that measures the overall engagement of your email marketing campaigns.
How to Calculate Email Click-Through Rate?
To calculate the email click-through rate, divide the number of people who clicked on your email by the total number of emails delivered. Then you can multiply this by 100 to get a percentage.
Here’s what the formula looks like:
What Is a Good Email Click-Through Rate?
A good email click-through rate should be somewhere between 2-5%, depending on the type of business you are in.
And if your CTR is higher, give yourself a pat on the back, as your email campaigns are doing great. However, there’s always room for improvement, and you shouldn’t just sit back and relax.
So, here are some fail-safe tips to improve your email click-through rate even more.
How to Improve Email Click-Through Rate Effectively?
Now you’ve got an idea of what email CTR is, let’s see how you can improve this by following the below tips.
1. Segment your email list
No email list is a monolith. Hence, dividing your email list into subgroups based on specific audience characteristics can help increase your CTR. After all, you’re sending relevant content to your subscribers that talks about their particular problems and needs, and they’ll definitely respond.
To begin with, you can split your email list on the basis of your subscribers’ state of residence, a past purchase, or an activity they carried out on your website.
2. Nail your subject lines
Your subscribers are bombarded with tons of emails every day. They only get a fraction of a second to glance at your subject line before moving on to the next email.
You only get this much time to get your readers' attention and eventually nudge them to click on your email. So, it becomes imperative to nail your subject lines to improve both click-through rates and add value to your overall email message.
Ensure that your subject lines are short and sweet, pique the interest of your readers, and offer value to them.
Related: 105 Email Subject Line Examples You Need To Copy This Minute
3. Make the most of preheader text
The subject line, along with the preheader text, is like a tag team. A catchy subject line is great, but it’ll be a rockstar if your preheader text is excellent.
You might be asking yourself where to find the preheader text in the email.
Well, it’s that muted text that appears immediately after the subject line.
Pro tip:
Your preheader text should complement your subject line. It shouldn’t be the same as the subject line because repeating the same message would be a waste of space, and your brand would come across as sloppy.
4. Consider email personalization
Personalized emails take your email click-through rate up the roof compared to static one-time emails.
So, instead of sending the same exact message to all subscribers, make time to personalize emails with special product recommendations, content, and offers based on your recipients’ interests and browsing history.
5. Send relevant content
We’ve all been at the receiving end of a batch-and-blast email campaign. When the content of those emails doesn’t appeal to your subscribers, it can come across as impersonal and overwhelming.
This, in turn, decreases the click-through rates and takes your readers down the path of unsubscribing.
However, sending relevant content, like a welcome email or an abandoned cart email, to your subscribers not only boosts click-through rates but also increases overall engagement, keeping your audience from unsubscribing altogether.
Plus, they’ll look forward to engaging with your content in the future too.
6. Focus on layout and design
Click-through rates decline sharply because of cluttered email design. Therefore, every design element, including the layout, color scheme, typography, and white spaces, play a vital role in improving the click-through rates of your emails.
For example, using a single-column layout gives off a neat and clean look to your emails, as it has a clear hierarchy of information.
Plus, they’re easier to optimize for mobile phones, and the sequential flow of information allows you to focus on your message and give subscribers a CTA at the end.
7. Add images and videos
Even the best email copy doesn’t stand a chance without strong visuals, and adding images to emails can significantly increase click-through rates.
Why?
Because subscribers usually don’t have time to read multiple paragraphs when scanning your email. Images and videos provide a much-needed break from the text and reinforce your message in an aesthetically appealing way.
Moreover, visuals lead to excellent retention, even if the users see them only for a few seconds.
Pro tip:
Use images or videos as links to increase the click-through and engagement rates of your next email campaigns. When you add a link to a visual, your recipients can click on it and get redirected to your landing page.
8. Include social sharing options
You might be wondering what the purpose of including social media buttons in emails is.
Well, the answer is simple. They serve as secondary Calls to Action in emails. Your primary CTA may be at the end of the email, asking your readers to register for an event, make a purchase, etc.
But in there are these glimmering little buttons that allow readers to engage with your content on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
9. Incorporate CTAs
No email is complete without a clear CTA button that gives readers an opportunity to click through to your website.
However, there are a number of questions that should be asked, like how many CTAs should you include in your emails, and how vital is their placement in the email?
SuperOffice email benchmark report suggests that the average number of CTAs for B2B newsletters is three.
But, to make things easier for your subscribers, you should stick with one compelling CTA per email to increase your click-through rates. Because having to choose from too many options leads to nothing.
Next comes the placement of a CTA.
There’s a lot of debate on this subject. Some email marketers say CTA should be placed “above the fold.” This way, subscribers can see the CTA without scrolling down.
On the contrary, some say that placing the CTA at the bottom of the email makes the most sense.
Technically both are correct, and it depends on the content of your email. If your subscriber can quickly understand the message of your email, then placing CTA “above the fold” is perfect, but if your offer requires some explanation, then a CTA at the end of the email makes more sense.
10. Use FOMO
FOMO, or the fear of missing out, can be used to your advantage to improve click-through rates. Plus, you can create a sense of urgency by giving a limited-time offer to your subscribers. This gives them a now-or-never kind of feeling, prompting them to click through.
For example, when you say “Join the event” in your CTA, the number of clicks might be less than that of a CTA saying, “RSVP now—8 spots left.”
11. Optimize emails for mobile phones
A lot of effort goes into designing stunning-looking emails, but it won’t matter much if your subscribers can’t properly view emails on mobile devices, ultimately declining click-through rates.
Therefore, you must optimize emails for mobile phones so that they don’t appear glitchy and can be viewed properly on every device.
But how to do so?
Simply use HTML email templates from Unlayer that have already been tested for responsiveness. These will enhance your outreach dramatically and will reduce the design workload required before every email campaign.
12. Send emails at the right time
What’s the best time to send an email? Most email marketers try to grapple with this question, and many statistics are out there that try to answer this question.
However, there are several factors to consider when deciding the best sending time for your email campaigns, like the type of business you’re in and your target audience.
Therefore, you should find a sweet spot that works best for you and stick with it. This way, your emails will likely get more clicks as your recipients get your message at the right time.
Related: What’s the Best Time to Send Email? Data-Backed Answers
13. A/B test your emails
Last but not least, always A/B test your emails. You can test out different email elements like subject lines, headers, images, email copy, and CTA buttons and see how they impact your email click-through rates.
Conclusion
Email click-through rate is an essential metric to measure the success of any email campaign. After all, it’s in your best interest when prospects take action.
Hopefully, the above tips have laid the groundwork for you on how to improve email click-through rates.
We understand that not all tips can get you desired results, but you can use a trial-and-error approach and see what fetches excellent click-through rates.
