All businesses want to maximize their marketing dollars. To that end, a lot of companies explore non-traditional methods of marketing and promotions. Among the most popular ones preferred by small to medium business? Email marketing.

According to a study, for every dollar spent on email marketing, businesses can expect an average return of $38.

This means that all your effort producing that newsletter can potentially reap a lot of benefits—if you can increase the open and click rate of your email. Ironically, raising click-through rates has been cited as one of the more challenging aspects of email marketing.

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So, what can you do about it? Here are some actionable tips you can try:

1. Always personalize your email

Can something as basic as personalizing your email make a difference for your click-through rates?

Yes.

Addressing the recipients by their name on the subject line is a great start.

You see, when customers receive emails from businesses and brands, they’re quick to assume that there’s nothing in it but generic promotional content, and better off sending it straight to their trash folder. Addressing them by their name in the subject line makes them less likely to delete it and more likely to click the email to see if there’s anything of value.

Go the extra mile and add more personalized details if possible. If you have information regarding their job titles or purchase history, even their location, make the most out of it.

2. Check your email list carefully

Segmenting your list is great for boosting your click-through rates because you can make sure that you’re sending the most relevant emails to your subscribers.

For example, let’s say you’re an online retailer—your mailing list will likely be comprised of first-time shoppers and repeat customers. One group would already have products from your store and you have an opportunity to upsell peripheral products; the other group would have to be convinced to try your product to begin with.

A single email will have information that isn’t relevant to one group. However, if you segment that list and send out two email newsletters—one that address loyal customers and another that engages potential customers. This way, you’re sending out relevant information they will be compelled to click on.

3. Make sure your newsletter is mobile-friendly

As you probably already have noticed, everyone’s on their phones these days. In fact, more emails are now being opened on mobile devices than on desktops. To that end, make sure you’re using a newsletter template that’s still readable and visually appealing regardless if people are viewing it on a wide, 13 inch laptop screen, or a 5 inch iPhone.

For all its convenience, it’s still pretty hard consuming content on your smartphones. If you send them a newsletter that gets distorted on smartphone, they’ll just end up deleting it.

4. Pique their interest with a good subject line

Newsletter don’t necessarily have to be straightforward and direct. Sure your goal is to inform and promote, but it helps if you tease your audience with exclusive content or discounts. Another strategy would be to build a sense of urgency to make the email more compelling to open.

Subject lines like, “Exclusive finds just for you,” “24 hour flash sale!” could spell the difference between opened emails and ones that end up on the unread list.

One final thing…

I always have to remind anyone who wants to leverage on email campaigns to test their content. A small variation in your format, visuals, length, subject copy could make a huge difference in results. So, be sure to test various factors that could affect your open rates.

That’s it. Hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me via Leadspanda.