OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYou’ve put a lot of work into those emails. You came up with some exciting content and even added a compelling call-to-action. You also ran some email tests in the hopes of getting better results. In spite of all those efforts, your open rates are still not improving.

What can you do to bring that up and get people to actually read your emails? Here are some tips to make sure your emails get delivered, opened and read.

Start with a good subject line

If there is one opportunity to convince recipients to read the email, it is the subject line. After all, it is the first thing they see on any email. Your subject line must be clear and concise. It should tell readers what to expect from the email.

Provide quality content

Offer something of value in every email you send. Subscribers will be eager to read your emails if they know that there is something valuable on the other side of the subject line.

Send your emails at the right time

Timing is everything in marketing. If you send emails too early in the morning or too late at night, they can get lost in the shuffle of other emails. If you send it too late in the afternoon, they may decide to put off reading until the morning since they might be too busy accomplishing some tasks before going home. The best time to send emails is during lunch or after work, when you know they’re reading.

Be consistent

Send too frequently and you may end up losing subscribers. Send too infrequently and you may cause your readers to stop interacting with your email. Send your emails at a consistent frequency to build your email reputation. A good rule of thumb is to send no less than 1 email a month and no more than 1 email a week.

Make it personal

Studies show that subject lines that contain the first name of the subscriber boosts open rate every time. This is a subtle trust builder and an instant attention grabber. Make sure you personalize subject lines with first names.