One of the most important metrics in any email campaign is your email click-through rate, or CTR.
After all, getting people to open your emails is all well and good but you also need them to click on the link to see whatever it is you’re emailing about.
Otherwise, your emails aren’t doing their job and you’re not getting the results you want.
How Do You Find Your Email Click-Through Rate?
Your email click-through rate is calculated by dividing the number of subscribers who received your email by the number of people who clicked on the link in said email.
For example, if you send 1000 subscribers an email and 100 of them click on the link in that email, your email click-through rate is 10%.
The average email click-through rate is 3-4%. This varies by industry, as you can see based on the graphic from HubSpot below.
The other factor will be your list engagement. If your subscribers are engaged, you’ll have a better email click-through rate.
To drill down for a moment, there are two types of email click-through rates: TCTR and UCTR
TCTR – Total Click-Through Rate
This measures the total number of clicks the links in your email received.
Factors that can affect this number include:
- People who visit your link multiple times from the same email
- People who click on your link from different devices.
- Having links to more than one URL in the same email.
UTCR – Unique Click-Through Rate
This measures the number of unique clicks the link in your email received.
For example, if you click on a link in an email on your phone in the morning, then click on the same email later in the day on your computer, your ESP or CRM counts both clicks in the TCTR, but only one of the clicks in the UTCR.
If you look at the picture to the right, you’ll see that it lists 5 recipients as having clicked but there were 6 clicks total.
The real question is, how do you get your subscribers to click on your link once, or multiple times, so they see whatever you’re offering.
Here are 5 easy tips to make that happen.
1. Send Relevant Content
Your subscribers are more likely to click on your links if they’re interested in what’s at the other end of this short journey. If it doesn’t grab their attention, they’re going to ignore it.
When you send a broadcast email to your entire list, you’re less likely to pique everyone’s interests. You’ll get some folks to click through, but you probably won’t get much above 7%.
Using email segmentation to send the right message to the right people can definitely improve your email click-through rate. Some of this is math. If you send a specific message to fewer people and more of them click, you’ll get a better result.
However, when you send the right message at the right time to the right people, it also shows your subscribers that you genuinely want to help them because you’re giving them what they need to succeed. This is what motivates your subscribers to click on your email link and make the time to look at whatever you’re offering.
2. Use the Power of One
It is much easier to get someone to click on a link in an email if you only give them one choice.
I’m sure you’ve experienced analysis paralysis before. That’s when you have so many choices you can’t make up your mind. This usually results in you giving up because you have too much input to make a decision.
If you give your subscribers one option and make a clear call to action (CTA), they know exactly what you want them to do.
Look at these two ads, one from Walgreens, and the other from CVS.
The Walgreens ad gives you so many choices, you may not make a choice at all, whereas the CVS ad offers you one product. It’s easier to make a yes/no decision.
Many companies, including Whirlpool and HelpScout saw their email click-through rates rise when they used a single CTA.
When you’re writing your CTA, make sure you use action words along with what they’re getting and a benefit.
For instance, instead of “Click Here” use “Click here to find out your subscribers’ nurture email type.”
3. Include Multiple Links to Reach the Same Destination
There is a long-standing debate on whether to use a text link or a button in your emails.
Originally, marketers used buttons until email clients started blocking images, which rendered the buttons invisible and therefore useless. Marketers switched to text links to overcome this challenge.
Now, your ESP or CRM provides HTML or “bulletproof” buttons, which show up regardless of your email client.
This gives you the option of including a text link and a button, both of which go to the same URL.
Some people scan their emails, others read the entire thing. It’s worth trying both options to see which one works best with your subscribers and how it affects your email click-through rate.
In addition, using the same link 2-3 times in an email gives your subscribers more than one opportunity to click.
4. Optimize for Mobile
The majority of your subscribers have their smartphones with them at all times, which makes this their device of choice for pretty much everything.
According to ActiveCampaign, 55% of emails are opened on a mobile device, compared to 16% on mobile. Some people will read your emails on their mobile device, then open it again on their desktop to click through. Others will want to click as soon as they see what you’re offering.
Make sure your email template is mobile responsive, meaning it automatically adjusts to different screen sizes. That way your header, images, text, and links will be easy for your subscribers to read and click on.
5. Use the Right Images to Convey Your Message
The old saying, “A picture is worth 1000 words” still rings true. According to Vero’s study of over 5,000 email campaigns, those with images had a 42% higher email click-through rate than those without.
However, you do want to use the right images to attract your subscribers’ attention.
If your CTA goes to a landing page, the image(s) in your email should match those on the page, so people know they’re in the right place.
For example, the image of the little kid and his puppy, running across a lovely green lawn in this email from TruGreen is relevant to what they’re offering.
Also, consider including alt text in case your images don’t display correctly.
As always, send yourself a test version of your email to make sure it shows up the way you want it to on your desktop and mobile device.
Now You Know How to Get a Better Email Click-Through Rate
Take these 5 easy tips and apply them to your emails, so more of your subscribers click on your links and see your blog posts, sales pages, surveys, etc.
Next, you need to figure out which type of email your subscribers will open, read, and click-through from, so they’ll buy your products and services.
Everyone has a nurture email “type” meaning a type of email they’re most likely to resonate with and get the most from reading.
To make your email list successful, you need to know your subscribers’ nurture email type.
Find out which nurture email type your subscribers are most likely to open and read by taking my free, 60-second quiz. Just click on the button below and answer a few short questions.
Then it will be much easier for you to write those nurture emails every week and get more of your subscribers to click on your link.