I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… Email is not dead. It’s not even badly wounded.
It is changing, due to the Apple iOS 15 update and will probably change again because of further updates by Apple and Google.
The main change is that your most important metric is now your email click through rates, instead of your email open rates.
Everything is Changing… Again
Let’s face it, this is not the first change email marketing has undergone in the last several years. But it is an impactful change.
The Apple iOS 15 update introduced the Mail Privacy Protection feature which, to quote Apple’s June 2021 press release, “stops senders from using invisible pixels to collect information about the user. The new feature helps users prevent senders from knowing when they open an email and masks their IP address so it can’t be linked to other online activity or used to determine their location.”
All of this boils down to Apple Mail clients making it look like more people have opened your emails than have actually done so. They do this by prefetching and caching images in emails, which causes those emails to register as opened, even if your subscriber didn’t actually click on the email to open it.
This is frustrating, I know.
Especially when you consider that approximately 48% of the smartphone users in the U.S. own Apple iPhones and as many as 75% of emails are opened on a phone these days.
But it’s not the end of the world.
It just means you need to pay attention to key performance indicators (KPIs) other than your email open rates.
Email Click-Through Rates – Your New Primary KPI
Ultimately, your goal for every email is to get people to click on the link, right?
Well, now you have even more incentive to make that happen. Your email click-through rates may not be as large as your email open rates, but they’re now the metric that will accurately show how many people actually opened and read your email.
Yes, it’s a bit depressing to go from a metric that shows 30 – 50% of your subscribers being engaged with your emails to 3-5% engagement.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in, at least until Apple and Google decide to change something else related to privacy and we email marketers have to adapt.
Here’s the good news: There are plenty of ways to increase your email click-through rates.
Focus Your Email on a Single Call to Action
You may think that if you add multiple calls to action to an email, you’ll have a better chance of getting someone to click, right?
Wrong.
The more choices you give your subscribers, the less likely they are to take any action at all.
When I say “single call to action” I mean that your email should drive your subscribers toward a single outcome, whether that outcome is visiting a product or sales page, or listening to your latest podcast.
You can have multiple instances of the same link in an email, but you always want to drive your subscribers toward a single goal, clicking on one of those links, all of which take them to one specific place.
Broaden Your Call-to-Action Destinations
Perhaps in past emails, you’ve always sent your subscribers to a product page or sales page. And perhaps your email click-through rates were low because of this.
Now is the time to increase your options for places to send your subscribers.
A “soft sell” CTA outcome can be just as good as a “hard sell” one when it comes to increasing your email click-through rates.
When you ask your subscribers to make micro-commitments, like clicking on a link to read a blog post or sign up for a new product waiting list, you’re training them to say “yes” over and over again.
You can create a “call to action path” of several micro-commitments, starting with a compelling subject line that persuades your subscribers to open your email.
Followed by a persuasive call to action that gets them to click on the link in that email.
Which takes them to a blog post that guides them to click on another link that takes them to a product or service sales page.
Which convinces them your product or service is so wonderful, they make a purchase.
The best time to ask someone to say “yes” to something is right after they’ve just said “yes” to something else.
Of course, you need to make saying “yes” worth their while, by providing value and giving them something that helps them take another step forward in their buyer’s journey.
A simple way to do this is for your link to direct your subscribers to:
- Blog posts
- Podcasts
- Articles about your business, product, or service.
- A waiting list for a new product or service.
- A scheduling app where they can schedule a free consultation with you.
Segment Your Email List
When you send emails to people that address their specific needs, they’re more likely to open those emails, read them and click on the links inside.
This may sound like a lot of work, but you can send segmented emails that are a variation on a theme. It’s all the same basic information, but it’s tailored to each segment’s persona and desired outcome.
Directing your email content to specific groups will help you increase your email click-through rates and increase engagement, as your subscribers will get what they want from your emails.
This builds a stronger relationship between you and your subscribers, which will ultimately result in more sales, a loyal customer base, and more referrals.
Make Your Emails Easy to Scan
Many people glance over emails to see if there’s anything important they need to pay attention to, before they actually commit to reading.
Make your emails easy to scan by using short sentences and leaving a lot of white space.
White space makes it easier to read on any screen size. The more text there is, the more intimidating your email looks, which makes it more likely people will open a different email instead.
Make your paragraphs no more than 3 lines of text. This is especially true on mobile, as a long sentence can take up a lot of screen space.
Bold words or sentences you want to emphasize, so your subscribers pay more attention to them.
Make at least one of your links a large, bright, obvious button. (We’re hard-wired to click on buttons.)
Give Explicit Instructions in Your Call to Action
I know this sounds silly, but we’re also hard-wired to follow instructions when they’re given.
Don’t assume your subscribers will know to click on a link or button. Tell them explicitly to click on the link or button.
It’s not because humans are stupid. We are overwhelmed. The easier you make it for your subscribers to succeed, the more likely they are to follow your instructions, which will result in larger email click-through rates.
Use Features and Benefits in Your Emails
Give your subscribers a compelling reason to click on your link. Show them what they will get and why it will help them reach the goal they have or solve the problem they want to fix.
When you use features and benefits, you give your subscribers that extra push toward clicking on your link many of them may need to take that action.
As Much as Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same
If you want to increase your email click-through rate, you still need to:
- Attract your subscribers’ attention with a compelling subject line.
- Write engaging content full of value to keep them reading.
- Give them a good reason to click on your link.
- Build a relationship with your subscribers, so they know, like, and trust you enough to want to click on that link.
This means writing and sending regular nurture emails to build that relationship.
And the easiest way to figure out what to write in those emails is to know your subscribers’ nurture email type.
Everyone has a type of nurture email they’re most likely to open, read and click on, including your subscribers.
You can discover 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.
Once you know your subscribers’ nurture email type, writing to your subscribers regularly will be a breeze.