{"id":2883,"date":"2024-12-12T11:30:36","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T00:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yellow.sensis.wpengine.com\/?post_type=hub&p=2883"},"modified":"2025-04-04T19:47:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T08:47:29","slug":"email-marketing-tips-to-improve-your-open-and-click-through-rates","status":"publish","type":"hub","link":"https:\/\/www.yellow.com.au\/business-hub\/email-marketing\/email-marketing-tips-to-improve-your-open-and-click-through-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Email marketing tips to improve your open and click-through rates."},"content":{"rendered":"

The inbox is a crowded place these days. Between work messages, catch-ups with friends and family and countless promotional emails, it\u2019s tricky to get your brand\u2019s message to stand out.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re marketing to your customers, email is one of the best tools at your disposal. However, adding an email address to your database is only half the battle. Once you\u2019ve got your mailing list sorted, you need to make sure your message is opened and the content inside is compelling enough for people to click.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s worth the effort – 66% of consumers<\/a> have made a purchase as a direct result of an email marketing message.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re scratching your head as to how to improve your open and click-through rates, stay calm! We\u2019ve got you covered. These email marketing tips will help you get your message seen by more people, get more enquiries coming in<\/a> and help grow your business.<\/p>\n

What is a good open and click-through rate?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Before jumping into how to improve your email marketing, it\u2019s a good idea to have a grasp of what makes a good open rate and click-through rate. While every industry varies slightly, there are some rough numbers you can use to benchmark your email newsletter performance compared to the average.<\/p>\n

According to Campaign Monitor<\/a>, the average open rate (OR) in Australia is 18.7%<\/b>. However, this number changes a lot depending on which industry you\u2019re in. Businesses in the education, automotive and non-profit sectors generally have a much higher open rate than those in retail or hospitality.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the average click-through rate (CTR) sits at around 2.8%<\/b>, although this also varies dramatically between industries. Education and nonprofits have a CTR above 4%, while those in retail, hospitality and consumer packaged goods average between 1.4% and 1.6%.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious, here\u2019s a look at the average email open rate, click-through rate and click-to-open ratio by industry:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking at industry benchmarks is a helpful way to get an idea of your email marketing performance.<\/p>\n

How to calculate open rate: <\/b>(Number of opened emails \u00f7 number of people the email was sent to) x 100<\/p>\n

Example:<\/b> (100 emails opened \u00f7 1000 email recipients) x 100 = 10% open rate<\/p>\n

How to calculate click-through rate: <\/b>(Total number of clicks \u00f7 number of emails sent) x 100<\/p>\n

Example:<\/b> (50 total clicks \u00f7 1000 emails sent) x 100 = 5% open rate<\/p>\n

If your performance is above average, chances are you have a solid and engaged mailing list with loyal customers and high-quality leads. On the other hand, if your open and click-through rates are leaving a little bit to be desired, it might be time to revisit your email marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

RELATED: eBook: the small business guide to customer relationship management (CRM).<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Check your unsubscribe rate.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is the rate at which your email recipients are unsubscribing on any given email, expressed as a percentage. A high unsubscribe rate is obviously not ideal and might suggest that your emails lack relevance to your audience, or that you\u2019re sending emails too frequently.<\/p>\n

How to calculate it: <\/b>(Number of unsubscribes \u00f7 number of emails sent) x 100<\/p>\n

Example:<\/b> (5 unsubscribes \u00f7 1000 emails sent) x 100 = 0.5% unsubscribe rate<\/p>\n

Average unsubscribe rate in Australia by industry and day:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Aim for a high conversion rate<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n

A conversion is the ultimate action you want email recipients to take after opening an email. For example, you might want recipients to click on a link within your email and fill in a form on your website, or buy a product.<\/p>\n

The conversion rate is the percentage of email recipients who took that desired action, expressed as a percentage.<\/p>\n

How to calculate it: <\/b>(Number of people who completed the desired action \u00f7 number of emails delivered) x 100<\/p>\n

Example:<\/b> 50 people who completed the desired action \u00f7 1000 emails sent x 100 = 5% conversion rate<\/p>\n

Note: <\/b>There are no hard-and-fast industry benchmarks for conversion rates because a \u2018conversion\u2019 can be defined in many ways. It\u2019s a good idea to set your own benchmarks once you begin to understand the norm for your business.<\/p>\n

Measure your ROI.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is a measure of the overall return on investment for your email marketing campaigns. In other words, it\u2019s the total revenue made divided by the total amount spent on an email campaign.<\/p>\n

How to calculate it: <\/b>There are several methods for calculating ROI, but one of the most basic formulas is as follows:<\/p>\n

[(Amount of additional sales made \u2013 the amount invested in the campaign) \u00f7 amount invested in the campaign] x 100<\/p>\n

Example:<\/b> $1,000 in additional sales \u2013 $200 invested in the campaign \u00f7 $200 invested in the campaign) x 100 = a 400% return on investment<\/p>\n

Note: <\/b>Like a conversion rate, it’s good to set your own benchmarks for ROI depending on how much you\u2019re willing to spend on email marketing versus how much you expect to get in return.<\/p>\n

The aim is to increase your overall ROI by optimising your email campaigns using insights gleaned from the metrics above.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h3>\n

How to build an email marketing strategy.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Done right, email campaigns are an absolute winner for your business. Studies show that for every $1 spent on email marketing you get $38 in return on investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yep, you read that right.<\/p>\n

From all the marketing platforms out there, email marketing delivers one of the highest returns, beating out social media, paid search and display advertising. But to reap the benefits, you need to have a solid strategy in place.<\/p>\n

If you want to use email to win more business, these steps will help you build solid foundations for your email marketing plan.<\/p>\n

1. Take a look at your current performance.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Already sending emails through email marketing software? Great. It\u2019s time to take a deep dive into your EDM performance and figure out what\u2019s working \u2014 and what you can improve on.<\/p>\n

Take a look at some essential stats, including:<\/p>\n