Do your email open rates need a boost?
If you are having a difficult time getting high open rates for your email marketing, this can be incredibly frustrating.
Email marketing is a great way to market your photography business and build rapport with your audience. But if your subscribers aren’t opening the emails, none of this matters! The power of email marketing begins with getting those emails opened!
What is a good email open rate? (you might be surprised)
Good open rates for email might surprise you. The industry average for what would be considered a “good” open rate are only 15-25%. Think about that, on average only 25 people out of 100 people will actually open your emails when you send them.
Although this sounds discouraging, email is still one of the best ways to reach your audience and build a relationship with them to grow your business.
This article is all about discovering ways to beat the statistics and improve your email open rates.
How to Boost Email Open Rates for Your Photography Business
Let’s explore some ways to boost your email open rates to get your emails seen!
1 | Create content your audience needs!
Content is KING. The best way to get your emails opened is to give your subscribers something they want or need! You have to serve your subscribers. This happens when you know your ideal client, you understand what they need from you as a photographer and create content that appeals to their needs.
Great content for email marketing could be linking to blog posts created with your clients in mind. As a photographer this could be tips for preparing for a photo session, styling guides or advice on how to document their own family. Give your audience information they would enjoy.
Another way to boost your open rates is by allowing your subscribers exclusive access to discounts, early access to book or anything else that treats your list to something special that they want.
2 | Create a catchy Subject Line.
The subject of your email has to be catchy. Inboxes are cluttered with hundreds of emails fighting for attention. The subject line of your email is what is seen first and it needs to stand out in order to get opened.
Get creative with your approach and avoid generic subject lines. Boring titles like “June Newsletter” will easily get overlooked. Instead use a headline that connects your content with what your audience needs. Some great, catchy subject line examples for photographers are:
- “Mini Session Booking Now OPEN”
- “Best Practices for Organizing Your Photos + Tentative Mini Session Announced!”
- “5 Tips to Ace Your Next Family Photo Session”
- “RE: What should I wear for family photos?”
3 | Don’t forget to include a Teaser, or Preview Text.
Many email services like FloDesk will give you the option to include a preview or a secondary subject line. This is the little bit of text that is visible on email platforms like Gmail. If you have this option, make sure you take advantage of it!
This little preview gives readers a little more info and it’s a great way to peak interest and boost your email open rates. Use the Preview Text to lead your audience further into the conversation. A great example would be something like this:
Subject Line: Booking is now OPEN for Fall 2021!
Preview Text: Only 3 more weekend time slots are available so book now!
Can you see how the Subject Line would catch the attention of anyone who wanted to book with you and the Preview Text creates the urgency to open the email?
4 | Remind your subscribers to add your email to their Address Book.
Good email marketing requires you to cut through the clutter and make it through a series of gatekeepers before your email can be seen. It’s just the nature of email marketing.
Before you can compete for attention with your Subject Line, you need to make sure your email makes it in the their Inbox and avoids the spam filter. When your subscribers sign up for your mailing list, give them a gentle reminder to kindly add your email to their address book or their safe sender list.
5 | Be consistent with your email marketing. (aka Don’t be a stranger!)
Subscribers are much more inclined to open your emails when they know and trust you. Be consistent in your email marketing to begin creating that “know, like and trust” factor.
If you send out regular monthly emails that check all the boxes mentioned above, you are much more likely to continue to boost your open rates. Your subscribers will know you and know that you are providing them with something they want. They will look forward to opening your emails.
The frequency of your emails is not near as important as consistency in which you deliver them. If you feel comfortable sending monthly emails, commit to that schedule. If you know that it’s only realistic to commit to quarterly updates and content, choose that. What I don’t want you to do is commit to a schedule that is unrealistic to maintain.
6 | Segment your audience so you don’t spam them!
Depending on your content and send frequency, you may need to segment your audience. If you are a senior photographer and newborn photographer, these are clearly two different segments that will likely require different updates. If you spam your senior clients with monthly content about newborns, they will not only skip your emails, they will likely unsubscribe as well.
Segment your audience into appropriate segments so you can target them with the appropriate information they want.
Email marketing is a fantastic way for photographers to build rapport and trust with their current and future clients. It’s a way to not only speak directly with your clients but build a relationship with them. Keep these 6 tips in mind to boost your email open rates and continue growing your photography business.
It can take time to build a successful email marketing program in your photography business but it’s a lucrative investment of time that will pay off.
How does email marketing work for you in your photography business? Do you have any questions on how to improve your email open rates? Just ask in the comments below!
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