An email open rate is simply how many people open/view an email sent to them in a particular email campaign. Email open rates are usually expressed as a percentage.

We calculate this as follows: (Open Rate= emails opened ÷ emails sent – bounces)

So if 100 emails were sent and 80 were delivered, and of those 80 emails 20 were opened, then we would achieve an open rate of 25%.

How is an email opening measured?

When each email is sent out, a piece of code that requests a tiny, invisible image from a web server is added. So when a reader opens the email, the image is downloaded, and that download is used as an indication that the email has been opened.

An open rate is never 100% accurate because not all email systems like Microsoft Outlook 2007 or Google’s Gmail download images by default and the recipient is required to click a link give permission for the download to take place. So a recipient can preview the email, reading the textural content, without downloading the images, and this will count as an unopened email.

What is a typical open rate?

Really, there is no typical open rate. The rate obtained for any list, or group of lists will depend on how it was measured, when it was sent, the size of the list and many other potential variables.

Instead of giving a specific percentage, we’ve come up with the following chart. This gives an indication of the typical open rate across a number of sectors.

However there are certainly some broad trends in open rates.

• As list size goes up, the open rate tends to fall; possibly because smaller companies are more likely to have personal relationships with their list subscribers.
• Companies and organizations that are focusing on enthusiasts and supporters, like churches, sport teams and non profits see higher open rates

• More specific niche topics, like some manufacturing areas, also typically have higher open rates than emails on broader topics

If you are getting somewhere between a 20% to 40% open rate, you probably somewhere around average.

How can i increase my open rate?

There are a ton of elements you can vary to try to entice more of your subscribers to open up your emails. Here are the most effective:

• Experiment with your subject lines: Try including details about the content of the email right in the subject line, instead of using your standard subject.
• Send on a different day: Are your subscribers too busy on a Wednesday morning to read your email, leaving it languishing down the inbox? Maybe a Tuesday afternoon email would be welcomed.
• Get the important content up the top: Remember that many people will see a preview of your email before deciding to open it or ignore it. Make sure your email is recognizable, and that your key points are in the top third.
• Try and target your email: If you are selling products try and target segments of your email list based on the types of purchases those customers have already made. So if the customer has bought a pair of ladies shoes from you do not send emails about hiking boots you may have. You are much more likely to be successful if you send her details of new ladies shoe styles.

Create unique content

The first rule is to create unique content. After all the reason people will visit your web site is to consume the content and search engines will prefer unique content, so your site will achieve a better position in the search results. Before you can start to add content it is crucial that you take time to identify the search volume for keywords that you believe are associated with the site subject matter. This will allow you to write the content to give improved performance against targeted keyword phrases that are frequently searched.

The end game is to make Google view your site as an authoritative source on your subject / topic. Given the scope of content that has already been established on the Internet, this almost certainly means carving out a niche and probably a geographic region, to further focus your efforts. That way you will attract links from other related sites, further consolidating your site’s authority.  Search remains the most cost effective way to bring new visitors to your site so search performance is central to any effective web selling strategy.

Although important the site design is secondary as this will only come into play once the visitor arrives at the site. The design must look professional and build visitor trust through inclusion of professional associations & accreditations etc.  Like it or not, presentation counts and most people won’t give you a second chance if you present yourself poorly. Achieving success with any calls to action will rely on achieving a degree of trust with the site visitor. Use of testimonials and case studies are an effective way of accomplishing this.

Content Management

The best way to manage content is to use a Content Management System (CMS). This will allow you to create your own engaging content that will ideally include images and possibly video or audio files. The chosen system should make your content accessible via feeds such as RSS (Really Simple Syndication), allowing you to automatically feed content into other sites like LinkedIn or Twitter, so that the content can be easily consumed by your site community.

Good CMS systems would also include features such as control over meta information and automated XML sitemaps so that the site can be optimised for search with minimum effort.

Pro-active eMarketing

Relying on totally passive consumption can work for existing customers but is unlikely to draw in much needed new clients or customers. A more pro-active approach is required here and one of the most effective ways of achieving this is to use email marketing. It is possible to buy good quality targeted email lists when selling to other businesses but this is not permitted when selling direct to the public.

When selling services the approach can be soft sell, designed to build your credibility and establish a relationship with the client / customer, but the message needs to be well thought out and the proposition very clear to the potential client. The message should address the most likely client concerns and build confidence that you are supplying expert services.

In general the email should have links that provide easy access to the services that you provide. It is extremely important that the reader’s expectations are met by the landing page content, when the email links are clicked. A good example of how we do this can be found at www.purposemedia.co.uk/micro/

Social Media

Finally social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn undoubtedly have a great deal of potential as marketing platforms, but utilising them without creating additional workload is the challenge. Google’s focus on real time results where fresh content is prioritised over more static content means social media platforms are playing an increasingly important part in search optimisation.

One thing is for certain; our best performing sites rely on a complementary mix of marketing techniques, including offline activities, to boost traffic to their site. Once on the site the site gives the visitor the maximum opportunity to interact with the business and clearly explains the benefits of doing so. Getting this right will result in a steady stream of opportunities to convert enquiries into new business.

Research group IMRG Capgemini cited online sales figures rose by 15.7% in July compared with the previous month achieving total sales of £4.2bn. Clothing led the increased figures whereas the poor summer may be responsible for the slower demand in other product sectors as outside events were cancelled.

One element highlighted in the article is the conversion rate, basically the amount of sales to visitors on a website. Statistics indicate that one in 15 visitors bought items indicating that online merchants are marketing their sites and products more effectively. This reflects more sophisticated marketing strategies being used more effectively like email marketing.

To read the full article visit BBC News website.

The brief: Solutions for Accounting was very clear.

• Core product needed to be highly ranked in Google in organic searches
• More access and control over their website content was required
• Training in SEO (search engine optimisation) was needed

A priority for the client was the visibility of a particular product known as Sage 200 Manufacturing software, which is a high end software package.

The solution: The challenge for Purpose Media as Solutions for Accounting website partner was to achieve high ‘ranking’ in Google’s natural listings (organic searches). This was no mean feat as there are literally thousands of Sage resellers in the country and when you are competing against the Sage ‘brand’ itself then getting to the ‘top’ was never going to be easy.

The existing website, in terms of design and layout was already clean-cut and easy to navigate. The site ‘branding’ was actually pretty good and reflected the right ‘image’, however, in terms of the search engines design comes secondary when considering site positioning or ‘ranking’ in the search engines. What was required here was more ‘back end’ (website function and administration) development rather than a re-design.

The job : Our team set about developing a new ‘back end’ structure and administration area for the website which provided more flexibility in terms of managing the website content, but more importantly within the structure we incorporated SEO (search engine optimisation) tools and features which provided the means to optimise the whole site.

The (SEO) tools

• Keyword (industry buzz words) rich URL Threads – identified each and every page within the site to create a ‘path’ for the search engines to follow
• Site maps- submitted new and updated ‘content’ (text)to the search engines ensuring the search engines had up to date and relevant information
• Titles / tagging and keywords- the facility for individual products and pages to be optimised in its own right.

Did it work?  Search Google for ‘Sage 200 manufacturing’, ‘solutions for accounting’, ‘sage 200’, ‘sage manufacturing’, ‘spindle software’, ‘sage manufacturing’, ‘sage 200 crm’, ‘sage 200 suite’, ‘sage 50 suite’, ‘sage 50 act’ and many more….

Solutions for Accounting’s website is on the first page for all the above keywords. Not bad to say they are in a highly competitive market in the “IT Industry”. 

www.solutionsforaccounting.co.uk

With this in mind you have to look at the range of services available to help your website move up the search engine rankings and generate more traffic. Core search engine techniques & best practice are the easiest and cheapest way to keep in touch, but there are additional services available that compliment these and will produce even better results. These include:

Best Practice (Organic SEO) – This is one of the most important areas in website design and successful marketing. Your website has to work for you and this method of simple “best practice” can be the most cost effective marketing you will ever take part in. I would always suggest using XML site maps, Keyword rich URL threads and using different Meta Titles, Descriptions and Keywords on every single page. This method combined will allow the search engines to rank each and every page on their own merits and always update the search engines on a daily basis every time you add, amend or delete a web page. This method has proven to work for all of our clients. 

Blogs & Blogging – Blogs are fast becoming a fundamental part of website marketing more so on a daily basis. Blog posts are extremely search engine friendly and can travel up the search engines within hours or days of creating a new blog article. A lot of people still don’t really understand what blogging is all about and to be honest it’s really simple. You have to think of blogs as a good old fashioned news section on your website but 100 percent more powerful in terms of visibility and search engine optimisation. You can use blogs for informal information and formal business information either way just make sure the articles are relevant and that you are targeting specific keywords that will benefit your business and website. Blogging is a must in today’s market place and I would advise you create a new article once per week, if not at least once a month.

Pay Per Click management – PPC is now becoming a little old hat in the world of internet marketing but that doesn’t mean isn’t still affective and because it’s proven and it does work. It’s how you manage your campaigns effectively and efficiently that matters. If you get your campaign management wrong it could cost you a small fortune with little return. However, if you get this correct it can prove to generate income on a regular basis, put your website at the top of the first page on major search engines and generate income and profit for your website, which at the end of the day it’s all about “Return on investment”. PPC comes in many forms, the main providers of PPC are Google Adwords and Overture which most people are aware of. You need to consider this method very seriously as part of your marketing plan, but you must consider your approach for campaign management to manage your expectation and budget.

Email marketing – This is an absolute must in terms of marketing, you have to keep in touch with your existing current and potential customers to keep your business & services in their mind on a constant basis. I would suggest marketing to your customer base on a monthly basis to simply keep in touch. You can actually approach this in a number of ways i.e. Offers, Discounts & Latest News etc… this can be approached as a impact flyer or soft sell informative approach. Either way you are keeping your business at the forefront of your industry and in their mind and that’s what matters. E-Mail flyers are proven to work and generate interest on a number of levels, but you do have to keep your information fresh each time and there is a fine line between informing people and annoying them with SPAM. If you approach this in the correct manner, you will do well and that’s fact.

Marketing Plans & Strategies – Short & Term goals – Planning is key to any successful marketing plan, you have to look forward to what you are trying to achieve in the first place and then set out a number of achievable short term and long term goals. When planning a marketing strategy it depends on the actual market place to are targeting, the numbers you are looking to attract in terms of visitors and income generation. Then you have to look at a realistic budget to get this retiurn you are looking for, this is so important. Every business is different because everyone has different objectives, budget and goals. It’s all about creating a marketing plan and strategy that works for your business. I would advise that you take professional advice with your marketing plan to ensure you know about all the different ways to market for your particular business and ensure you take advice on managing your own expectations and budget.

Social Networking – Social Networking is one of the latest growth area’s in internet marketing and is changing way business websites attract new potential customers & visitors. The likes of Facebook, My Space & Bebo plus lots more have a vast amount of subscribers on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. You have to consider that social networks carry a vast amount of power in the current internet market place. Over 90 million people subscribe to Facebook alone, all these users will be internet users and linked to a number of friends anything from 10 to 500 +  contacts per user. You need to make your website accessible to Social Networks to ensure users can share your website pages with like minded contacts. Social Networks are one of the cheapest ways to generate free viral marketing campaigns. You can also use social networks to advertise your business directly by creating business profile pages and encouraging people to join your groups. This is not always for every business but it’s something that must be explored first to find out if it can be a benefit, otherwise you might me missing a trick.

Micro Sites – These are great additions to your main website and allow you to try something different to attract new visitors or keep existing customers interested to get them to return. Micro Sites can work in a number of ways from competitions, data collection to informative additions. We have recently undertaken a number of Micro Sites for a number of companies that have proven to be a success on a number of levels in terms of generating traffic in a different way to their main website and also creating viral competitions. Micro Site have to be created with Purpose in mind and need to have pre-set defined targets and goals. The nice thing about micro sites are that you can try something different to conventional website design and function and methods.

Video & Rich Media – It’s an old cliché that “a picture speaks a thousand words”, but let’s be honest it’s very true.  What with broadband and the internet moving on, becoming more fast and efficient year on year Video is now becoming a chosen media on websites.  If you think about a video within a website it can sit in a relatively small space on the website until required and look really good from a dynamic design point of view and say a thousand words in small allocated area on the website. In order to stand out from the crowd it’s important you get across the point of why you are different to others and the services that you are able to provide. A video could offer an easy way of being different and adding that personal touch from you and your business to your current and potential clients. There are now also a number of video related search engines and social media networks that allow for Video media which can ultimately drive traffic back to your website. You have to ensure that your videos are to the point, delivered in the correct manner and more importantly looks professional and portrays your business in the way you want or require.

Affiliate Marketing – This method of marketing as been around for a while now, but it is generally an unexploited resource for a lot of SME’s and serious website owners. Affiliate marketing in general terms means “Partnership Marketing” allowing your business to be seen on other websites either free of charge, or most likely for a fee, working along the lines of Pay Per Click (CPC), Pay Per Accusation (CPA) or Pay Per Thousand (CPM). There are now hundreds if not thousands of affiliate networks around offering to help businesses generate more traffic and more importantly income generation via your website.  The “key” to success in the Affiliate marketing game is to find a network that can cater for your specific business requirements, industry or market sector. Once you have found the correct company to work with, you then need to check out the set-up costs if any and the long term commitments if any. Affiliate networks are a fantastic way to market if you get it working correctly for you. You can place your branding, products and website in front of people without any competition from like minded competitors. It’s up to the Affiliate marketing companies to find perfect complementary websites to sell your products for you. The better the standard of website your are advertising on the more you are likely to see and the more the Affiliate marketing and partner website generates in income – Creating a Win–Win–Win scenario…. But we careful you don’t offer too much percentage of sales or pay too much for PPC, you have to do your maths first ensure you are still profitable.

Behavioral Targeting – Big Brother is watching you… you may have noticed in the news over the past few weeks / months that “Behavioural Targeting” is becoming more and more popular in the marketing arena and more so in the internet marketing arena. If you agree with it or not, that’s a matter of opinion, of which we are all entitled. For businesses it really is something you need to consider, techniques for behavioural targeting are becoming more and more advanced every day, looking at internet marketing based on times of day, gender, geographical area and much much more. From a business point of view it could be the most perfect form and cost effective way of marketing for small and large businesses. The likes of Tesco and Matalan to name but two have been monitoring their customers and target audience for years creating an extremely powerful operation for marketing, trends and buying power. With this technology becoming widely available to the smaller businesses and serious website owners, you can now play a part in this revolutionary marketing arena. 

Editorial & Contextual Marketing - Public Relations (PR) is a massive part of marketing and generating credibility for your business and brand.  There are now many ways in the world of internet marketing to link your website or website content into forums, blog articles and other websites using “editorial and contextual” marketing techniques. It’s all about knowing where to look in your industry, sector or target market because you want your website and website content only to appear on relevant and credible websites. This form of marketing can be both free or paid for but if the website you are using to advertise your content is well known and drives lots of traffic it can be very beneficial to say the least. The quality of content is “key” to ensure it is used, and I would always recommend using a PR expert to help you write the content and deliver it in the correct manner.  Editorial, Contextual marketing and PR in general are always something every business need to consider. When employing experts you may consider the cost to be expensive, but if you get the correct advice think of the coverage and creditability gained. Compare that to how much you may spend on brochure’s, yell pages adverts and other marketing it might actually work out being a lot cheaper and beneficial than you think!

The best results are produced with a sustained and consistent marketing effort. Purpose Media can help you with this by continually promoting, analysing and maintaining your search engine rankings.

If you need help with your website or marketing plan we would be more than happy to arrange an appointment or to have an initial chat to discuss your requirements. For further details about website and marketing from Purpose Media contact Kathy or Matt on tel 01623 600694 or email info@purposemedia.co.uk.

These figures support other statistics on Internet usage which indicates that more people are online regularly than are watching television and therefore spending less time watching television.

The trend toward the Internet is a great boost for customers already trading online who are becoming more aware of the benefits of not only having a website, but also marketing it. Online promotion via the search engines is becoming more vital than ever.

There has never been a better time to consider promoting your website via the search engines like Google. For businesses to grow they need to consider the opportunity to acquire new clients and retain existing ones by using the variety of media available to them to best advantage including email marketing and general online advertising.

If you would like further information about the online marketing services offered by Purpose Media contact telephone 01623 600694 or email info@purposemedia.co.uk

To read the BBC News article in full click here.