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It’s pretty simple really. If your email subscribers don’t open your emails, you’re not going to have much success with email marketing. Subscribers who don’t open emails don’t respond to your special offers, don’t share your emails with their friends, and don’t take any other action you might want them to take.

So, what can you do to improve your open rates? Here are 5 simple tips to help you out.

1. Send your emails on the right days—Did you know that an email you send on Monday probably won’t get as good of an open rate as one you send on Wednesday? It’s true. There are certain days when your subscribers are likelier to open emails. In general, the middle of the week is best—Tuesday-Thursday. Fridays, people tend to be looking forward to the weekend and wrapping up their week. Mondays, they’re usually still trying to get back in the swing of things.
2. Include one of these things in your subject line—Marketing Sherpa recently released a study that found subject lines with the best open rates have one of the following: free product offer, discount offer, or a recognized brand name. Craft your subject lines accordingly.
3. Don’t email too often—More than half of all people who unsubscribe from an email list say they do so because they’re getting emailed too often from the sender. If you’re always bombarding your subscribers with emails, you’re going to wear out your welcome, and they will start to ignore you.
4. Build your own email list—Email lists that you build yourself will outperform email lists that you buy from somebody else. That’s because house built email lists are full of subscribers who actually request to hear from you, rather than random people who may not even know who you are.
5. Ask your subscribers what they want—If subscribers aren’t getting what they expected from your emails, they’ll stop opening them. Take the time to listen to what your subscribers want, and then make sure your emails deliver upon that.

What are some other things you’ve done to increase your email open rates? Share your best tips by leaving a comment below.

According to EmailStatCenter, only 1 percent of 500 surveyed retailers are sending a welcome series to engage new email subscribers. And while 500 people might be a pretty small sample size, it’s large enough to know that a lot of retailers aren’t sending welcome messages to their new subscribers.

In fact, I can tell you from personal experience that I’m subscribed to the email lists of more than a dozen companies, and not one of them sent me a welcome message when I signed up for their list.

Why is it important to send a welcome message to new subscribers?

First, you want to immediately engage the new subscriber. It’s important to start building that relationship as soon as possible. Otherwise, there could be a gap of a few weeks before you send their first, regularly-scheduled email. And by that time, they may have already forgotten about you or become disinterested in your company.

Most importantly, now is the time when you have the prospect’s attention. This is your big chance to make a strong impression. You may never have their full attention like this again. They gave you their permission to send them an email, and you need to capitalize on it.

So, how can you send a great welcome message to new subscribers?

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Despite the numerous reports of its death, email marketing is still alive and well. And when used properly, it can improve customer loyalty and drive up sales. Of course, at the core of most email marketing campaigns is the e-newsletter. Some companies send them each month, others send them out more often.

Unfortunately, most newsletters suck. Trust me. I receive a number of them from various companies, and I can almost never tolerate reading them. So, what can you do to get more from your e-newsletters? Here are 7 fast tips you can put into practice immediately.

1. Keep it short and easy to scan—Nobody wants to read a long email newsletter. Keep it short and sweet. And always make sure your copy is easy to scan. Prioritize your newsletter content by placing the most important information up top.
2. Get feedback from your readers—What better way to give your subscribers an e-newsletter they care about than to ask them what they’d like to see? Make it easy for subscribers to send their feedback.

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About a year ago, I wrote a post asking the question: How often should you email your subscribers? It’s a question that almost every company involved in email marketing asks themselves on a regular basis. In that post and after discussions with other marketers I respect, the general consensus was that anything more often than every 4 or 5 days will likely be seen as an annoyance and as spam.

In fact, there was a study done by DoubleClick that found 49% of consumers say spam is “email from a company I have done business with but that comes too often.” So, just because someone subscribes to your list doesn’t mean they won’t think you’re a spammer.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because my inbox has been going crazy the past couple of weeks. Why? Because Mother’s Day is just around the corner. We all know that billions of dollars are spent by consumers each Mothers Day. So, it makes sense that companies are frantically trying to outdo one another so they can get their grubby little hands on my hard-earned dollars, but things have gone way too far.

Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, and From You Flowers are 3 email lists that I’m on because I bought various gifts for my girlfriend and my mom several months ago. The first 2 companies already email way too often as it is, regardless if there’s a holiday coming up or not. Not a day goes by that I don’t get an email from at least one of them…usually both. The only reasons I haven’t unsubscribed yet are because I always just delete the message without opening it and I’m also interested in email marketing, so it’s fun to see how some companies approach it.

But now that Mother’s Day is almost here all 3 companies have stepped up the frequency of their emails. I agree that it’s a good tactic to do this when you have a time-sensitive message, but there’s a thin line between urging me to get my mom something nice and pestering me every hour with another “last minute sale” that I need to take advantage of before it’s too late.

That’s the danger of emailing too often. What motivation does someone have to take action if they know you’re going to be emailing them with another offer (usually a better offer) the next day? It’s like the story of the boy who cried wolf. Sooner or later, people just stop paying attention to you when you’re constantly screaming at them.

By the way, I didn’t make a Mother’s Day purchase from any of these companies. Instead, I’m taking my mom out to dinner, and I’m making a donation to her favorite charity under her name.

Every day, I get emails from companies I’ve done business with in the past or businesses whose email lists I signed up on for one reason or another. And every day, I end up deleting a number of these emails without ever opening them and reading a word of what’s inside.

Today, I asked myself “Why do I delete so many emails without opening them?” As I sat back and thought of the answer, a few reasons came to mind. I thought I’d share them with you as these are things you should be aware of when emailing your customers. By understanding these reasons and avoiding common mistakes, you can increase your email open rates and get a higher ROI on your email marketing campaign.

• The company emails too often—There are some companies that send me emails literally every single day. Every day, there’s a new sale. This sale is bigger than the last, and I have to act now if I want to get a good deal. Needless to say, after a few days of being on this email list, I stopped opening any of the messages. They were all the same, and no sale seemed any better or different from all the other ones. Don’t be a pest by emailing your subscribers too often. You’ll annoy them, and they’ll stop reading your messages.
• The subject line doesn’t offer a reason to open it—My inbox is constantly working. I get a lot of emails, so if you want me to pay attention to your marketing, you’d better have a strong subject line that grabs my attention and reels me in. Check out these 5 tips for improving your email subject lines.
• I’m too busy to read it—It seems like a lot of companies send me emails during the middle of the work day when I’m at my very busiest. If I’m in the middle of working and answering work-related emails, the chances of me stopping to read an email about a sale on shoes is pretty slim. And it looks like I’m not alone. According to these statistics, emails sent on the weekends and at 8:00AM during the week have the highest open rates. You have to get to your subscribers before they get caught up in their busy days.
• It’s from a company I don’t recognize—Gmail does a pretty good job of separating spam, but occasionally, I’ll still get emails from companies I know I didn’t sign up for. Never spam people. It’s a surefire way to kill your email marketing campaign. Instead, follow these email marketing best practice rules.

What are some of the reasons you don’t open emails? Share your experiences. It could help others create more effective email marketing campaigns.