With supporters’ inboxes flooded by emails from organisations each day, how do you ensure your own emails get opened? Higher open rates are vital for driving support and action. But we know that the pressures you face of tight deadlines, limited resources, and trying to make every communication count can make it very difficult to think beyond the next line of copy.
If you do want to talk to us about improving your email deliverability or about Movement’s broader SMS, email, phone banking and WhatsApp tools to help power your campaign, hit the Get Started button.
In the meantime, here’s a practical guide to improving your open rates that we’ve developed over the years from conversations with clients and our own tests:
1. Avoid the spam folder
Campaigners often worry about being flagged as spam, and for good reason—emails that end up in the spam folder are never opened.
- Authenticate your emails: Make sure your emails are properly authenticated using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to increase deliverability and avoid being flagged as spam.
- Don’t use spammy words: Avoid using too many capital letters or words like “free” or “guaranteed” in your subject lines. These are common red flags for spam filters.
2. Personalise, personalise, personalise
It’s not just a case of using your supporters’ names in your emails, but really tailoring the content of the email to them and their background.
- Use their name: Always personalise the subject line and greeting using merge tags. For example, instead of "Join us for the campaign," try "Jane, we need your help today!"
- Segment your audience: Tailor your messaging to different segments of your audience. Whether it’s based on industry, location, previous donations, or engagement history, segmenting your list allows you to send more relevant emails. You can tailor the content of your emails to resonate more personally with that specific group.
- Make it feel individual: If possible, refer to past actions or causes they’ve supported. "Thanks for signing our petition last month, we’ve got an exciting update." Movement allows you to personalise individual parts of your email based on rules around past donation amounts, previous engagements and voting history.
3. Crafting compelling subject lines
The subject line is the first thing a supporter sees, it’s your chance to grab their attention.
- Be clear and concise: Avoid jargon and make sure the purpose of the email is clear right from the subject line.
- Create urgency: Words like “last chance” or “urgent” can create a sense of urgency, but don’t overuse them. It’s all about striking the right balance.
- Ask a question: Subject lines like “Did you know?” or “Can you help today?” spark curiosity and increase the likelihood that people will open your email.
- 🚀 Use emojis 🚀: Use 1-2 emojis in a subject line to make your email stand out in an inbox. Just don’t over do it as some email clients will take that to be spam.
4. Optimise for mobile devices
More people check emails on their phones than computers, so ensure your emails are mobile-friendly.
- Keep it short and sweet: People scan emails quickly on their phones. Short, punchy content is more likely to be read.
- Easy-to-click links: Ensure buttons and links are large enough to tap easily. If you’re using forms or calls to action, make sure they work well on mobile too.
- Test email design: Always preview your emails on mobile devices before sending. If your email doesn’t look good on a small screen, people will move on.
5. Use a strong preview text
The preview text (the snippet of text that appears next to the subject line in most inboxes) is increasingly just as important as the subject line. It provides a further glimpse into what the email is about, and it gives you opportunity to sell the email to your audience.
- Complement the subject line: Think of the preview text as a way to expand on the subject line and offer more context. For example, “Join the picket line” could be paired with “your voice matters, make it count on our picket line…”
- Test different combinations: Keep track of which subject line and preview text combos perform best and use that data to improve future emails. Movement’s analytics suite allows you to compare the performance of email preview lines and open rates.
6. Build trust with your audience
Building a relationship with your audience can go a long way in improving your open rates. Supporters who trust your organisation are more likely to open and engage with your emails.
- Be transparent: Let your supporters know exactly what they’re getting when they sign up for your mailing list. Set expectations early on.
- Give value: Don’t just ask for something—whether it’s donations, petitions, or event sign-ups. Offer value by sharing campaign updates, success stories, or insights into the impact of their support.
- Keep your branding consistent: Make sure your supporters easily recognise your emails by keeping a consistent look, feel, and tone in all of your communications.
7. Keep track of your performance
Finally, keep track of your open rates and experiment with different strategies. Use data to inform your decisions and refine your approach.
- A/B testing: Run tests on subject lines, email content, and sending times to see what works best for your audience.
- Use email analytics: Tools like Google Analytics and email marketing platforms will show you open rates, click-through rates, and other valuable metrics. Use this data to adjust your strategy and improve your results over time.
8. Use Movement to automatically send to your most engaged users first
Without meaning to toot our own horn too much (although we do get a lot of compliments about our email deliverability), Movement ensures your emails get sent to those who open your emails first automatically. That way email clients trust your emails as they get more opens and don’t put the rest in the dreaded‘promotions’ folder.
Ultimately you are fighting for attention in a crowded inbox. And while that might seem exhausting there are some steps you can take to make sure your supporters are opening what you send them and, importantly, taking action because of them. By building meaningful relationships with supporters through personalised messages, and testing different send times and content you can boost your open rates. More opens means more engagement, and ultimately, more action for your cause.
If you want to talk to us about using Movement to grow engagement in your cause then hit the Get Started button.
