15 Ways to Improve Your Email Click‑Through Rate

What is a click-through rate?

A click-through rate refers to the number of people who clicked on one or more links in an email marketing campaign. You want your readers to click these links and perform the desired action. You may want your readers to purchase something from your website, or you may want them to subscribe to your emails. Whatever the purpose, the goal of an email marketing campaign is to get people to click on those links and follow through with the desired action.

A successful email marketing campaign will have a high click-through rate. A high click-through rate means that the email copy was engaging and relevant, the call to action was clearly defined, and the overall engagement was good. The click-through rate can ultimately indicate the effectiveness of email campaigns so you can make necessary changes to your marketing efforts.

How to find your click-through rate for email marketing campaigns

To calculate the CTR for an email marketing campaign, you have to divide the number of clicks on a link by the number of emails delivered and multiply that by 100.

For example, if you sent out 100 emails and 65 email recipients clicked on the link, your CTR would be 65%. 65/100 x 100 = 65%. It's as easy as that.

What is considered a good click-through rate?

A good click-through rate differs for every industry. What one industry considers a good CTR might be completely different from what another industry considers a good CTR.

However, according to Mailchimp, the average click-through rate across all industries is 2.62%. This number can vary depending on the size of your business, audience, and industry, but it's still important to know the average click-through rate, so you know what you're aiming for with your marketing campaigns.

How to improve your click-through rate

Fortunately, there are many ways you can create more effective emails and improve your click-through rates for your email marketing campaigns.

You'll first want to analyze the click-through rates of previous marketing campaigns to see what areas could have been better. Perhaps your copy could have been better, or your call to action wasn't clearly defined.

Once you have a better idea of how your previous marketing efforts performed, you can use that information to create better emails moving forward.

There are a few ways that you can go about improving click-through rates, such as:

Hone in on one call to action

The last thing you want is to confuse your readers with a million tasks in your email. You don't want to tell them to make a purchase, subscribe to your email list, fill out a survey, and write a review. That will only confuse them and make them more likely to close the email altogether.

Instead, you want to hone in on one specific action. Encourage the reader to either make a purchase OR fill out a survey. Don't encourage them to do both. Make your call to action obvious and easy to follow, and your readers are more likely to follow through.

Similarly, you should also focus on one specific topic in your emails. Rather than trying to fit several topics into one email, it's best to cover only one topic so that you can properly flesh it out.

People tend to have short attention spans, and if you try to cover many topics in one email you're probably just going to lose their attention altogether.

Make your emails personal

People want to read emails that sound like they were written specifically for them. They don't want to read an email that sounds like it was sent to hundreds of other people. So, you should aim to make every email personal.

There are a few ways you can do this. You can include the reader's name at the beginning of the email, or you can follow through if they've purchased from you in the past. A personalized email will make your readers feel special, and they will be more likely to complete your desired task, whatever it may be.

Stick to one target audience

Rather than writing your emails to appeal to a large group of people, you want to stick to one particular audience.

This way, you can cater to your target audience's likes and create content that appeals specifically to them. You want your emails to reach the right audience of people who are interested in what you have to say.

Sticking to a target audience also ensures that you'll consistently create content your subscribers like, making them more likely to click on the links in your email.

Keep your email design simple

For the most part, people prefer simplicity when it comes to emails. No one wants to open an email containing five images, two videos, and a million colors.

A cluttered, overwhelming email will likely end up in the trash bin. Instead, make your email design simple and easy to navigate.

Include one or two images, and keep your copy short and to the point. This way, your readers can quickly scan the content and find the CTA button.

Make sure your call to action is obvious

Your call to action is what is going to encourage people to take a specific action. So, you want your call to action to be evident within the copy. Many marketers choose to include a CTA button in their email campaigns so that the reader knows what they have to do.

Your call-to-action copy should also be action-oriented. Include words like submit, view, watch, and read in your call to action to encourage your readers to perform the specific task. You can also experiment with different CTAs to see which performs best with your readers.

Write engaging copy

If you want your email subscribers to do more than open your email, you must write engaging copy.

Engaging copy will pique your readers' interests and encourage them to read the entire email rather than skim through it. Your copy should be exciting and relevant. You should also write engaging subject lines that immediately grab your reader's attention as soon as they open their inbox.

You can ask your subscribers questions throughout the copy to keep them engaged and interested, but you should also address their concerns. This writing shows that you care about your customers and consider their wants and needs.

Engaging copy will help your customers feel more connected to your brand, which can ultimately increase click-through rates for your email campaigns.

Make your emails mobile-friendly

Most people open their emails on their phones, so your email campaigns must be mobile-friendly. Your email subscribers should be able to open and read your emails on their mobile devices easily. You should also ensure that your links can open on a mobile device.

There are various mobile-responsive email templates that you can use to create mobile-friendly emails. These email templates will allow you to create effective email campaigns that look just as good on a phone screen as they do on a computer.

Include good images

While you don't want to clutter your email with many images, that doesn't mean you shouldn't include any. Photos can do a lot for your email campaigns and get your readers interested in what you have to say. You just have to choose the right images.

Your email images should add meaning to your copy and not take away from it. You should choose high-quality pictures that relate to the subject of your email and help explain what you're talking about. Your subscribers are likely just skimming your emails and not reading the entire thing, but having good images can add quality to your content.

Segment your emails

You need to segment your emails to build relationships with your customers and show them that you care about them.

Your subscribers have different interests, so it's critical to create relevant content that appeals to them based on those interests. If you send an email to the wrong person, it will end up in the trash bin. Segmenting your emails allows you to tailor your content based on a specific person's wants and needs.

You can segment your emails based on your subscriber's locations, interests, or activities. Segmenting your emails will help to increase click-through rates because you'll be sending relevant emails to every person in your subscriber list.

Write in a conversational tone

Your subscribers don't want to read an email that sounds like it came from their boss. Instead, your emails should be conversational and lighthearted. There are a few ways to do this, but the best option is to write your email like you were talking to a friend. Your sentences should be simple and concise, not wordy and confusing.

Writing in a conversational tone will make your copy more fun to read, so your subscribers will actually be interested in what you have to say.

Less is more

When it comes to email marketing campaigns, less is always more. If you write a long and wordy email, your subscribers will take one look at it and immediately click off the page.

It's best to keep your copy direct and to the point. Don't use any fluff in your copy or beat around the bush. You want to clearly explain your point and tell your subscribers exactly what you want them to do.

Incorporate social proof

If your subscribers see that other people have had a positive experience with your brand, they will be more likely to trust you. Including social proof in your email copy is a great way to build credibility with your subscribers.

You can include positive customer reviews in the email or share other customers' success stories with your subscribers. When customers trust you, they're more likely to do what you're asking them to because they believe in your intentions.

Create urgency in your emails

While you don't want your subscribers to feel overwhelmed when they open your email, you should still aim to create a sense of urgency. You can do this by including words like "now" or "today" that show your readers they have a limited time to perform this specific action.

Creating a sense of urgency will encourage your subscribers to click on the CTA immediately because they don't want to miss out on the opportunity you're providing them.

Send emails at the right time

When you send your emails can have a significant impact on click-through rates.

If you send your emails in the middle of the night, they'll get lost in the sea of other emails and will likely never even get opened. But, if you send your email right at the beginning of the workday, it has a much higher chance of getting opened.

You are likely to get more clicks on your emails when you send them at the correct times because you're reaching people at a good point of the day. So, if your subscribers live in different time zones, consider that and avoid sending out one email blast to everyone on your email list.

Use videos

Sometimes, the best way to convey a message is with a video.

Incorporating videos in your emails can be a great way to connect with your subscribers by including something you know they will be interested in. While videos may not work for all email campaigns, they can be very effective in some situations because they'll immediately grab your readers' attention.

Get the most out of your email list with Mailchimp

Emails are one of the most effective marketing strategies for businesses. Emails are how you can reach your customers, connect with them on a deeper level, and encourage them to make a purchase from you. But you can't have a successful email marketing campaign if you don't frame your email correctly.

A good email marketing campaign should include engaging, relevant copy that is personalized and conversational. Your marketing campaign should be mobile-friendly, have a clearly defined call to action, and contain high-quality images.

All of these are essential practices that you should incorporate into your marketing efforts to increase click-through rates and get the most out of your email list.

If you want to achieve email marketing success and need help knowing where to begin, consider using Mailchimp. Mailchimp is a marketing automation platform and email marketing service that can help businesses of all sizes develop effective email marketing strategies.

With Mailchimp, you can access helpful analytics and reporting tools that can help you accomplish your email marketing goals. Whether you want to track important KPIs or measure e-commerce metrics, Mailchimp has all the tools and resources you need to take control of your email marketing campaigns and increase your business’s revenue.