Recognition and open rates

Bill Nussey reveals that Silverpop stopped a study on subject lines and open rates because...


This reinforces a similar message that came out of an earlier Silverpop report back in 2006.

There is more to this than meets the eye, methinks. Here's my theory on email headers and open rates...

A primary reason people open your emails is recognition, as Silverpop have shown us. But there are two types of recognition you can go for.

The first is sender recognition:


To get that kind of recognition, the recipient must see a name in the from and/or subject line which she associates with your business. This may be the brand name, company name, sales rep name, whatever.

It also helps if whatever appears in the email's preview pane (like a logo) helps identify you.

Then there is email recognition:


This requires some constant in the from and/or subject line that identifies the email. This might also be the brand name etc., or the name of the newsletter itself.

So you drive opens through the reputation and recognition associated with your brand or company as an entity in itself. And also through the reputation you've built with your previous emails.

A secondary reason people open your emails is the subject line - how enticing, engaging etc. can you make it. All the copywriting concepts covered in traditional discussions on writing subject lines.

This three-factor theory leads to various insights. For example, when people first join your list, then sender recognition is critical, because you've had no chance yet to build an email reputation with new subscribers.

Of course, your sign-up process and list welcome message can help establish that sender recognition.

If the new reader's existing relationship with you or your brand is tenuous (we're not all Coca-Cola) then your subject line likely becomes more important in getting people to look at your message.

The concept of email recognition also explains why really quality email newsletters sometimes get the same open rates whatever subject lines they use. Recipients' previous experience with the emails is so positive that it overrides anything else in driving opens.

Intriguing, isn't it?

Then of course we mustn't forget all the other factors that contribute to open rates, like timing and frequency. Or forget the importance of testing different from and subject lines to find what works best for your unique audience (a point made by Time Consumer Marketing in this new article from Ken Magill.)

Related posts and articles:
Email open rates guide
From lines and open rates: unusual test results
Recognition and relevancy
What to put in the from line
Does putting your brand name in the subject line make sense?
A note on subject lines

Tags: email marketing, subject lines, email headers, from lines, open rates

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