If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking “No one ever opens my email newsletters. What’s the point of sending them?” this blog is for you. 

I know how annoying it feels to spend time writing an email newsletter that it feels like no one ever reads. Before you’re too hard on yourself, it’s worth noting that a “good” open rate on a marketing email is around the 20% mark. 

The open rate on my Strategy Studio email newsletter has been consistently over 50% for 2+ years now. 

Here’s 3 strategies I swear by. 

1. Serve before you sell. 

Make sure *almost every* email you send offers something of genuine value to the reader. That might be educational content, insider insights, special offers—anything that lets your reader feel as though they’re the winner from reading your content. A marketing email *can* be an opportunity to pitch yourself when you’re during a sales or launch period, but it shouldn’t be your primary purpose. Serving your audience well is what matters most. 

2. Be personal. Let people in. 

Think of your newsletter list as your VIPs. They’ve given you permission to contact them, which is saying that they want to stay connected with you. So connect with them! Be personal. Tell stories and share personal anecdotes. Your newsletter list is where you can drop your guard a little in a way you might not feel comfortable doing on social media. 

3. Write interesting subject lines. 

Would you open an email with the subject line “My October update”? Probs not. But subject lines like “That was my hardest month yet” or “Well that was unexpected!” are sure to have me clicking open. Be creative with your subject lines (that doesn’t mean “click bait”!) and give your readers a reason to take action. We all get inundated with emails every day, but we always click on the subject lines that capture our attention. Use ChatGPT to help if you find this hard!

The goal is to have your email subscribers become familiar with your newsletter and know it to be one that’s always worth reading. Start paying attention to the marketing emails that you regularly open. What is it that makes you do so? 

If you’d like to receive my email newsletter, you can sign up here.