3 Ways to Improve your Newsletter’s Open Rate

What’s an open rate and why do we want to improve it?

An open rate is the percentage of people who received your email that actually open it.

20-30% is usually considered to be above average. 😲

Because you ROCK, my open rate is usually around 70%. (PS – Thanks for reading ❤️)

If you have an engaged list and you’re sending valuable information consistently, you can totally get there.

These tips will help:

1) Don’t use the same title every week

Subject line: Church Newsletter – Week of 11/14

vs.

Subject line: Mrs. Smith’s 4th grade class wants to show you something!

Which one would you click on?

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2) Write something personal each week – and write it to a friend.

I still receive the newsletter from the church I was a member at growing up. The pastor writes a little ditty about his week in every newsletter – and it really reads like we’re just pals sharing about our life. There’s casual language, emojis, etc. Remember that you’re not writing to 300 people… you’re writing to one person – 300 times.

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3) Avoid “billboard-itis” (a technical term, of course)

Highlight the two or three things you want to advertise for that week, but fill the rest of the email with value.

What are the daily Bible readings for that week? Are you listening to a worship song on repeat – could you link the YouTube video? Did something funny happen in preschool? Was there a new Time of Grace video uploaded that you think people would enjoy?

BONUS: Keep it short. Like, super short. The newsletters with the highest open rates are…. Wait for it…. No longer than 200 words.

I know, I know, I need to work on that. 😜

Most ESPs (email service providers) will display this information for you. Go check! What’s your current open rate?