The more effective the subject line, the more people will open the email and read the email campaign.
Effective subject lines are clear, engaging, and often personalised to capture attention and entice the reader to explore further.
Preview text
The snippet of text shown below or beside the subject line in inboxes which can influence open rates when used effectively.
A/B testing
This term means comparing two newsletter versions (subject lines, layouts, or calls to action) to find which performs best with your audience.
Open rate
The percentage of people who open your newsletter after receiving it in their inbox.
Factors which affect your open rate include the engagement level of your existing audience, the subject line, personalisation, and the day and time the newsletter is sent.
Call-to-action
A prompt in your newsletter encouraging readers to take specific actions, like “Read more” or “Book a call”.
Click-through rate
The percentage of people who click a link in your newsletter after opening it.
Ideally you want your CTR to be as high as possible.
It is influenced by factors such as the quality of your content, the positioning of CTAs and the relevance of your content to the people who receive it.
Personalisation
This refers to tailoring newsletters with recipient-specific details, such as their name, to catch their eye, make the message more relevant, and ultimately increase both the open rate and CTR.
Responsive design
A layout that adapts to different screen sizes, ensuring your newsletter looks good on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
Unsubscribe rate
The percentage of recipients who choose to leave your mailing list, because they no longer want to receive your content or the email address you are using is no longer valid.
This is useful for monitoring the relevance of your content, engagement, and the quality of your email list.
Ideally, your unsubscribe rate should be as low as possible.
I hope you have found this explainer useful.
Be sure to check back next time for the fourth and final part of this mini-series, when we’ll be shining a light on jargon used in sales and social media.
Phil Bray is founder and director of The Yardstick Agency
