I came across this great article in regards to flash in an email piece.
Published January 11, 2006 by David Greiner
http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/post/1974/the-truth-about-1/
Rich
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Canada Bill has Key Differences from Can Spam
Canada Bill has Key Differences from Can Spam
Apr 28, 2009 2:37 PM, By Ken Magill
Read more commentary from Ken Magill
An anti-spam bill has been introduced in the Canadian House of Commons that may have big ramifications for U.S. marketers.
Dubbed the Electronic Commerce Protection Act, Canada’s anti-spam bill is permission based and would allow individuals to sue suspected spammers.
The U.S. Can Spam Act does not require marketers to get permission from recipients before sending commercial e-mail. Also, it allows ISPs to sue spammers but not individuals.
Justin Weiss, associate counsel to the Email Sender and Provider Coalition, advised U.S. marketers to keep an eye on this bill.
“This bill is not law yet,” he said. “But if they have practices that are only looking at U.S. law and Can Spam, they may not be entirely aligned here.”
Allowing individuals to sue often spawns cottage industries of people bringing frivolous lawsuits.
For example, after Utah gave individuals the right to sue alleged spammers, Salt Lake attorneys Denver Snuffer and Jesse Riddle in 2003 filed more than 1,000 lawsuits against companies such as Verizon, eBay and Columbia House in a massive shakedown effort before the law was repealed.
In an apparent effort to head off such lawsuits, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act caps damages at $200 per violation.
Meanwhile, though the bill would require marketers to get permission from Canadian e-mail address holders before sending commercial messages, it would exempt commercial e-mail sent to people with whom the sender has a business relationship. It would also exempt e-mail from one individual to another inquiring about the second individual’s business.
Also under Canada’s Electronic Commerce Protection Act, marketers would have to honor opt outs within 10 days. However, the law does not specify 10 business days as the Can Spam Act does.
The unsubscribe mechanism would have to allow recipients to opt out electronically by providing either an e-mail address to which they can reply or a hyperlink that takes them to an opt-out mechanism.
The unsubscribe function would also have to remain active for at least 60 days after the mailing.
Also, Canada’s Electronic Commerce Protection Act would require commercial e-mail to contain contact information—valid for at least 60 days after the message is sent—for the sender of the message, and the person or organization on behalf of whom the message was sent if that person or organization is different than the sender.
This may mean that e-mail service providers would have to include their contact information in messages sent on behalf of clients to Canadians.
The Electronic Commerce Protection Act would allow penalties of up to $1 million for individuals and $10 million in all other cases, including businesses.
The Canadian Marketing Association applauded the bill.
“This is important news for legitimate marketers and good news for consumers,” said the CMA’s president and CEO, John Gustavson, in a statement. “Through rigorous enforcement and the backing of the federal government, we will now have a law that will help combat what has been an ongoing problem for legitimate companies that use the Internet to grow their business."
Under Canadian legislative procedure, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act will be up for multiple readings in the House. If it passes the House, it will be sent to the Senate.
Apr 28, 2009 2:37 PM, By Ken Magill
Read more commentary from Ken Magill
An anti-spam bill has been introduced in the Canadian House of Commons that may have big ramifications for U.S. marketers.
Dubbed the Electronic Commerce Protection Act, Canada’s anti-spam bill is permission based and would allow individuals to sue suspected spammers.
The U.S. Can Spam Act does not require marketers to get permission from recipients before sending commercial e-mail. Also, it allows ISPs to sue spammers but not individuals.
Justin Weiss, associate counsel to the Email Sender and Provider Coalition, advised U.S. marketers to keep an eye on this bill.
“This bill is not law yet,” he said. “But if they have practices that are only looking at U.S. law and Can Spam, they may not be entirely aligned here.”
Allowing individuals to sue often spawns cottage industries of people bringing frivolous lawsuits.
For example, after Utah gave individuals the right to sue alleged spammers, Salt Lake attorneys Denver Snuffer and Jesse Riddle in 2003 filed more than 1,000 lawsuits against companies such as Verizon, eBay and Columbia House in a massive shakedown effort before the law was repealed.
In an apparent effort to head off such lawsuits, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act caps damages at $200 per violation.
Meanwhile, though the bill would require marketers to get permission from Canadian e-mail address holders before sending commercial messages, it would exempt commercial e-mail sent to people with whom the sender has a business relationship. It would also exempt e-mail from one individual to another inquiring about the second individual’s business.
Also under Canada’s Electronic Commerce Protection Act, marketers would have to honor opt outs within 10 days. However, the law does not specify 10 business days as the Can Spam Act does.
The unsubscribe mechanism would have to allow recipients to opt out electronically by providing either an e-mail address to which they can reply or a hyperlink that takes them to an opt-out mechanism.
The unsubscribe function would also have to remain active for at least 60 days after the mailing.
Also, Canada’s Electronic Commerce Protection Act would require commercial e-mail to contain contact information—valid for at least 60 days after the message is sent—for the sender of the message, and the person or organization on behalf of whom the message was sent if that person or organization is different than the sender.
This may mean that e-mail service providers would have to include their contact information in messages sent on behalf of clients to Canadians.
The Electronic Commerce Protection Act would allow penalties of up to $1 million for individuals and $10 million in all other cases, including businesses.
The Canadian Marketing Association applauded the bill.
“This is important news for legitimate marketers and good news for consumers,” said the CMA’s president and CEO, John Gustavson, in a statement. “Through rigorous enforcement and the backing of the federal government, we will now have a law that will help combat what has been an ongoing problem for legitimate companies that use the Internet to grow their business."
Under Canadian legislative procedure, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act will be up for multiple readings in the House. If it passes the House, it will be sent to the Senate.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Bigger spotlight on e-mail marketing emphasizes better subscriber lists
Bigger spotlight on e-mail marketing emphasizes better subscriber lists
By ByJudith Nemes
Story posted: February 26, 2009 - 6:01 am EDT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As companies cut budgets to streamline operations in these tough economic times, e-mail marketing managers are feeling the heat to deliver stronger results. In many instances, direct mail budgets are being slashed, with some of those funds diverted to e-mail as a potentially more cost-effective use of marketing dollars, said Jeanne S. Jennings, an e-mail marketing strategy consultant and owner of the eponymous JeanneJennings.com.
“The people making those budget decisions are also transferring high expectations that the e-mail channel will make up for lost sales they once expected from direct marketing,” Jennings said.
Sharpening your company’s e-mail subscriber list is a key factor in improving results of online marketing campaigns, she said, offering these tips to help make that happen:
1. Relevance is more critical than ever before. Put yourself inside the readers’ mind and make sure you really understand the people you’re sending e-mails to, Jennings said. In some cases, you may need greater segmentation of your list. “What you send a junior-level or a senior-level IT person on your list may be very different,” she said.
2. Build relationships. Spend time understanding what information is critical to readers on your e-mail list, Jennings said. It’s imperative to know what subscribers need to do their job better in their markets. “The more you can do to show them you understand their needs, the more likely they will buy from you down the road,” she said.
3. Eliminate the dead wood. It’s worthwhile to comb through your e-mail list and eliminate those who aren’t responding at all, Jennings said. If you’re sending e-mails monthly and someone hasn’t opened a single one in a year, chances are they’re not going to open any going forward, either, she said. “People don’t really unsubscribe anymore; they just ignore you,” she added. What’s more, some of those unresponsive individuals may have been laid off by their companies and the IT departments may not have gotten around to returning the bounce to let you know they’re gone, she said.
4. Test to optimize performance. If you’re getting a little more money in your e-mail budget, spend 10% to 20% of it on testing to learn more about what will trigger people on your subscriber list to respond to your e-mails, Jennings said. What you learn may result in a 1% lift in your conversion rate. “That doesn’t seem like much but, if you can do that consistently, it adds up over time,” she said. Plus, “you’ll never improve your effort if you’re not testing it,” Jennings added.
By ByJudith Nemes
Story posted: February 26, 2009 - 6:01 am EDT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As companies cut budgets to streamline operations in these tough economic times, e-mail marketing managers are feeling the heat to deliver stronger results. In many instances, direct mail budgets are being slashed, with some of those funds diverted to e-mail as a potentially more cost-effective use of marketing dollars, said Jeanne S. Jennings, an e-mail marketing strategy consultant and owner of the eponymous JeanneJennings.com.
“The people making those budget decisions are also transferring high expectations that the e-mail channel will make up for lost sales they once expected from direct marketing,” Jennings said.
Sharpening your company’s e-mail subscriber list is a key factor in improving results of online marketing campaigns, she said, offering these tips to help make that happen:
1. Relevance is more critical than ever before. Put yourself inside the readers’ mind and make sure you really understand the people you’re sending e-mails to, Jennings said. In some cases, you may need greater segmentation of your list. “What you send a junior-level or a senior-level IT person on your list may be very different,” she said.
2. Build relationships. Spend time understanding what information is critical to readers on your e-mail list, Jennings said. It’s imperative to know what subscribers need to do their job better in their markets. “The more you can do to show them you understand their needs, the more likely they will buy from you down the road,” she said.
3. Eliminate the dead wood. It’s worthwhile to comb through your e-mail list and eliminate those who aren’t responding at all, Jennings said. If you’re sending e-mails monthly and someone hasn’t opened a single one in a year, chances are they’re not going to open any going forward, either, she said. “People don’t really unsubscribe anymore; they just ignore you,” she added. What’s more, some of those unresponsive individuals may have been laid off by their companies and the IT departments may not have gotten around to returning the bounce to let you know they’re gone, she said.
4. Test to optimize performance. If you’re getting a little more money in your e-mail budget, spend 10% to 20% of it on testing to learn more about what will trigger people on your subscriber list to respond to your e-mails, Jennings said. What you learn may result in a 1% lift in your conversion rate. “That doesn’t seem like much but, if you can do that consistently, it adds up over time,” she said. Plus, “you’ll never improve your effort if you’re not testing it,” Jennings added.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Text vs. HTML: The Great Debate!
February 2, 2008:
We’ve located an interesting study below regarding the use of HTML vs. Text in creative content. It is always important to remember that most ISPs will by default block images until the sending address has been added to the users address book. If an email’s creative content contains 100% HTML, the message will appear empty for many first time recipients.
URL: http://www.marketingexperimentsblog.com/email-format-31-07.php
HTML vs. Plain Text has long been among the most hotly debated email-oriented topics. HTML format offers a visually pleasing design that:
1) Affects readers’ ability to process and benefit from the information.
2) Provides marketers with the ability to track the effectiveness of emails.
Two of the most recent Marketing Experiment email tests provide significant insight into this debate.
How Much HTML Should Be Used:
MarketingExperiments suggests that not all HTML messages are created equal. They make a clear distinction between two types of HTML:
* “Heavy” HTML (which she defines as “Ad Style” - I take that to mean a high ratio of imagery to
text, frequent use of bold and italicized text… a design that brings to mind the emails I’m used to seeing Chad White discuss on RetailEmail.Blogspot)
* “Lite” HTML (low imagery to text ratio, less frequent use of bold/highlighted/italicized text)
Test One was Lite HTML email format Vs. Plain Text email format. Lite HTML outperformed Plain Text by 55% in click-through rate. Test 2 was Heavy HTML (Ad style) email vs. Plain Text email. Plain Text outperformed Heavy HTML by 34%.
I believe HTML format will continue to reach more readers because of its pleasing appearance and functionalities. No one likes to read boring messages, especially today’s readers who are getting more and more sophisticated with new ways to interact. The ability to tinker with fonts and font color and to do other things such as italicize appeals to many people. With that said, we also need to constantly remind ourselves to respect our readers with every marketing effort we make. With the same respectful content in both emails, a Lite HTML email looks like a nicely layed out letter and Heavy HTML email looks like advertising material. I suspect most people would prefer a nicely layed out letter. With HTML format, it might be possible to track the effectiveness of emails and provide readers with “what really works” insights of how such email campaigns perform from the beginning to end. However, if it is done wrong, HTML format can face the danger of being blocked by email services and irritate readers with such things as improperly embedded images or aggressive advertising.
The important thing to remember is to test until you become convinced about what really works best for you—and then continue to test periodically.
Yesmail Deliverability.
February 2, 2008:
We’ve located an interesting study below regarding the use of HTML vs. Text in creative content. It is always important to remember that most ISPs will by default block images until the sending address has been added to the users address book. If an email’s creative content contains 100% HTML, the message will appear empty for many first time recipients.
URL: http://www.marketingexperimentsblog.com/email-format-31-07.php
HTML vs. Plain Text has long been among the most hotly debated email-oriented topics. HTML format offers a visually pleasing design that:
1) Affects readers’ ability to process and benefit from the information.
2) Provides marketers with the ability to track the effectiveness of emails.
Two of the most recent Marketing Experiment email tests provide significant insight into this debate.
How Much HTML Should Be Used:
MarketingExperiments suggests that not all HTML messages are created equal. They make a clear distinction between two types of HTML:
* “Heavy” HTML (which she defines as “Ad Style” - I take that to mean a high ratio of imagery to
text, frequent use of bold and italicized text… a design that brings to mind the emails I’m used to seeing Chad White discuss on RetailEmail.Blogspot)
* “Lite” HTML (low imagery to text ratio, less frequent use of bold/highlighted/italicized text)
Test One was Lite HTML email format Vs. Plain Text email format. Lite HTML outperformed Plain Text by 55% in click-through rate. Test 2 was Heavy HTML (Ad style) email vs. Plain Text email. Plain Text outperformed Heavy HTML by 34%.
I believe HTML format will continue to reach more readers because of its pleasing appearance and functionalities. No one likes to read boring messages, especially today’s readers who are getting more and more sophisticated with new ways to interact. The ability to tinker with fonts and font color and to do other things such as italicize appeals to many people. With that said, we also need to constantly remind ourselves to respect our readers with every marketing effort we make. With the same respectful content in both emails, a Lite HTML email looks like a nicely layed out letter and Heavy HTML email looks like advertising material. I suspect most people would prefer a nicely layed out letter. With HTML format, it might be possible to track the effectiveness of emails and provide readers with “what really works” insights of how such email campaigns perform from the beginning to end. However, if it is done wrong, HTML format can face the danger of being blocked by email services and irritate readers with such things as improperly embedded images or aggressive advertising.
The important thing to remember is to test until you become convinced about what really works best for you—and then continue to test periodically.
Yesmail Deliverability.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Creating content for email blasts can be a challenge. Unlike traditional print where large images and plenty of eye candy is the name of the game, email design is an entirely different beast. Below are some HTML design best practices that I have collected over the years and recommend to my clients:
HTML Email Campaign Best Practices:
12 HTML Email Format and Design Tips
#1. Avoid those fancy things your Web site designers love to do: cascading style sheets, nested tables, and animation.
#2. Avoid those fancy things print art directors love to do: reversed type, colored type for body copy, type smaller than 10 points, body copy justified on both sides, type wrapping around a graphic, etc.
#3. Stick to the standard Web safe palette of 216 colors. (See below to a link for a list and examples of these colors.)
#4. Set the maximum width to 650 pixels, and type to a maximum of 70 characters to ensure readability.
#5. Use HTML code for bulleted and numbered lists.
#6. Keep the message size between 20K and 40K, or lower.
#7. Don’t waste precious above-the-fold HTML real estate on an enormous graphic such as a logo or product graphic. Content filters will assume that it’s a porn message and will reject it.
#8. Keep the design clean. Think postcard or billboard. Recipients may glance at your message for just a few seconds, most won't study it in detail. They are making a fast click-versus-delete decision, not a reasoned buying or other conversion decision.
Use your design to move them toward the click -- rely on your landing page to move them to the next stage in the conversion process. (You always take them to a special landing page, right?)
#9. If you have more than one column, make it extremely obvious which is the most important, and which merely lists "housekeeping links."
#10. Don't be afraid to include additional navigation links, if you are a well-known brand site with many SKUs or stories...
These links should not "fight" the main message, but they should be above the fold, usually on the right.
Why? Because the main message may not be relevant to the recipient. He or she may open the email and find that the subject doesn't interest them, but the other links remind them of all the other possibilities you have to offer.
Consider testing alternate orders of these links from message to message rather than considering the order engraved in stone the way it may be on your site.
#11. Be picky about brand consistency. Use templates. Create a style guide and make sure people stick to it. This includes a standard, unchanging "from" for all brand messages.
#12. Make your call to action a graphic, not a text phrase, to avoid tripping content filters trained to spot spammy calls to action. That said, include a text-URL and possibly a phone number as well in the text, so email programs that disable HTML links won't kill your response rates.
5 Copywriting Tips to Increase Response:
#1. Be disciplined. As noted above, Melissa says it's common for marketers to toss every single product feature and benefit into an email. That’s overwhelming.
Testing has proven the opposite approach is more effective. Pick a single theme and stick to it. Prioritize. People don’t read emails, they skim them. Your single theme should hit them over the head when they first open the email.
#2. Keep your copy punchy and active. Avoid flowery language. Use a lot of bullets and verbs.
#3. That said, avoid exclamation marks. That’s a flag for spam content filters. (Besides, if you're using a bunch of exclamation points, you won't impress recipients. It just looks loud and desperate.)
#4. Test your copy against content filters prior to sending (most email broadcast firms now offer this as part of their service) to see which words may get your message stopped as spam.
(By the way, your landing page is a great place to use words such as "guaranteed," "savings," "free," and "survey" that often trigger spam filters if they are used in the body of your email itself. You may have to divide your copy to conquer.)
#5. Personalize all you can; readers will skim more slowly, paying more attention if you do.
"It’s not just 'Dear Melissa," Melissa says. "Make the message as relevant as you can. PETCO, for example, sends dog messages to dog owners and cat messages to cat owners." If the message includes their account number or order number, put that information right at the top.
This works especially well for event-triggered emails -- for example, PETCO sends registered shoppers a special email promo on their pet's birthday that features their pet's name in the subject line ("Happy Birthday to Shasta") and in the email's headline.
Useful links related to this article:
List and examples of the 216 Web-safe colors -- if your email message (or landing page) has different colors than these, they won't display properly on recipient's computers:
http://www.lynda.com/hex.html
source: MarketingSherpa – September 30th, 2004
HTML Email Campaign Best Practices:
12 HTML Email Format and Design Tips
#1. Avoid those fancy things your Web site designers love to do: cascading style sheets, nested tables, and animation.
#2. Avoid those fancy things print art directors love to do: reversed type, colored type for body copy, type smaller than 10 points, body copy justified on both sides, type wrapping around a graphic, etc.
#3. Stick to the standard Web safe palette of 216 colors. (See below to a link for a list and examples of these colors.)
#4. Set the maximum width to 650 pixels, and type to a maximum of 70 characters to ensure readability.
#5. Use HTML code for bulleted and numbered lists.
#6. Keep the message size between 20K and 40K, or lower.
#7. Don’t waste precious above-the-fold HTML real estate on an enormous graphic such as a logo or product graphic. Content filters will assume that it’s a porn message and will reject it.
#8. Keep the design clean. Think postcard or billboard. Recipients may glance at your message for just a few seconds, most won't study it in detail. They are making a fast click-versus-delete decision, not a reasoned buying or other conversion decision.
Use your design to move them toward the click -- rely on your landing page to move them to the next stage in the conversion process. (You always take them to a special landing page, right?)
#9. If you have more than one column, make it extremely obvious which is the most important, and which merely lists "housekeeping links."
#10. Don't be afraid to include additional navigation links, if you are a well-known brand site with many SKUs or stories...
These links should not "fight" the main message, but they should be above the fold, usually on the right.
Why? Because the main message may not be relevant to the recipient. He or she may open the email and find that the subject doesn't interest them, but the other links remind them of all the other possibilities you have to offer.
Consider testing alternate orders of these links from message to message rather than considering the order engraved in stone the way it may be on your site.
#11. Be picky about brand consistency. Use templates. Create a style guide and make sure people stick to it. This includes a standard, unchanging "from" for all brand messages.
#12. Make your call to action a graphic, not a text phrase, to avoid tripping content filters trained to spot spammy calls to action. That said, include a text-URL and possibly a phone number as well in the text, so email programs that disable HTML links won't kill your response rates.
5 Copywriting Tips to Increase Response:
#1. Be disciplined. As noted above, Melissa says it's common for marketers to toss every single product feature and benefit into an email. That’s overwhelming.
Testing has proven the opposite approach is more effective. Pick a single theme and stick to it. Prioritize. People don’t read emails, they skim them. Your single theme should hit them over the head when they first open the email.
#2. Keep your copy punchy and active. Avoid flowery language. Use a lot of bullets and verbs.
#3. That said, avoid exclamation marks. That’s a flag for spam content filters. (Besides, if you're using a bunch of exclamation points, you won't impress recipients. It just looks loud and desperate.)
#4. Test your copy against content filters prior to sending (most email broadcast firms now offer this as part of their service) to see which words may get your message stopped as spam.
(By the way, your landing page is a great place to use words such as "guaranteed," "savings," "free," and "survey" that often trigger spam filters if they are used in the body of your email itself. You may have to divide your copy to conquer.)
#5. Personalize all you can; readers will skim more slowly, paying more attention if you do.
"It’s not just 'Dear Melissa," Melissa says. "Make the message as relevant as you can. PETCO, for example, sends dog messages to dog owners and cat messages to cat owners." If the message includes their account number or order number, put that information right at the top.
This works especially well for event-triggered emails -- for example, PETCO sends registered shoppers a special email promo on their pet's birthday that features their pet's name in the subject line ("Happy Birthday to Shasta") and in the email's headline.
Useful links related to this article:
List and examples of the 216 Web-safe colors -- if your email message (or landing page) has different colors than these, they won't display properly on recipient's computers:
http://www.lynda.com/hex.html
source: MarketingSherpa – September 30th, 2004
One of the most common questions I get asked is "Is There an Average Click-Through Rate?"
The answer is .... it really depends on many factors and the type of email blast it is.
Loren McDonald from EmailLabs writes....
Question: Is there an average click-through rate? Or ranges to judge whether response was poor, average or good?
Answer. The click-through rate (CTR) is important because without it, you don't get conversions. However, there's no single benchmark click-through rate, because CTRs depend on many factors: whether you send to a business or consumer audience, the kind of mailing you send, how relevant it is to your audience, how often you send, your opt-in process, your use of personalization and segmentation and dozens of other factors. And most significantly, how many links you have in your email and if you are providing content such as articles, whether you include the entire article within the body of the email or you have a teaser or snippet that requires subscribers to click through to a Web site to read.
Beyond that, many companies calculate and report CTRs differently - using total rather unique clicks. Many subscribers will click on multiple links, which means that CTRs based on "total" clicks are typically about two times higher than those based on "unique" clicks.
That being said, below are some ranges for average CTRs for permission-based house lists. CTRs that we cite are based on unique clicks (only one click per person is counted) and are calculated as: unique clicks/emails delivered:
The answer is .... it really depends on many factors and the type of email blast it is.
Loren McDonald from EmailLabs writes....
Question: Is there an average click-through rate? Or ranges to judge whether response was poor, average or good?
Answer. The click-through rate (CTR) is important because without it, you don't get conversions. However, there's no single benchmark click-through rate, because CTRs depend on many factors: whether you send to a business or consumer audience, the kind of mailing you send, how relevant it is to your audience, how often you send, your opt-in process, your use of personalization and segmentation and dozens of other factors. And most significantly, how many links you have in your email and if you are providing content such as articles, whether you include the entire article within the body of the email or you have a teaser or snippet that requires subscribers to click through to a Web site to read.
Beyond that, many companies calculate and report CTRs differently - using total rather unique clicks. Many subscribers will click on multiple links, which means that CTRs based on "total" clicks are typically about two times higher than those based on "unique" clicks.
That being said, below are some ranges for average CTRs for permission-based house lists. CTRs that we cite are based on unique clicks (only one click per person is counted) and are calculated as: unique clicks/emails delivered:
B2B newsletters typically range from 5% to 15%. If yours are consistently below that level then among other things, you are probably providing content of little value to your subscribers. Or you may have most of the content within your email, not giving subscribers a reason or means to click-through to your site.
B2C promotional emails often range from about 2% to 12%. Emails with less than a 2% CTR may be a result of over mailing and questionable opt-in processes.
Highly segmented and personalized lists (B2B and B2C) are often in the 10% to 20% CTR range. Also, email messages with very strong content but sent to unsegmented lists, like many news or trend-type newsletters, are often in the 10%-15% range.
Trigger or behavior-based emails (emails that are sent to a recipient based on some behavior they showed, such as clicking on a product link, visiting a specific Web page, etc.) are often in the 15% to 50% range.
If your emails are typically showing under say 2-3% CTRs, some of the causes likely include:
Poor permission or opt-in processes. This includes pre-checked boxes, not making it clear what type of email they will be receiving, automatically adding someone to receive your email when they've actually signed up for something else such as a whitepaper, etc.
Poorly written subject lines that do not direct and motivate recipients to take an action.
Poor delivery rates. If a lot of your emails are getting blocked or filtered and you don't know it, your CTR will obviously be affected.
Poor open rates. If few people open your email, fewer recipients have a chance to click.
Poor design and layout. If they can't easily find where to click through or aren't motivated to by your layout - you've got trouble in River City.
Lack of links. Quite simply, the more links the better. Make it so that readers are continuously stumbling over text and graphic links like they do signage in a retail store.
No reason to click. If your newsletter has a single or multiple articles in their entirety, then don't expect them to click. You haven't given them any reason. If you are sending a promotional email and you don't include a deadline for the offer, or convey a discount, special offer, limited supply, etc., few people are probably going to take action.
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