Get More Members to Open Your Emails, Tips from the Pros

The Delivery Services team at Daxko works around the clock to drive member engagement through targeted initiatives delivered through Daxko Engage. We work closely with customers to design initiatives using email, text, and Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) that drive engagement and involvement in the YMCAs, JCCs, and community nonprofit organizations we serve. We send a fair share of member emails and we’ve done a ton of research on what drives members to open and engage with emails from their local YMCA, JCC, or community center.Here are some tips based on research from organizations like yours to get your members more engaged with your emails:

1. The subject line is key. Play around with different ones and study what works and what doesn’t. Questions tend to do well, but don’t use them exclusively. An effective subject line piques interest without feeling “sales-y.”
2. Make use of good segmentation – be sure you are delivering the right content to the right person at the right time.
3. Think about timing - get emails to readers’ inboxes when they are likely to open them. Tuesday through Thursday evenings are typically a sweet spot. Avoid emails on weekends and stay away from holidays.
4. Content, content, content!  Over the long term, the best way to see better open rates is to deliver emails that people want to read. It’s about good, relevant content. Ultimately, it’s also about content they can trust.

When you work with your team to improve email open rates, start with the subject line. Testing out more engaging subject lines (things like using members’ names, asking questions like “Remember Why you Joined the Y?” for low-performing new member emails.)  Clearer and more direct emails also tend to perform better. We focus on providing simple emails that have fewer things to read and click so we can be intentional about how we communicate to members on behalf of our customers.Hopefully these tips will get you thinking. A good email strategy and conversation with your team is important to see continual improvement and real member engagement.  Looking for a good plan to improve your email strategy?  See this post outlining a 3 Step Process to Improve Member Emails.