1. Many emails are no longer about COVID

When we look at the campaigns that deal specifically with COVID and that get good results, we see they are mainly informative emails.

The real winner in terms of open rate was a campaign with the subject: "COVID compensation". Super clear, super relevant.

2. Automated emails get better open rates

The potential positive impact of automation on your results is often significantly underestimated. The condition, of course, is that you choose your target groups carefully and really tailor your content to them.

The success rate of automation is so high because the target audience is so specific. And that’s more than clear in the results.

Recent automated emails with the highest open rates:

• Onboarding campaigns after subscription or purchase (and corresponding reminders)
• Appointment reminder emails

The first emails a new contact receives from you are usually the most important ones. It all starts with the welcome mail.

If your contacts read your welcome mail, the chance that they will read subsequent emails also increases exponentially. It’s important to offer contacts added value immediately to let them know it was a good idea to subscribe and get to know your products or services better.

There is an underlying reason for this: the algorithms of email clients that determine whether emails are relevant keep a close eye on your content and the reader's reaction. The future delivery of your emails to the inbox of the contacts who open the initial email would increase by 87%.

Onboarding email flows that clearly offer immediate value with series of emails containing tips often easily reach an open rate of 50%. We have even seen emails with an open rate of 90%! If you are not sending out a welcome email, you are missing out on a huge opportunity.

3. Send what people expect

Welcome emails bring us straight to the next tip: send what people expect. A thank you email is a perfect example of this principle. It may seem obvious, but your recipients are really waiting for that reassurance. You send it after a subscription, download or any other possible commitment your recipient makes.

If the subject actually says "thank you", the open rates are usually higher.

5. Recurring newsletters continue to score well

With all these best practices and targeting techniques, you’d almost forget about everyday newsletters. Although you often have to deal with extremes. When does a newsletter still work?

1. You have absolute permission from your readers to send them emails, so you only email everyone who has specifically signed up for the newsletter (via a preference centre, for example).
2. You keep a very regular and predictable pace (e.g. once a month at a fixed time).
3. Your readers are used to receiving truly informative content from you.

Customers who adhere to these principles usually score really well with their newsletter, despite the fact that you are not working with a very specific segmentation for this.

Often, the information is specific or responds directly to pain points or needs of the target group. In April and May, for example, we saw the following topics pass by with high open rates:

• Information on taxes
• Articles about wellbeing
• Campus tours, digital lectures
• Domestic tourism tips
• Information on recent problems (e.g. delivery)
• Retirement of a beloved employee (especially if that person often comes into contact with customers). It also shows the human side of your business.
• Cancellation of an event
• Results of studies

Email is still an excellent medium for providing information: people can read your information again, gather news at their own pace, read a summary in the email. If they want to know more, they can immediately click through to the right information. The advantage for you: measure what interests them most.

7. The more specific the segments, the better the open rate generally is

In addition to the trusted newsletter, people want to receive content that is specifically tailored to them. We can see this in the open rates: the more specific the target group, the better the results. That is why automation works so well: you respond to actions that your recipient performs.

You can easily start with segmentation yourself. First of all, look at the data you already have. Need some inspiration? Read our tips and possible pitfalls here.

8. Now is the time to send out surveys

It is striking to see not only the number of satisfaction surveys and other enquiries that were sent out over recent weeks, but also their incredible open rates.

9. Teleworking makes clear internal communication more important than ever

Remote working offers more flexibility, security and trust for your employees, but internal communication is essential for everyone to work well together. It can be difficult to get everyone on a call at the same time, and you want to make sure everyone is aware of important information.

Which internal emails with high scores did we see?

10. Companies now waking up from COVID hibernation should watch out for their deliverability

In our previous article, we already went over the importance of regular emailing, which is now clearly reflected in the results.

When we see campaigns with a high bounce rate, we are usually either dealing with purchased lists or the sender has not sent any emails for a long time, in which case recipients don’t even remember subscribing.

This will not only mess up your results, but spam filters and email clients will also find it suspicious. Not quite sure how to start with an email strategy? In our master class, we guide you through the necessary steps.