New insight has been delivered in determining the best method for getting recipients to open emails from businesses. According to a recent study by eMarketer, emails sent from brands and companies familiar to the reader are more likely to be opened than emails containing promotional offers.

Having made an earlier purchase from the sender (either in-store or online) was the primary motivation for opening an email, regardless of the platform used. Emails from companies that also provided content and news outside the scope of their businesses were also likely to be opened and read. Emails from unfamiliar companies were not likely to be opened, regardless of the promotional offer.

In addition, respondents indicated that the information in the subject line was a contributing factor in the decision to open an email.

According to the report, “…it’s impossible to dispute the results it yields…email pairs low cost with a level of effectiveness hard matched by other channels.”

The study also showed that the device used for opening the email had minimal impact, as only ten percent of the respondents said that this was a factor. The length of the email had minimal impact, with only about five percent indicating it played a role in opening.

Reference:

Mielach, David, “Email Marketing Relationships Trump Deals.” Business News Daily, Aug. 15, 2013.