How To Consistently Get 40% Open Rates (And The Power of Influencers)

Most marketers are happy with open rates between 18-20%.

But for Melanie Balke, a marketing consultant who specializes in ecommerce, open rates any lower than 40% means there’s a huge opportunity.

And it starts with segmentation. The problem is that most people have no idea where to start when it comes to segmentation.

They get so overwhelmed that they just keep firing off emails to their entire list.

But your buyers are in different stages…

Just think about how you interact with people in your personal life. What you share with your closest friends is completely different than what you share with acquaintances.

When you start to think about your customers that way, not only will your open rates be higher your conversion rate will increase too.

Because you’ll be sharing messages that are hyper-relevant to the people who are getting them. So we asked Melanie to share how she thinks about segmentation and interacting with customers. 

You can tune in below👇 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

On this episode, you’ll learn:

• Melanie’s playbook for working with influencers.
• Why you should be shooting for 40% open rates with your emails.
• How to use email and text messaging together.
• How to calculate what you should be spending on ads.

What to listen for:

• [2:04] The biggest mistakes she sees ecommerce marketers making.
• [7:45] Tips for getting amazing content for social.
• [10:03] How to find influencers.
• [12:40] How to pitch influencers.
• [13:55] Why a 40% open rate is Melanie’s target for every email she sends.
• [19:40] The best way to use text messages.
• [26:27] How to start with segmentation.
• [28:06] Knowing what to spend on ads.
• [31:56] Why your creative is the most important aspect of your ads.
• [34:18] How to test creative before putting any budget behind it.

Links to love👇👇

• Melanie Balke’s site
• Melanie Balke on Twitter
• Dave Gerhardt on Twitter
• The Ecommerce Marketing Show Home

This article originally appeared in the Privy blog and has been published here with permission.