Last Updated: March 2025
Email marketing remains one of the most powerful tools in the digital marketer’s arsenal. It’s cost-effective, scalable, and delivers an impressive ROI, $36 for every $1 spent, according to recent reports. However, for many businesses, email click through rate (CTR) remains a pain point.
Despite crafting beautiful emails and building substantial subscriber lists, low engagement can often derail campaigns, leaving potential revenue on the table.
We faced this exact challenge. Our email open rates were underwhelming, and the email click through rate was nonexistent. But instead of giving up, we decided to rework our strategy from the ground up. By making small, impactful changes, we achieved a remarkable transformation—10X’ing our CTR!
Results: The Before vs. After
Before Optimization:
- Open Rate: 15.8%
- Email Click-Through Rate: 0%
After Optimization:
- Open Rate: 39.1%
- Email Click-Through Rate: 10.9%
This transformation wasn’t just about better numbers; it meant higher engagement, more leads, and ultimately more conversions for our business.
Ready to learn how to increase click rate in email marketing? Let’s break it down step by step.
Understanding the Problem
Before solving any issue, it’s essential to pinpoint the root cause. Here’s what we discovered:
- Low Open Rates: With inboxes flooded by promotional emails, ours were barely standing out. The open rate lingered at a disappointing 15.8%, which meant the majority of our emails weren’t even being read.
- Zero Click-Through Rates: Of the few recipients who opened our emails, none were clicking on links. Without clicks, our call-to-action (CTA) fell flat, and our email campaigns delivered no real value.
This dual challenge—low open rates and zero email click through rates—was costing us engagement and revenue. Addressing these issues became our priority. We started with a strategic overhaul using simple but highly effective tactics.
The Strategies That Worked
1. Crafting Irresistible Email Subject Lines
The subject line is your email’s first impression. It’s make-or-break. Studies show that 47% of people decide whether to open an email based on the subject line alone. Here’s how we transformed ours:
- Personalization: Adding the recipient’s name made emails feel tailored. For example: “John, here’s a gift just for you!”
- Curiosity: Teasing the content enticed readers to open. For instance: “5 Secrets to Boost Your Business in 1 Week.”
- Urgency: Creating a fear of missing out (FOMO) encouraged immediate action. For example: “Last chance: Exclusive deal ends today!”
These tweaks led to a 147% improvement in open rates. Personalized subject lines alone can increase open rates by 26%, and our results mirrored this trend.
2. Using Videos with Eye-Catching Thumbnails
Including videos in your emails is a game-changer. Emails with videos can boost click rates by 10x. Here’s what we did:
- Embedded short, engaging videos directly into the email.
- Designed visually appealing thumbnails with play buttons, which acted as visual CTAs.
- Kept videos under 90 seconds to maintain attention spans.
For instance, a product demo video with a bold thumbnail saying “Watch Now” significantly increased engagement. Our email click through rate surged because videos made the content interactive and exciting.
3. Optimizing Content for Clarity and Action
Once recipients opened the email, the next challenge was to hold their attention and drive them to act. Here’s how we refined our email content:
- Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Each email included one primary CTA, making it obvious what the recipient should do next. Examples included: “Download Now,” “Watch the Video,” or “Learn More.”
- Visually Appealing Layouts: Short paragraphs, bullet points, and high-quality visuals made the emails easier to read and more engaging.
- Value-Driven Content: Instead of directly selling, we focused on delivering value. Emails offered free resources, actionable tips, or exclusive insights—building trust and rapport with our audience.
4. Sending Emails at the Right Time
Timing plays a crucial role in determining the success of an email campaign. Through an in-depth analysis of our audience’s behavior patterns, we identified the optimal times to send emails for maximum engagement. Here’s what we found:
- Midweek Mornings Perform Best: Emails sent on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, particularly around 10 AM, achieved the highest open and click-through rates. This timing aligns with when recipients are more likely to engage with their inboxes after settling into their work routine.
- Avoiding Low-Engagement Days:
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- Mondays: The start-of-week rush often leaves people prioritizing urgent tasks over reading promotional or informational emails.
- Fridays: As the week winds down, recipients tend to focus on wrapping up work or shifting their attention to weekend plans, resulting in lower engagement.
- Strategic Scheduling for Visibility:
By aligning our email sends with these behavioral insights, we not only ensured higher visibility but also improved overall performance metrics, including open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
5. A/B Testing for Continuous Improvement
Testing is vital to optimizing performance. We implemented A/B tests for various elements, including:
- Subject Lines: Comparing personalized vs. generic headlines.
- Email Formats: Testing plain text vs. HTML-rich designs.
- CTA Placement: Experimenting with button positions and sizes.
Each test provided insights that helped us fine-tune future campaigns. For example, we learned that placing the CTA button above the fold increased clicks by 17%.
How to Increase Click Rate in Email Marketing
If improving your email click through rate is your goal, here’s a comprehensive breakdown:
1. Start with Subject Lines That Capture Attention:
- Use personalization, such as including the recipient’s name, to make emails feel unique.
- Build curiosity by teasing the content or benefits inside the email.
- Add urgency with time-sensitive phrases like “Limited Time Offer.”
- For example, instead of “Check Out Our Sale,” try “Only Today: 50% Off for You, Sarah!”
2. Make Use of Interactive Content Like Videos:
- Embed videos to grab attention quickly.
- Use bold, clickable thumbnails with play buttons.
- Ensure videos are relevant and concise to maintain viewer interest.
- For example, a quick 60-second “how-to” video can drive more clicks than static text.
3. Segment Your Audience for Targeted Campaigns:
- Divide your email list based on customer demographics, preferences, or behaviors.
- Create customized content tailored to each segment.
- For instance, send product recommendations based on past purchases.
4. Design Emails That Are Easy to Read:
- Break up text with bullet points and short paragraphs.
- Include eye-catching visuals, such as infographics or images.
- Focus on one clear CTA per email to avoid confusion.
5. Optimize Timing for Maximum Engagement:
- Use analytics tools to determine when your audience is most active.
- Schedule emails during those windows to increase visibility.
6. Analyze and Test Your Strategies Regularly:
- Run A/B tests to find what works best.
- Compare open rates, CTRs, and conversions across campaigns.
- Continuously refine your approach based on results.
By consistently implementing these tactics, you’ll see your email click through rate climb steadily over time.
Key Takeaways
If your email campaigns are underperforming, remember these key points and consider how they could be applied in real-life scenarios:
- Subject Lines Matter: Make them personal, intriguing, and timely. For instance, a campaign for a bookstore added a subject line like “Sarah, Your Next Great Read Awaits!” This not only boosted open rates but also increased engagement with their seasonal sale.
- Visuals Increase Engagement: Use videos with a food fad thumbnail or any very like graphic. One fitness company put together a short 30-second video showing a new workout, and by inserting this video thumbnail in their email, rather than using plain text, they even got 40% higher email click-through rates because of that.
- Simplify Your Message: A distinct and straightforward CTA that tells your customers the thing to do next. For example, a retailer of e-commerce switched from monotonous CTAs like Thai “Shop Now” to eat stones that were in my case like “Get Your 20% Discount Coupons Today” which made me fly higher by 15% in conversions.
- Time Is an Essential Thing: Send emails to customers mostly when they can find them. Internal email messages have a 25% higher email click-through rate if they are sent at 11:30 in the morning just before lunch, according to a particular chain of restaurants.
- Try Everything: A/B testing is the recipe for constant betterment. For example, a nonprofit organization performed a test of two versions of a donation request email, one with a photo and another without. The version with the photo received 60% more clicks which is a clear indication that visuals are at the heart of story examples.
Conclusion
Improving your email click through rate doesn’t require complex strategies or massive overhauls. Small tweaks, like optimizing subject lines, incorporating videos, and focusing on clarity, can have an outsized impact.
With our example, we turned a 0% CTR into 10.9%, showing that even small businesses can achieve big wins with email marketing.
In 2025, with global email users expected to reach 4.8 billion, there’s no better time to optimize your strategy. Take the first step today by implementing these actionable tips, and watch your email click-through rate soar. Remember, every click counts toward your success!
