How to Get Customers to Read Your Emails 

There’s a reason Substack and Beehiiv are so hot right now: Email is a powerful tool. Billions of people check their inboxes every day, giving the medium more reach than any social media platform on the planet. But, like many corners of the internet, email has become increasingly saturated over the past few years, making it harder than ever for brands to drive impact through newsletters.

Most businesses only get about 30 to 40 percent of customers to open their emails, according to data from marking platform MailChimp. In comparison, environmentally-friendly period care brand Viv’s is more than 70 percent, and fertility wellness brand Bird&Be’s is 69 percent.  

No matter what industry your company operates in, you can learn a lot from these business’ newsletter strategies. Here’s what you can do to get more customers to read your brand’s emails:  

1. Use customer service questions to inspire your content.  Inquiries make for great newsletter subjects, meaning that founders should pay close attention to them. When you spot a trending question, answer it in your next email. If your company is new enough that you don’t have any customers, check out Reddit communities and Facebook groups for inspiration.
2. Provide value rather than pushing products.  Diasti, Plotch, and Hughes all emphasize the importance of providing real value to your email list. Don’t blast them with product-related content.  

3& 4 are: Build your email list by attending in-person events and be selective about who gets which emails.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Email is a powerful tool. Billions of people check their inboxes every day, giving the medium more reach than any social media platform on the planet. But, like many corners of the internet, email has become increasingly saturated over the past few years, making it harder than ever for brands to drive impact through newsletters.
2. Most businesses only get about 30 to 40 percent of customers to open their emails, according to data from marking platform MailChimp. In comparison, environmentally-friendly period care brand Viv’s is more than 70 percent, and fertility wellness brand Bird&Be’s is 69 percent.  
3. No matter what industry your company operates in, you can learn a lot from these business’ newsletter strategies. Here’s what you can do to get more customers to read your brand’s emails:  Build your email list by attending in-person events, be selective about who gets which emails, use customer service questions to inspire your content, and provide value rather than pushing products.

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