• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 7, 2017

Huh? Emails Without Subject Line Offer Get Higher CTO

According to new data from Yes Lifecycle Marketing’s cross-channel platform, Yesmail360, on average open rates for emails without offers in the subject line were 28% higher than those with offers, and click and click-to-open (CTO) rates were 67% and 34% higher, respectively.

The study analyzed nearly 8 billion emails sent across several industries, and found that roughly one in three of all marketing emails, and nearly half of retail marketing emails contained a specific offer incentive in their subject lines emails that did not include offers that generated higher engagement.

The one exception to this finding was loyalty incentives, says the report. Emails with offers related to loyalty boasted a 9% higher open rate, 20% higher click rate, and 12% higher click-to-open rate compared to campaigns with no offers. According to Michael Fisher, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing, “…these findings indicate that if brands are going to include offers in emails, they need to ensure they’re meaningful to the consumer to drive better engagement and conversions…”

Fisher said,  “…it can be challenging for brands to make their promotions stand out… marketers feel like they need to advertise generous offers to be competitive… the lack of engagement (however)…  shows that consumers are often not tempted by extravagant incentives… to make emails relevant, marketers could emphasize loyalty and rely on lifecycle messages… (to) make offers feel more unique.” 

Mike Iaccarino, CEO and chairman of Infogroup, parent company of Yes Lifecycle Marketing, concludes that “While the low engagement of emails promoting specific offers might be counter-intuitive, it emphasizes the importance of a balanced marketing program… “

For additional information from Yes Lifecycle Marketing, please visit here.