• by Ray Schultz , April 30, 2018

Here’s one way to drive higher open and click rates: say “thank you” in the subject line. Or use the name Trump.

That's the conclusion of a Q4 2017 benchmark study by Cheetah Digital. 

The phrase “thank you” produces a 94% lift in survey emails, 53% in post-purchase messages, and 47% in buyer segment promos. The phrases may say “with heartfelt thanks” or “this season we’d like to thank you,” judging by results from the holiday 2017 period. 

In addition, giving thanks generates a 48% increase in surveys, 36% in post-purchase emails and 124% in buyer segment promos.

The study also found that subscribe anniversary emails generate a 3% click rate, and brand anniversary communications drive a 2.9% rate.

Email volume rose by 11.1% in fourth-quarter 2017 compared to fourth-quarter 2016. Unique open and click rates were similar to the rates seen in fourth-quarter 2016.

Moreover, subscriber anniversary emails result in a 12.9% click-to-open rate, while brand birthdays pull 10.5%.

Cheetah also reports that "love him or hate him," Trump is good for open rates. The President generates a 31.5% unique open rate, versus a general rate of 23.4%, and he drives a 7.1% open rate, versus a 4.1% average.