How to Increase Email Open Rates with Surveys in 2024

Email marketing is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with your audience on a personal level. 

However, a low email open rate, where only a fraction of recipients engage with your emails, presents a great challenge. 

In this blog post, we’ll show you practical and actionable ways to use surveys to immediately improve your email open rates.

TL;DR

• The average open rate across all industries is 37.65%.
• The consequences of low email open rates and engagement can ripple across various vital business metrics and affect your bottom line.
• One of the easiest ways to increase your email open rates is by using surveys. They can help you personalize your content, close the feedback loop, refine customer segments, and optimize timing, among other factors. 

Why do email open rates matter?

Low email open rate and engagement are not merely statistics. They have profound implications for digital marketers and businesses alike.

Imagine you’ve spent hours crafting engaging content for your campaign, and the result of your effort is a low email open rate. Not only does this mean that the time you spent on crafting the message is wasted, but it also reduces the likelihood of conversion, sales opportunities, and building customer relationships, as your reach becomes limited.

The consequences of low email open rates and engagement can ripple across various vital business metrics. 

Engaged customers are more likely to take desired actions, such as making purchases, signing up for services, or filling out forms, while low engagement can lead to decreased conversion rates, impacting your revenue and growth. In other words, low engagement often translates into low CTR (Click-Through Rate), or CTOR (Click-To-Open-Rate), indicating that recipients are not clicking on the links within your emails to learn more or take action.

An unengaged audience can result in a stagnant or declining email list. This impacts your ability to communicate with interested recipients and can lead to higher bounce rates and unsubscribes. Tracking the open rates can help you here in organizing your email list and deciding on the next steps you need to take with subscribers (follow up, remove from the list etc).

Engaged customers are more likely to remain loyal and continue using your products or services. Therefore, engaging your customers has an impact on yet another important metric which is customer retention. A high level of engagement results in a stronger connection and loyalty to your brand.

What is the average email open rate?

What kind of open rates should companies like yours expect? How many bounces are too many? What data do content marketers rely upon to improve engagement rates? The more context, the better.

According to Mailerlite’s report, the average open rate across all industries is 37.65%. The report revealed that industries with the best open rates include Government 46.30%, Medical 46.9%, and Animal Care 45.84%, while those less successful include Games 29.88%, Media and Publishing 33.35%, and Author 33.73%.

Here's a snapshot of open rates for a few key industries:

As you can see, there's quite a range. These figures are averages, but they highlight the fact that open rates can differ widely. Your industry has a significant influence on what you can consider a good open rate.

So, the million-dollar question is: How can you improve email open rates in your industry?

How can you improve email open rates and engagement?

To face the challenge of low email open rates and engagement, you need a multifaceted approach. Here are some common strategies you may take into consideration

⭐ Segmentation, personalization, and engaging content

Divide your email list into segments based on factors such as demographics, past behavior, and preferences. For example, create a list of European leads who attended an online webinar.

‍Personalize your content to make it more relevant to each segment, increasing the likelihood of engagement. As mentioned previously, content is very important! Concise and engaging email content that gets to the point quickly, with the use of visuals (interactive elements), bullet points, and short paragraphs to make the content more scannable—that’s it!

⭐ Compelling subject lines

Email subject lines are crucial parts of your strategy to increase the open rate. Craft attention-grabbing subject lines that pique recipients' curiosity. No tricks or caps, keep it short and personal. A well-crafted subject line can significantly improve open rates.

⭐ Social media integration

Include social media buttons in your emails to encourage recipients to connect with you on other platforms, expanding your engagement beyond email. By engaging with your customers on social media, you can humanize your brand and make it more authentic.

⭐ Surprise and delight

Occasionally send unexpected offers, exclusive content, or personalized surprises to your subscribers. This can create a positive surprise and boost engagement.

⭐ Consistent schedule

Maintain a consistent email schedule so recipients know when to expect your messages. This can help build anticipation and encourage openings.

⭐ Feedback and surveys

Simply ask recipients for feedback on their preferences and opinions using surveys.

How to use surveys to improve low email open rates 

One of the easiest ways to increase your email open rates is by using surveys. Here are some actionable tips you can use right away and see your email engagement rate skyrocket!

Personalize your content

Ask customers about the type of content they'd like to receive and how often they’d like to receive it. Use this information to create content that aligns with their preferences, increasing the chances of them engaging with your emails. You can use surveys to understand your customers' preferences and interests. Then, tailor your email content based on their responses to increase relevance and engagement.

Craft catchy subject lines

Your subject line is your email's first impression. Make it compelling and engaging to entice your subscribers to open it.

Close the feedback loop  

A feedback loop is a strategy where you improve your product and services based on your customers’ feedback. You act on the feedback to show your customers that their opinions matter, improving their perception of your brand and boosting engagement. 

With surveys, you can ask recipients for feedback on your marketing emails/campaigns and act on it. 

Refine your customer segments 

Use survey data to refine your customer segmentation. By understanding their needs better, you can send targeted emails that resonate with specific groups, leading to higher engagement. 

Add interactive elements to your emails

Embedding interactive elements in your emails, such as surveys, encourages engagement and provides valuable insights into customers' preferences.

Optimize the timing of your emails

Use surveys to find out when your customers prefer to receive emails. Adjust your sending schedule based on their preferences for better open rates.

Add user-generated content 

Encourage customers to share their experiences or ideas through surveys. Incorporate their content into your emails to foster a sense of community and engagement.

Make your content relevant

Send surveys to gauge the relevance of your email content.

Are your subscribers finding value in your emails? If not, use their feedback to make necessary adjustments and deliver content that resonates with them. This can lead to higher open rates and engagement.

Boost low email open rates with Survicate surveys

By regularly using surveys to understand and address engagement issues, you're not only getting more people to read your communications; you’re also investing in building stronger, longer-lasting relationships with your audience. 

Asking your customers for their feedback shows your commitment to their satisfaction and helps you make the necessary improvements. 

With Survicate, launching your first survey takes just a few minutes. Simply create your account, select from among 300+ ready-to-use templates (or create your own!), and send it out! Now, with our free trial, you’ll also get access to all Business plan features for 10 days! Sign up today!