Have you ever wondered how your email marketing campaigns stack up? CTR, or "click-through rate," can reveal the strength of your email marketing campaign. Savvy marketers know that getting email readers to click brings them closer to engaging with your brand, and ultimately, converting. So, what if your CTR seems underwhelming? 

Here are a few ways you can surpass your email click-through rate benchmark goals, no matter the scale of your campaign. 

Segment Audiences 

Segmenting your audiences ensures that your emails get sent to exactly the right people. Rather than mass-emailing your entire subscriber list, it's better to create curated emails for different segments. For example, some portions of your audience might appreciate information or special offers more than others. You can also segment by specific interests or the recipient's current stage of their customer journey. 

Too many irrelevant emails sent to the wrong people lead to a lower email open rate. Email systems can eventually mistakenly mark your content as spam when open rates get too low. That's why it's better to personalize your content rather than sending the same generic message. Additionally, you should only send emails to users that are likely to click through and interact with your content.  

A/B Test Subject Lines 

Your email's subject line determines whether it gets opened or sits ignored (and possibly deleted) in a customer's inbox. A subject line is a great place to promote limited-time offers and sales.   

Your audience might have the same core interest in your company, but several factors dictate their click-through rate. A/B testing will help you discover which subject line works best for the majority of your audience.  

Understand the words and phrases that garner your audience's attention. With this information, you can create better campaigns that will naturally increase your CTR and, consequently, your ROI.  

Analyze Your Email List 

Is there a portion of your email list that doesn't even open their emails? If you notice you have people on your email list who haven’t opened an email in six months, consider removing them. Some of these readers will mark your messages as spam and never open them, regardless of the content inside or subject line. 

Rather than try to win back their appeal, simply remove uninterested parties from your lists. Instead, focus on the prospects that still regularly open and read your emails. 

Always Optimize For Mobile 

Most consumers keep their smartphones on them at all times, checking inboxes and socials during frequent moments of downtime. However, you may have a problem if your email looks vastly different on desktop compared to mobile.  

Mobile readers are extremely likely to delete poorly formatted messages, even if they were interested in the subject line. Make sure that your emails are always readable on mobile. Test the readability by opening the emails on several devices, like tablets and smartphones of varying sizes. 

Improve Your Content 

If your open rate is high while your CTR is still low, the problem might lie within the email's content. Bombarding your readers with too much information will likely cause them to lose interest in your brand. Less is more when it comes to marketing, especially through emails.  

Keep your content short and to the point, only expanding upon the most useful information. Cut out as much fluff as possible to make the content easily digestible for your readers. Almost all the time, customers prefer content with clear objectives and incentives that aren't buried in walls of text. 

Include Just One CTA 

Along similar lines, don't overwhelm your audiences with several calls-to-action (CTAs) in the same email. One is all you need, usually placed at the end or beginning of the message. Make it stand out with colorful text or hyperlinks that guide the reader directly to the relevant pages. The latter will also increase your CTR throughout your website or social media pages! 

You can also go the extra mile and implement creative CTA animations or buttons into your emails. Most importantly, give your customers a good reason to click the CTA. "Try this for free" or "Fix your (x) now" are just two reliable tactics. 

Increasing Your Email Click-Through Rate With a Media Partner 

Email marketing may be challenging to master, but it yields several benefits for your business. It boosts your traffic generation and brand reputation, plus improves your audience's experience with personalized marketing. Whether you're a new business or seasoned pro, working with a media partner can significantly improve your email marketing and CTR.