Autoresponder emails are a simple way of automating email, but how long should they be? A new report from GetResponse suggests that short and sweet is better – while open (96%) and click (39%) rates on single-message cycles are very high, those with more than 3 messages see a marked drop-off in response rates.
Many marketers seem to be following the data in this regard, as more than one-third (34.5%) of autoresponder cycles only send one message, with more than half (53%) consisting of three messages or fewer. The often-used breed of single autoresponder email – the simple welcome message – enjoys good results in line with the method as a whole, achieving a 84% open rate and a CTR of 26%. But research has not been unanimous in its support of this tactic, with data from ReturnPath highlighting that 16% of welcome messages hit the spam folder.
As a tactic, autoresponders come second only to triggered emails in their effectiveness. While open rates on triggered emails approach 50% and click rates exceed 10%, on average, autoresponder emails see an open rate of 33% and a CTR of close to 7%. Given the figures cited above for shorter cycles, it suggests that the volume sent at the long end of the tail is holding back the performance of the tactic as a whole. Read the rest at Marketing Charts.
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