Email marketing is a fundamental component of most marketing campaigns. Arguably the only truly free and targeted way to reach consumers, your mailing lists are a veritable gold mine when used properly. Unfortunately, not all brands know how to get the most benefit out of their lists. With people receiving more emails per day than ever, you need to compete extensively with a variety of other brands who are overwhelming your audience. How can you better lure people into reading your emails? We’ve put together a quick description for multiple improvements that you can make beginning today.

Be Inquisitive

People tend to be intrigued by any potential conversation. How can you create an email marketing campaign that more effectively generates this type of environment? One way is to use your subject line as an opportunity to ask a question. Obviously, your email and its content should strive to answer that, but doing a bit of research on what questions your target audience may have can help you formulate specifics. By asking questions that are relevant to your audience, you’ll generate much better open and response rates than under the usual conditions. Don’t be afraid to get inquisitive and start pinging URLs and subject lines that start – at minimum – an internal conversation with the recipient.

Emphasize Deadlines

Time is always a factor in our lives: if you can find ways to make your emails time-sensitive, then expect more engagement. Many brands report that their open rates increase by as much as 25% merely by including a time-sensitive subject line or indicator. Whether you’re having a sale or trying to meet a fundraising deadline, including this bit of information in your subject line may be just what you need to get a few more people to interact with your latest email campaign. Above all else, don’t deceive the recipient: abuse of this tactic can backfire and result in a jaded recipient never opening another one of your emails again.

Be Confrontational

All too many people are used to countless emails with vague titles, reassuring words and other niceties. If you really want to get the attention of those who are receiving your emails, then you can try a more confrontational approach. Action words and phrases – such as “Shut Up and Read This” or “Stop Being Wasteful” – are more likely to grab someone’s attention. If you can provide value at the same time that you’re being a bit confrontational, then you stand a much better chance of getting somebody to open your message and see what’s going on. Ultimately, you don’t want to be mean to anybody, but using a combination of value and blunt language can generate huge improvements.

Breaking through all of the noise in today’s inboxes can be difficult. If you want to make a strong impression and really stand out, then consider the use of confrontational tones, deadlines and open-ended questions. All of these tactics can be great ways to generate better open rates and response rates. They’re not the only ways, though: have you found any specific tactics that led to more people reading your emails? Tell us below if you have any stories to share.