How to Increase Click Rate in Email Marketing

This click-through story will sound like an email marketing cliche.

But I really was on the beach when I made my first sale through email. I was so excited I bragged to my whole family. Then I got out my notebook and started writing my next email.

Anyone can do this, but don’t get cocky like I did. 

In my second email campaign, I ignored all the rules of engagement and personalization. The click-through rate (CTR) was dismal. It was weeks before I made another sale. 

But now that I’ve learned the hard way, you don’t have to. 

In this guide, I’m going to teach you how to get a rock solid click-through rate with every email campaign you send. Let’s take a look at what a good CTR can do for your business.

Understanding Email Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Email marketing is currently the most cost-effective marketing strategy in existence.

According to Litmus, the average ROI for email marketing is 3,600%. That’s not a typo. 

If you can match the average click rate for email marketing, you can expect to earn $36 for every dollar you spend. 

But that’s a big “if.” Plenty of email campaigns have failed because of common mistakes that are easy to fix.

Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need to do to increase the fabled email click through rate in your campaigns.

What is Email CTR?

When you send an email marketing campaign, you’re hoping for one thing to happen. You want your recipients to click on a link that leads to an order form, a landing page, or another opportunity to purchase something.

Your email click through rate is the percentage of recipients who click on the link. 

How to Calculate Email CTR

The simplest way to calculate your email CTR is to divide the number of clicks by the number of recipients and multiply by 100.

For example, if you send your content to a list of 5,000 readers and 500 of them click on the offer:

500/5000= 0.10 

0.10 x 100 = 10 for a click-through rate of 10%.

Now, a 10% CTR is generally considered pretty good, but there are plenty of ways to make your campaign even more profitable.

Proven Strategies to Increase Email CTR

I’m going to give you six strategies to increase email CTR. If you adopt just one of these, it will make a difference. As you incorporate more than one, you can compound the effects and multiply your results.

But before we dive in, think seriously about your offer. 

If you’re trying to sell a product your recipients don’t want, the best strategies in the world won’t help. Know your audience, know your business, and create a clear offer that attracts eager buyers. 

Then, you can increase the click-through rate of your campaign with these six tactics.

Craft Compelling Subject Lines

Subject lines are the most important part of your email. And when it comes to email CTR, your subject lines give you a chance to double dip.

First, when you have a compelling subject line in your email, more people are going to open and read your content. This increases the number of potential clicks you can get.

Second, a strong subject line can build anticipation for the content inside your email. This effectively  “pre-sells” your offer before your audience even sees it. When the reader gets to the link in your email, they are already primed to buy, therefore increasing your CTR. 

If you want to make the most of this strategy, I recommend beehiiv’s Ultimate Guide to Professional Email Subject Lines.

When you write your subject lines, don’t neglect personalization, which we’ll talk about next.

Personalize Your Emails

Imagine getting a mass-produced email that you know was sent out to millions of recipients. 

Then, picture an email that literally has your name on it. It addresses a topic that you are interested in.

Which of these emails would be a higher priority for you?

In a recent article, Forbes noted that personalizing your emails can increase your open rates by 26%. Personalization works because it shows a level of care that’s rare in the digital world. 

Personalization has many different elements and could include:

• Using your recipient’s name in the subject line and body

• Mentioning a past purchase, download, or other action taken by the recipient

• Sending email campaigns to a subset of your audience based on their demographics or other factors 

You can personalize your emails more easily, often automatically, by dividing your email list into segments.

Segment Your Email List

If you have a dog, you may be on the email list of a company that sells pet supplies. One of the dumbest things this business could do is send you an email selling cat food.

A more acceptable email campaign would promote “pet food” and link to a page where you can select the product you want.

But a smarter email would sell you dog food. And not just any dog food, but dog food specifically designed for your dog’s age, breed, and health conditions. 

If the email offered a perfect match, and all you had to do was click through to an order form, this email campaign would get a high click through rate.

Segmentation is the art of dividing your email list into subgroups or segments based on the needs and interests of each segment of your audience. Then you send emails that are appropriate for each segment.

With email platforms such as beehiiv, segmentation is easy to implement. You can usually set it up to work automatically. 

Introduction to Segmentation Pt. 1

Introduction to Segmentation Pt. 2

Optimize Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons

Want to destroy your CTR (Click-through rate)? Give your recipient a text link to click on. Preferably a long link filled with obscure letters and numbers. 

If a recipient is reading your email campaign on a mobile device, they may find the link too small to accurately click on. And if they’re viewing your email on a desktop, they may not want to click.

Now, replace this link with a bright-colored button that stands out and is easy to click. Add some short, compelling copy to the button. A few words such as “Get 40% off” or “Download Now” should do the trick.

With the right email platform, you can design Call to Action buttons with a few clicks. Here are a few best practices to make sure your audience sees the button and clicks on it:

• Place the button on its own line (i.e., don’t include it on a line of text)

• The button height should be at least twice the height of a line of text

• Make your button stand out by using a color that is different from the background

• Use compelling copy for your button 

• Make sure your button will be clearly visible to recipients who may have color blindness

Use High-Quality Images and Videos

Images are easier for the brain to process than text, and they have a stronger emotional impact.

The human eye takes in visual information three or four times per second and can process an image in less than 20 milliseconds.

These facts make Images and videos critical for getting a better click rate in email marketing. 

By breaking up the text with images, your email will look more readable. This increases the odds your recipient will read the entire email and click on your CTA button.

However, you should never rely on images alone to convey essential information, such as dates, times, or coupon codes. 

Images will not always load in your recipient’s device, so you should always use text to convey anything vital.

In addition, your images should be relevant to the content in your email. If you use stock photos, you’re just creating a distraction. Your images might prevent some audience members from clicking and destroy your CTR.

You should also test every email before you send it. Make sure the images look good and do not draw attention away from your CTA button. 

Be sure to test your campaigns on the device most of your readers are using so you clearly see what they’ll see. This is almost always a mobile device.

Finally, as you choose where and how to post images and videos in your emails, it's important to think about the size and dimensions of your overall email template. As a rule of thumb, a width of 600 pixels or less is ideal for both desktop and mobile devices.

It’s also vital that you optimize the way images are embedded in your newsletter. 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dxeE22S_uVo?si=HvZjOnHNK8PNVhdO" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> 

A/B Testing

A/B testing is a simple, powerful process. It’s based on the idea that your email campaigns have many variables that could change your click rate and outcome. 

For example, the copy on your CTA button, the image you choose, the price point in your offer, or the use of a P.S. at the end of the email could change the results of your campaign.

A/B testing allows you to see which of these variables will bring you the best results. Then, you can use this information in future campaigns.

It’s important to test variables that are easy to change but are likely to have a significant impact.

For example, it might take a long time to design a new header, and readers could ignore it. On the other hand, testing 2 versions of the copy on your CTA button might raise your CTA without a lot of effort.

Here’s how you conduct an A/B test.

Additional Tips for Enhancing Email Engagement

If you want to know how to increase click rate in email marketing, go back to the basics. Follow the classic principles of marketing and copywriting. Here are a few key principles.

Write Concise and Clear Copy

Your recipients are busy. They’re probably tired. 

They could be feeling overwhelmed.

Help them out by writing copy that’s easy to read. Use short sentences. Avoid big words when small ones will work. 

Aim for a 7th-grade Flesch Kincaid Grade Level score. Not because your readers are dumb, but because you respect their time and energy.

Include Social Proof

In his well-studied book, Influence, Robert Cialdini cites social proof as one of the six “Weapons of Influence.” 

Social proof is evidence that other people are taking the same action you want your recipients to take. In other words, they are clicking your links and buying your products.

There are three reasons social proof is powerful. First, human beings are social animals. For most of human history, we lived in tribes where it was important to match the behavior of other people. If you didn’t conform, you risked being kicked out of the tribe.

Second, social proof is a shortcut that saves cognitive effort. If other people are doing something, it can’t be that bad, and it’s probably good. 

The third reason is more practical. Social proof spares you work and research. If you wanted to buy a car, would you make your choice without reading a few reviews? 

Reviews, testimonials, and endorsements are all forms of social proof. It’s easier to decide to buy when you know other people have made the same choice.

Ironically, the more simple your product, the more important social proof becomes. 

For example, you can probably decide whether or not to buy a software subscription based on the price and features. But when it comes to choosing a pair of shoes, the brand and the kinds of people who wear them are important factors.

By using social proof, you create instant brand loyalty and increase your click-through rate.

In a short marketing email, you may not have room for a lot of social proof. But you can include a testimonial or even a statistic such as, “More than 17 thousand entrepreneurs use our products each month.”

Create a Sense of Urgency

The odds are against you. 

You may deliver an email campaign that follows all the advice I've given you in this article. Your recipient opens the email and reads it. Your offer is exactly what they want, and your price point fits their budget.

But they're busy at the moment, so they flag your email to look at later. 

After a week, your message is buried under thousands of new emails. You never make the sale.

To get the highest possible click through rate, you need to cross the threshold of urgency. Give your audience a compelling reason to take action as soon as they read your campaign. 

If they don't do it now, there's a good chance they won't.

In order to create a sense of urgency, you could include a deadline in your offer. The best deadline is one that is coming up soon, perhaps even on the same day you send the campaign.

If you want to dramatically drive the urgency home, you could include a countdown timer that shows the recipient they have exactly 7 days, 4 hours, 39 minutes and 11 seconds to respond. 

For the sake of integrity, you need to end the offer when the clock runs out. Doing so will also protect your credibility, which will help your email click-through rate in the future.

Another way to create a sense of urgency is to vividly describe the costs and consequences of not taking action right away. 

What is the pain your audience will have to endure if they don’t order today?

What is the exact dollar value or the number of hours lost each day they delay?

What big, important change will happen in the near future that will make your audience feel like they missed out if they don’t buy or join today?

Given the importance of timing, let’s explore the best times to send your email campaign.

Send Emails at Optimal Times

It’s 4 pm on a Friday, and your recipient has an exciting weekend planned. 

When your campaign hits their inbox, they see it’s just a promotion. 

There’s no way they’re going to read it before Monday. And by then, their inbox will be filled with other emails.

Now, imagine they get the same email on a slow Tuesday, right before lunch. There’s a good chance they’ll read it while munching on their favorite sandwich. They’re happy and relaxed, and you have their undivided attention.

In other words, the time and day you send your campaign matters. 

As a rule of thumb, mid to late morning on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday are the best times to send an email. Fridays and Mondays are the worst days.

However, there’s no universal law about the best time to send. You need to understand the habits of your audience. When do they read their emails? When will they be most receptive to your offer?

Are you selling to B2B clients who need to see your message on a weekday morning? Or will your audience read your email over a cup of tea on a Saturday afternoon?

Using beehiiv to Track & Bolster Your Click Rate

At the beginning of this guide, I explained how to calculate your click rate. It’s pretty straightforward to know how many recipients clicked on your CTA. 

When you bring analytics into the picture, you’ll begin to glean insights into why they clicked. Here are a few types of information you can get from the analytics tools of a platform like beehiiv, and how this information can help you understand your audience better:

• Time of day a recipient clicked (This will help you optimize your send times)

• Where your audience members first joined your email list (This gives you valuable clues into how to segment your audience--someone who scanned a QR code will have different interests than someone who joined from LinkedIn)

• What they do after clicking (Activity on your website reveals questions and objections your audience has--are they buying immediately, viewing product details, or looking for something else?

• The effect of images and video in your email

• Demographics (This information will help you segment your audience or improve and refine existing segmentation)

Most importantly, analytics can show you how each of the above factors are impacting your revenue. Once you understand each of these levers, it’s a matter of pulling the right lever to increase your CTA and your ROI with just a simple, informed decision.

Other Strategies That Increase Click Rate in Email Marketing

I want to give you a couple more ideas. These concepts aren’t directly related to click-through rates, but they’ll still increase your CTR indirectly. 

That’s a lot more important than you may realize.

CTR and Deliverability

An email campaign that lands in a spam folder will not get clicked.

There are many good strategies to increase the deliverability of your campaigns, but the most important strategy is to have an email platform that handles deliverability for you. 

beehiiv has more than half a dozen built-in tools to enhance deliverability, including custom IP infrastructure and integrated 3rd party email validation.

Almost all of these features work in the background. You don’t have to do anything, but our team is working hard to make sure your email campaign lands in each recipient’s inbox.

How a Quality Audience Improves Your Click Through Rate

I used to write email campaigns for a client who paid for email lists every time he wanted to sell something new. 

He had several high-ticket products that sold well, but he once told me, “It sucks to have to pay $3,000 every time I launch.”

This is one of the best arguments for having a regular newsletter with voluntary subscribers. This is eventually what my client built for himself. 

But a newsletter does more than just lower your marketing costs. It attracts a loyal audience. And it turns out the quality of your audience is yet another critical factor to increase your click-through rate.

In fact, I’ve always had a higher click rate when I put an offer in my own newsletter. And my copywriting clients who send out regular newsletters have always gotten a better CTR and higher conversions as well. 

Every email you send is a seed. Your audience is the soil. Even the best seeds depend on good soil to grow into big plants that produce the most fruit. 

It pays to cultivate a better audience. You’ll save money on marketing costs and your recipients will be more inclined to click through and make a purchase.

This is one of the reasons beehiiv uses features that favor quality over quantity. For example, the default setting requires double opt-ins to make sure you’re not flooded with bots and tire-kickers. (You can easily toggle this feature off if you want). 

This practice can potentially reduce your costs, as well as increase your click through rates.

beehiiv also offers several methods to recruit new, high-quality readers to your audience. 

You can use boosts to gain readers who are already on lists that complement yours. For example, if you’re selling supplements, you can set up a boost to attract readers who subscribe to fitness newsletters.

Similarly, you can join beehiiv’s Recommendations network to acquire like-minded readers while providing interesting resources and content to your current readers.

In fact, by using beehiiv you can multiply the value of every recipient in your audience. Newsletter operator Henry Winslow turned a passion project into an email empire that generated $240,000 in revenue in 2024.

In addition to your own offers, you can generate revenue from boosts, as mentioned above. You can also monetize through beehiiv’s ad network and by operating a premium newsletter.

Many beehiiv newsletters have been acquired by larger companies, sometimes after less than a year in operation. 

Enhancing your click-through rate may just be the beginning of your success. Enhance all your entrepreneurial plans with a beehiiv newsletter.

FAQs About Email Clickthrough Rates

How Can I Increase My Email Marketing Click Rate?

Increase your email marketing click rate by sticking to the basics. 

Use compelling subject lines so you get a larger pool of readers. Personalize your content to increase engagement. Segment your list so your recipients are given reasons to buy that resonate.

Then use images and clear Call to Action buttons to drive the eye.

Finally, create a sense of urgency and send your campaigns at a time when they are likely to be read and acted upon.

Why Is My Email Click-Through Rate So Low?

If your email click-through rate is too low, you should first examine your Call to Action (CTA). A low click-through rate usually indicates there’s confusion somewhere. A confused buyer is a non-buyer.

Make sure your CTA is simple: Do x, get y. You should have a large, colorful CTA button that leads directly to an order form or a landing page.  

If your Call to Action is simple and clear, the issue may be an unattractive offer. Are you promoting a deal your audience is likely to want? 

What Is a Good Click Rate for Email Marketing?

An email click rate can vary a lot by industry. What is a good click rate for email marketing may be different for a life coach than for a seller on Etsy. 

The average email click through rate is between 2% and 5%, according to Campaign Monitor.

How Do I Increase Link Clicks in Email?

You can increase link clicks in email by creating a clear offer that your audience is likely to want. Once the offer is solid, make sure you have a colorful Call to Action button (CTA) so your recipient knows what to do. (A confusing campaign is a losing campaign.)

Next, increase the link clicks by creating a sense of urgency. Give your audience compelling reasons to buy immediately and avoid missing out. 

Finally, you can increase the pool of potential buyers by using strong subject lines, segmentation, personalizing your emails and making good use of quality images.