How to Increase Your Law Firm’s E-Newsletter Open Rate
How to Increase Your Law Firm’s E-Newsletter Open Rate
Does this sound familiar? You designed the perfect newsletter for your law firm, crafted a lengthy email list, and sent out the first installments. Then—crickets. No responses, no new leads. In fact, most recipients aren’t even opening your emails.
What went wrong?
Don’t get discouraged. Newsletters can be tricky. Sometimes, it takes a little time to get the formula right.
Here are some tips that will help you connect with prospects and increase your law firm’s email open rate.
Don’t Spam
Finding subscribers for your newsletter can be a daunting task. You may be tempted to add every address you know to your list and start sending out unsolicited emails.
Resist that temptation. Not only is it illegal, it’s also bound to hurt your open rate. After all, why would your audience open your newsletters when they never even wanted them in the first place?
Instead of spamming strangers and loose acquaintances, always follow best practices when expanding your email list. (We also recommend reviewing the CAN-SPAM Act and your state bar guidelines to ensure you remain compliant.)
Keep Your Email List Clean
Even if you start out with a strong list of voluntary subscribers, things can change. Some addresses may have become inactive. Others may have had typos or other errors, making them invalid from the start.
This can keep your open rate artificially low, since emails sent to an inactive or invalid address will never be opened. To prevent this, go through your list at least once a year and remove any subscribers who aren’t receiving your emails.
Write Killer Subject Lines
When it comes to email open rates, subject lines are everything. The subject line is the first part of your newsletter that subscribers will see—and if it doesn’t grab their attention, it may be the last part, too.
Attaching a boring subject to your newsletter is just asking for it to end up in the trash, unopened.
Use the subject line to build interest and give subscribers a reason to click through. Then, make sure that the content inside the email delivers on the subject’s promise. Subscribers may fall for clickbait at first, but that strategy only works for so long.
Provide Value
If you want your audience to keep opening your emails, you have to consistently send them content that they’ll find interesting and valuable. Some popular formats for this include:
- Quick tips and listicles
- FAQs
- Links to blogs or podcast episodes
- News related to your legal niche
- Updates about your firm
- Case studies
No matter what content you use, always keep your audience’s needs front and center. What do they care about? What problems can you help them solve?
Get Your Timing Right
Sending your emails out at the right time can go a long way toward boosting your open rate. So what is the right time? That depends on the details of your target audience. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
Try sending emails out on different days of the week and at different times of day. Keep an eye on what times yield higher open rates. If a pattern starts to form, adapt your newsletter’s schedule to capture the peaks.
Then, once you’ve found a schedule that works, stick to it. Your subscribers will appreciate the consistency over time.
Go Mobile-Friendly
These days, most people check their email on their smartphones. If your newsletter isn’t optimized for mobile viewing, it’s unlikely you’ll get the best results. Chances are, an email that doesn’t work on mobile won’t seem worth their time—and they’ll remember it next time, too.
Whenever you’re setting up a newsletter email, preview how it will look on multiple devices, especially a smartphone.
Create a Branded Sender Name
Using a generic sender name like “noreply@lawfirm.com” is a great way to paint your newsletter as amateurish. It might even land you in the spam folder.
To avoid this, create a recognizable, branded sender name so subscribers know who you are right away.
Don’t Overdo It
Sending one email every six months probably won’t do much to help your newsletter flourish. On the other hand, it’s possible to send too many emails, too.
If your subscribers constantly see your law firm’s name popping up in their inbox, they may start ignoring it altogether. Worse still, they may get tired of deleting unwanted newsletters and start hunting for that dreaded unsubscribe button.
You can always experiment to see what works best for you, but most law firms opt for one newsletter per month.
Can We Help You Optimize Your Law Firm’s Newsletter?
Starting a newsletter can bring a host of benefits for any law firm. However, getting the most out of your newsletter also takes time, energy, and plenty of patience. If you’d rather let someone else handle the headaches, we can help.
At Let America Know, we give attorneys across the nation the support they need to grow their practices through email and social media marketing. “You Should Know” is our monthly email newsletter, which we customize for your firm. Just contact us, and we’ll manage every step from start to finish, including:
- Designing your newsletter
- Writing valuable content for your firm
- Publishing every month without fail
- Strengthening your brand
Learn more about our fully customizable e-newsletter service for trial attorneys.