Getting your emails opened (and out of the spam folder)

People decide whether to open an email in about a second, based on three things: the sender name, the subject line and the first line of preview text. And none of that matters if the email landed in spam. So start with delivery.

Get into the inbox

• Send from your own domain and verify it (Mail → Settings in Ticksit walks you through the DNS records). Inbox providers trust mail that proves where it came from.
• Only email people who agreed to hear from you. Bought lists produce complaints, and complaints send everything you send afterwards to spam.
• Always include a working unsubscribe link. It is required by POPIA, and a reader who can unsubscribe does not need to press "report spam".
• Remove addresses that bounce. Ticksit does this automatically for hard bounces and complaints.

Be recognisable

Use a sender name people know — your business name, or a person's name plus the business. Keep it the same from one email to the next; recognition is what earns the open.

Promise one thing in the subject

• Say what is inside: "Doors open at 6 — your Friday checklist" beats "Newsletter #14".
• Keep it short enough to read on a phone, where most email is opened.
• Use the preview text to add the second most important detail rather than repeating the subject.

Measure your own audience

Advice about the "best time to send" is averaged across other people's audiences. Yours is the one that matters. Send at different times across a few campaigns and compare the open rates Ticksit reports for each — then keep doing what works for your list.