Let us refresh our memory about CTR. CTR stands for Click through Rate. On a very basic level, CTR is the ratio of the number of web links a newsletter reader clicks while reading the content. Suppose you have sent out 100 newsletters and 4 web links have been clicked upon, the CTR is 4%. Other variants to this rule also apply. It depends on the company which metric they would define as CTR. There are some misconceptions about CTR that is needed to be debunked at the very onset of our discussion. To begin with, cramping in more web links inside your newsletter creative does not necessarily mean more CTR. In fact, you might find your CTR tanking below expectations! Believe in the maxim, too much emphasis is no emphasis at all.
Avoid falling into the trap of packing in more web links in the form of anchor texts. Instead, write in a way that makes people click on the few links that you provide. It is your content that plays the most vital role in increasing CTR. You have to follow the rules of newsletter writing strictly. For example, you have to be particularly aware of your target readers. You need to know why you’re writing and for what purpose. That will condition the linguistic style and the use of words, syntax, etc. A B2B newsletter will be conceptually different from a B2C one. Similarly, an information oriented newsletter will be written with lesser marketing approach than one that looks to sell products or services. It is the readers that dictate the stance of the newsletter writing.
Be relevant to your topic at all time when you draft a newsletter. Digressing from your point to create more linkable words or phrases will spell doom for your copy. Your writing will lose focus. You will move away from your topic. The length of your newsletter might bloat up as well. Stay within the confines of your subject and incorporate web links where it is necessary. That will increase your CTR. Remember that people are reading your newsletter because they want to know more about the subject you’re dealing with, not to click through to other web pages. That comes after they are engaged in your content. To keep them interested and zapped, you’ve to write relevant newsletters in a conversational style. Again, think how relevant your material is for target readers.
There is something about anchor texts that you need to know to drive up the CTR. Insert your web link on action words rather than on simple words or phrases. As an example, you will get more clicks on ‘Do it now’ rather than on ‘business is good’. The psychology of the reader would be to feel that if they click on the anchor text, their response will generate something or be registered in some way or get something done. Action words can have that effect. Also, it is important to spell out clearly rather than be subtle. A link saying ‘Subscribe Now’ will surely have more clicks than another saying ‘Register your Subscription’.
