If there was a contest for world’s ugliest chart below is my entry. This pandemic has resulted in the creation of so many charts and stats but this one might be the most random (and useful for email marketers!)
So, my team took the average email ‘Open Rates’ (broken out for BtoB – orange and BtoC - blue) from prior to the pandemic starting till now. Then we added in Nationwide RESTAURANT traffic during the same period as compared to restaurant traffic during non-pandemic time periods in 2019 to early 2020 (that is the green line).

 

Restaurant Visitation traffic data is sourced from Google US Mobility Report, Apple Mobility Trend Report and Safegraph. These sources rely heavily on individuals map usage and phone tracking (if privacy settings allow for it). So yes…you are being tracked – get over it.

OK, who cares right?? Here is why it all matters…Let’s look at 2021 specifically:

I have zero opinions that I want to share on whether people should or should not be going out and doing stuff. I am here to share the reality of life so we can understand how this impacts marketing. THE REALITY is that people are clearly doing stuff and this is having a direct impact on email performance. As restaurant visitation traffic goes up our collective email open rates go down.
This may all be very obvious, but it is important to understand this data… Why you ask?
In the last 30 days marketers have seen email performance drop off rapidly and it has led to questions such as:
“Is something wrong with our ESP (or Marketing Automation Platform)?”
“Are we on a blacklist?”
“Is everything going to the junk folder?”
“Are we sending on the wrong day or time?”
Basically, marketers are looking at everything but the actual cause for why the emails they were sending out a few weeks ago are no longer generating the same performance. Open Rates for both BtoB and BtoC are now only slightly above pre-pandemic levels.
So, all of this really means it is time to rollup our sleeves and squeeze out performance again (the way we did prior to the pandemic when email did really well but was not this ‘can’t miss’ marketing channel).

So here are quick tips and stats from the last 2 WEEKS that may give you some test ideas to keep those email open rates as high as they can be:
Last 14 Days: Open Rate Increase When Used in Subject Lines: [SURGING WORDS]
BtoC:
•   Limited - UP 14%
       •   Summer - UP 22%
•   New Arrival - UP 21%
•   Vacation - UP 18%
•   Exclusive - UP 19%
BtoB:
•   2021 - UP 18% (do NOT use 2020)
•   Trends - UP 14%
•   Outlook - UP 15%
•   XXXX Professionals - UP 20%
•   Few Spots - UP 22%

Last 14 Days: BEST PERFORMING OFFERS (when offer mentioned in subject line):
BtoC:
•   Free Shipping - UP 24%
•   % Discount - UP 21%
•   New Arrival - UP 18%
•   Gift With Registration - UP 17%
BtoB:
•   Whitepaper
•   Industry Report  
•   Webinar
•   Checklist

Last 14 Days: TRENDING TIPS:
BtoC:  EMAIL EXCLUSIVE OFFERS:
Open Rate INCREASE of 27% When Mentioned in Subject Line


Last 14 Days: TRENDING TIPS:
BtoB: ‘Fear’ Based Offers:
Open Rate INCREASE of 22% When MISTAKE Mentioned In Subject Line


SINCE YOU DIDN’T ASK…
Here Is Literally What I am Watching Right Now...

As you can see from this list I have zero taste in knowing what to watch.  I am fine with that.
BTW – I did an all new webinar a week ago – did you check it out? Here is the on-demand version if you missed it…. www.worldata.com/videos/DTNT_Apr2021.mp4
That’s all for now… Write me back and let me know what you think of all of this nonsense.

Best,
Jay

p.s. pass along to a friend if you think they may want to sign-up…. www.JaySchwedelson.com
AND – if you have topics you would like me to cover please let me know…