Enhancing the effectiveness of e-mail newsletters: how content (subject lines, intros) impacts response rates

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Last Modified
  • March 18, 2023
Creator
  • O'Connell, Michael
    • Affiliation: Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Abstract
  • This thesis seeks evidence that e-mail newsletters can become more effective when employing certain content approaches with the e-mail subject line and the body of the e-mail, with effectiveness being measured in open and click-through (or click) rates, as well as click-to-open ratios. The researcher conducted an experiment with an existing e-mail newsletter, employing A/B testing with a total of 75,000 subscribers to determine whether modifications to the subject and introductory body text of the newsletter correlate with an increase in activity among newsletter subscribers – that is, more e-mail being opened (viewed) and more clicks on links within those e-mail newsletters. Findings suggest a slightly positive significance for custom, content-specific subject lines, and a negative significance for introduction sections with a bulleted list of links. Findings also reject the hypotheses that shorter subject lines significantly improve open rates, and that shorter introduction sections (sans lists of links) improve open rates.
Date of publication
DOI
Resource type
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Fee, Frank E.
Language
Access right
  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • October 19, 2010

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details Enhancing_the_effectiveness_of_email_newsletters_accessible.pdf October 19, 2010 Public Download