The 2016 Email Marketing Census, conducted by Econsultancy in association with Adestra, confirmed that email marketing delivers the greatest ROI out of all marketing channels. So it’s clear that email marketing works, but is it working for you?

If you feel your emails are falling short, here are five ways you can increase subscriber engagement.

1. Work on your subject lines

Your subject line determines whether a subscriber opens your email or sends it to the trash. On average, 75% to 80% of marketing emails go unopened. To improve open rates for your emails, take time over your subject line. Use emotive words, use the words “you” or “your”, make an offer, pose a question but don’t be too obscure – all of these tactics can help to increase email engagement.

2. Ditch the pitch

Whilst the endgame of email marketing is sales, you need to leave that idea to one side for the moment. Customers won’t open your email just to be pitched. They do however want to be entertained or informed. Work on the basis of 90% information, 10% sales to create the right balance.

3. Focus on formatting

An email filled with long paragraphs of text is scary to most of us that feel chronically short on time. Our eyes are drawn to highlighted text, numbers and images. Leaving some blank space is important if you’re to avoid visual clutter and keep a reader engaged.

Another key consideration is designing your emails for mobile. More emails are now read on a mobile device than on a desktop computer so you need to be sure your emails work for both.

4. Add a button

Using emails to direct subscribers to your website is an essential part of the email marketing process. A Campaign Monitor study found that a dedicated call to action (CTA) button generates 28% more clicks than hyperlinked text. Design an eye-catching button and link to a relevant page on your website.

5. Segment your subscribers

Think about your inbox. Every day you receive marketing emails that are completely irrelevant to you, your interests and your needs. And what do you do? Hit delete.

Segmenting your mailing list based upon your customers’ demographics, location, behavior and values allows you to personalize your emails and really engage your subscribers.

To maximize engagement and ROI, your emails have to be personal, interesting and easy to read. Sign up to successful email lists for ongoing inspiration and keep monitoring your email statistics to assess the success of your improvements.