Once again, it's time to report which headlines got the most of my blog broadcast emails opened and click through last month. Where you see (+), (++) and (+++), that indicates that the headline in question was at the top of one of the other lists (with (+++) indicating the #1 position).

This was an unusual month. Only two headlines made the top three in more than one list.

Highest Open Rates

Here are the 10 most-opened headlines for August. Both headlines that mentioned video last month made the top three. Interestingly, unlike last month, when questions ruled, only two of the eight question headlines made the top 10! As for themes that ranked well, nothing really leaps out. Both posts about curation ranked in the top six.

  1. (+) Your Blog's Start Page
  2. [Video] Affiliate Meta Search Tool
  3. Content Curation Blogging for Workgroups of All Sizes [Video]
  4. "Hi. I'm an Internet Marketer, and I Have a Problem."
  5. Wake Up and Push the Easier Button
  6. (++) Content Curation in an Info-Overloaded Market
  7. (+++) (+++) Do ClickBank's New Rules Have Any Teeth?
  8. Ethical Use of Scarcity to Light a Fire Under Your Prospects
  9. Responsibility Marketing
  10. Does Pre-Scheduling Blog Posts Break Your Rhythm?

The largest gap in open rates was between the top two headlines, with #1 outperforming #2 by 4.5%. #1 only out performed #10 by 16.8%.

Most Clicks

The headlines that got the most clicks through to the blog (as a percentage of emails sent) were as follows. Brand-name themes -- ClickBank and YouTube -- performed well.

The video that was #3 in opens didn't even make the list -- probably because it was targeted more narrowly than most of what I post. Interestingly, that same video was shared more on Twitter and in other places than any of my posts in recent memory.

  1. (+++) Do ClickBank's New Rules Have Any Teeth?
  2. Content Curation in an Info-Overloaded Market
  3. (+++) Your Blog's Start Page
  4. (+) Get More YouTube Subscribers
  5. (++) [Video] Affiliate Meta Search Tool
  6. Applying "Made to Stick" Stickum to Your Business
  7. Wake Up and Push the Easier Button
  8. (++) Most-Clicked Headlines for July
  9. How Secure Are Your Passwords?
  10. Ethical Use of Scarcity to Light a Fire Under Your Prospects

The largest gaps were between #2 and #3 (10.9%) and #10 and #11 (10.3%). #1 outperformed #10 by 37.3%.

Most Clicks Per Open

As has been explained in past stats posts:

Open rates tell us which headlines drew the most interest, and raw click-through percentages tell us something about which post bodies were the most interesting. But the ratio of clicks to opens tells us even more about which posts started with content that kept people moving.

The body of each email contained an excerpt from the beginning of the post. Any posts that start with too much introductory drivel will produce boring emails, and draw less clicks. Post that created curiosity or interest at the very beginning got more.

The most interesting story here is the #2 post, which came in dead last in open rates. This sheds light on this question that I posed early last month (which, by the way, had a middling open rate and was near the bottom on click-through -- if you missed it before, you may want to give it a look).

  1. (+++) Do ClickBank's New Rules Have Any Teeth?
  2. Most-Clicked Headlines for July
  3. Get More YouTube Subscribers
  4. Applying "Made to Stick" Stickum to Your Business
  5. (++) Content Curation in an Info-Overloaded Market
  6. How Secure Are Your Passwords?
  7. (++) [Video] Affiliate Meta Search Tool
  8. Inconvenient Truths and Ethical Marketing
  9. (+++) (+) Your Blog's Start Page
  10. Ethical Use of Scarcity to Light a Fire Under Your Prospects

All of the biggest gaps were outside of the top 10. Within the top 10, the biggest gaps were between #5 and #6 (8.4%), and #6 and #7 (6.7#). #1 out performed #10 by 33.5%.