It's time again for a report on 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).

Highest Open Rates

Here are the top ten most opened headlines. Notice the question marks at the end of #2, #3, #4, and #5. Four of the seven headlines containing questions scored in the top five. Also, all of my posts mentioning Google in the headline made the top ten:

  1. (+++) (+++) Google, I Hope This Isn't Permanent (Make Your Content Flow)
  2. Is Single Player the Holy Grail of Social Networking?
  3. (+) Is Copying Chrome Taking Firefox in the Right Direction?
  4. (++) (++) Are Google's Web Fonts Harmful to Websites?
  5. Did Google Botch "Circles"?
  6. The Difference Between Trend-Hopping and "Pivoting"
  7. The Difference Between Angels and Vultures
  8. Signal-to-Noise Ratio on Google+
  9. My Google+ Feature Request #1: "Spheres"
  10. How Soon Should a Blogger Start Selling?

The biggest gap in open rates this month was between #2 and #3, but it was only about a 7.5% difference. #1 outscored #10 by about 19%.

Most Clicks

The headlines that got the most clicks through to the blog (as a percentage of emails sent) were as follows. The #4 post's performance here (#3 on the next list) is remarkable, because it came in dead last on open rate -- those who opened it were highly likely to click through to the full article. Also, that post got shared more than most.

The biggest gaps were at the top, with #1 beating #2 by 16%, #2 beating #3 by 15%, and #3 beating #4 by 14%:

  1. (+++) (+++) Google, I Hope This Isn't Permanent (Make Your Content Flow)
  2. (++) Are Google's Web Fonts Harmful to Websites?
  3. (+) Is Copying Chrome Taking Firefox in the Right Direction?
  4. (+) Do Only Cheaters Prosper?
  5. Your Marketing Plan is Broken
  6. My Google+ Feature Request #1: "Spheres"
  7. My Entrepreneur's Journey
  8. (++) Is Single Player the Holy Grail of Social Networking?
  9. Did Google Botch "Circles"?
  10. How Soon Should a Blogger Start Selling?

Six of the seven headlines containing questions made the top 10. Only one Google-related headline missed the top ten.

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 largest gap here was between #3 and #4 -- about 15%. #1 outperformed #10 by 46%.

  1. (+++) (+++) Google, I Hope This Isn't Permanent (Make Your Content Flow)
  2. (++) Are Google's Web Fonts Harmful to Websites?
  3. Do Only Cheaters Prosper?
  4. Your Marketing Plan is Broken
  5. (+) (+) Is Copying Chrome Taking Firefox in the Right Direction?
  6. My Google+ Feature Request #1: "Spheres"
  7. My Entrepreneur's Journey
  8. Did Google Botch "Circles"?
  9. How Soon Should a Blogger Start Selling?
  10. Doing Business in an Information-Overloaded World

Conclusions

  • Headlines mentioning companies that your audience is interested in will draw interest, getting your emails opened.
  • Asking questions in your headlines is a big winner.
  • Getting your emails opened is only half the battle. The content of your emails should heighten interest rather than satisfy it in order to get readers to click through to your site.