Issue #22
Hello Friends!
Hope everyone made the most of summer. Now we’re all back to the grind, but at least we can have a Pumpkin Spice Latte in hand as we toil. 
I’m trying to get to our amazing San Francisco Bay Area parks as much as possible in the next couple of months. What are you trying to get done before the clocks change?
Buy 5, 20, or 20 Hours with Anchor Virtual Assistants
Here’s what’s new in the digital world this month.
All the best,
Karen Zachary, Anchor Virtual Assistants
P.S: By the time you finish reading this email, you’ll be five minutes closer to the weekend. 
Getting Your Emails Read
If people aren’t opening your emails, your reputation or subject line is the problem. (Or you’re sending too many emails.) Here’s some data from Mailchimp’s recent study of over 24 Billion(!) emails.
Personalizing the subject line can increase open rates. (But not if you do it for EVERY email.) “One of the most interesting findings is that, though the use of both first and last names in a subject is less common, it has the largest positive impact on open rates.” For example, a subject line that says TED2024: Invitation to register for Karen Zachary.
The word “freebie” performs better than “free”.
Urgency impacts open rates. Where appropriate use these words, listed in order of impact: Urgent, Breaking, Important, or Alert. Other great words for subject lines, in order of impact: Announcement, Invitation, Invited, Announcing, Invite, Invites, Announced, Announce, Reminders, Announcements. Do NOT use the word Reminder, which has a negative impact on open rates.
Here are subject lines that perform well:
- I was right – and that’s not good for you
- 13 email marketing trends you must know
- Before you write another blog post, read this
- Are we still on for 12?
- You don’t want FOMO do you?
- We’re starting in 5 HOURS
If people are opening your emails but not taking your call to action, you need to try variations on the copy, product, and price. Most email service providers (like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, etc.) will let you A/B test variants.
LinkedIn Study on Post Engagement
According to a new study by Metricool, small LinkedIn accounts (500 to 2K followers) will get an average of 261 impressions per post. Medium accounts (2K-10K followers) will get an average of 623 impressions per post.
| The average number of comments per post type are Carousel: .49, Image: .48, Text: .29, Video: .47.(But remember, comments may not be indicative of messaging success or impressions.) |
| Text posts are the ones most likely to be shared. Carousel posts are the most engaging format. One to three hashtags are ideal for LinkedIn. In general, 10am is the best time to post on LinkedIn. Predictably, Monday is the worst day for impressions. Wednesday and Thursday are the best. |
Considering Podcasts?
Until now, if a user was subscribed to a podcast but no longer listened, they would still count as a download. But that rule is no more.
If you’ve been researching podcasts for hosting or appearances, the listener numbers you’ve seen in the past are wildly inaccurate. “Apple recently made significant changes to its podcast reporting: It stopped automatic downloads for users that haven’t listened to five episodes within the last two weeks.”
Personally, I subscribe to many podcasts I haven’t listened to in years. Those of us who have seen negligible benefits from highly-subscribed podcasts now have a reason why. The more accurate subscriber numbers will be much better for advertisers, too.
Thing I’m Loving Right Now:
Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Korean Flavor
I am absolutely besotted with these almonds. If you like big flavors and Korean barbecue, get these in your grocery cart ASAP. You don’t have a meat-eater to enjoy this flavor.
It’s a tiny bit sweet, a tiny bit smoky and a lot of umami. At my local grocery store, the 6-ounce can is normally $5.49 but regularly on sale for $3.50.
