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I was on a video call with a fellow blogger when we got talking about click-through rate on our emails. She asked me what mine was.

I responded “Uhhhhh… 3%, what’s yours?”

She literally blew me out of the water when she said 50-60%!! I couldn’t believe it!!

Now her strategy is quite detailed and has a lot to do with funnels and a very segmented and targeted email list.

But I was missing another piece too…

Why you need to increase click-through

Why does click-through matter? Unlike pageviews or the number of followers (also referred to as “vanity metrics”) click-through actually does matter. This article goes over the general concepts of increasing CTR but I’m specifically talking email list, here. Email is where the money is at.

Here’s why click-through matters: if people aren’t clicking, people aren’t buying.

Unlike social media platforms that you have no control over, your email list is different. You have full control. You can drive tons of traffic and tons of sales if your list is warm, nurtured, and trained to click.

But there’s a lot of competition in the inbox nowadays.

You need to stand out. You need to get your readers expecting your email, looking forward to see your content.

A great way to do that? Printables.

How printables can increase click-through and conversions

First of all, free printables build trust. You are giving, not asking. You aren’t expecting them to buy, you are letting them know that it’s more important to you to give them what they need than it is to make money off them.

Next, it adds value to your content. You want your content to be actionable. Motivate your reader to take the next step, do something. A printable can walk them through that and help them make that step.

Say you want them to start meal planning, they may or may not be into this. If they are anything like me, they think it’s a great idea and would love to do it. But they are also kind of lazy and think it sounds like a lot of work. BUT you have an awesome printable meal planner that helps them keep their meals organized. So, maybe I will give it a shot, I mean the planner is right there. Click!

Or maybe you want them to start saving for Christmas but they are super disorganized and have no idea where to start. BUT you have a challenge worksheet for them with goal amounts to save and dates to save it by and they think “Yes, this is exactly what I need”!

You get the idea.

So they start clicking on your printables.

Then they start clicking on your blog article links.

Then they click on your affiliate links. They know that when they click, they get value. That’s the goal, after all. The fact that you also get money for it is what makes blogging the best job in the world.

PS: Learn to make your own amazing printable with our FREE worksheet templates! Did I mention they’re completely editable so you can customize them to bring that amazing printable idea to life!

What happens when readers click-through

A lot of things happen when your readers start to click. First, you start driving traffic to your site.

I once heard a saying that it’s easier to get repeat customers than it is to always be looking for new ones. It’s SO true when it comes to your email list. It’s so much easier to get the same people that already like your blog to go back to it. And it’s easier to get people that know you and trust you to buy what you are offering.

Speaking of which; SALES happen when your readers click through. Remember, if they aren’t clicking then they aren’t buying. Obviously.

Not only does it making selling your own products easier, but also your affiliate products. And affiliates are easy, you just talk about how much you love something and people want to check it out too. In other words, you don’t have to be so salesy about it.

Designing printables

First, identify the printable that will convert the best for your audience. Some audiences love planners, while others can’t get enough worksheets. (You can find 17 amazing content upgrade ideas here.)

Try different types out and see which ones do best (BTW, this is called A/B testing). Then once you have identified a printable that converts well, do more of those!

Then, decide on your color palette and overall design. Choose some design elements (I personally love banners and arrows!)

Start designing. Start with a background- minimal and not overpowering, but pretty! Then add a killer heading.

P.S. Guys, I have done some work for you! I actually have a template of 5 headings that can be edited in Canva available in my design resource library! I also have a design element cheatsheet with the search terms to find my favorite elements. Both are available in the free library and you can get access to it at the end of this post!

Add the meat of your content and finish off with a logo and disclaimer. I usually add something along the lines of “COPYRIGHT 2017 [YOURBLOGNAME] DO NOT COPY, SHARE, OR SELL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WWW.YOURBLOGNAME.COM”

All that’s left is adding them to your emails. I do this by adding the file to my wordpress media library and then grabbing the URL and linking to it in my email. The nice part is that it’s additional pageviews when they click it, the downside is that it takes up space on your server. You can also use programs like dropbox to host your printables on an outside service.

Bonus points if you repurpose these in your old (related) blog posts and create opt-in freebies.

Intimidated by the thought of creating an amazing printable for your audience? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered right here!

Increase click-through like a flippin’ pro

Training your audience to click is very important to monetizing your email list. Bloggers are tempted to sell printables as a way to make money but ironically, giving them away for free can result in so much more income.

You will be surprised that when you start giving WAY more than asking, you will actually start to see that click-through rate go up, up, up. (Kinda like mine did!)

So it’s your turn. Start by signing up for our free resource library by filling out the form below. Grab our free template of 5 headings and our design element cheatsheet. Then head over to canva and start designing. What is your next newsletter scheduled to be about? How can you make that more actionable for your audience?