• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, March 22, 2013

Open rates have always been a problem for marketers trying to get recipients to click the button. Timing and frequency matter. Ask Joe Mediate from Kookoo Bear. He'll tell you emails sent on Thursday or Friday perform better than Monday or the weekend. Thursday emails have an average 11.5% open rate; Fridays, 12.1%; and Mondays, 5%. Experian Marketing Services provides tips on how to get similar results.

Mother's Day in the U.S. falls on Sunday, May 12 this year, giving marketers an incentive to optimize search campaigns and emails filled with deals. Some 46% of email volume is sent within the week just prior to the holiday, resulting in online searches for the term “mother’s day gift” serving up the highest during that time. Campaigns sent in the two weeks before Mother’s Day receive 80% of the transactions and 75% of the revenue.

Optimize for mobile. Some 53% of mobile opens are read for more than 10 seconds, while another 20% are skimmed between two and 10 seconds. Bring real-time content into the emails.

Marketers have a short window to attract the consumers' attention, so there is a sense of urgency. Mother’s Day mailings with "last day" or "final hours" in the subject line typically have more than double the transaction rates of other Mother's Day mailings for April and early May.

Brands related to flowers, beauty products, home goods, cards and gift companies collectively outperform all other Mother's Day mailers -- as they have 34% of the volume, but received 49% of the transactions and 40% of the total revenue, according to Experian Marketing Services.

Personalized subject lines see a 54% increases in unique open rates compared to Mother's Day mailings without personalizing content and message. There is also a 66% increase in transaction rates for the same comparison. Compare that with 29% higher unique open rates and 41% higher unique clicks for personalized general emails.

Offers in subject lines see a 32% increase for transaction rates and a 15% increase in revenue per email versus Mother’s Day mailing offers in the subject lines. And free shipping or free gifts in subject lines see a 30% increase in transaction rates and a 25% increase in revenue per email compared to averages for all Mother’s Day mailings.

Especially during Mother's Day, campaigns with "treat yourself" in the subject line experience a 10% increase in unique open rates compared to averages for all Mother's Day mailings.

"Mom and happy kids photo from Shutterstock"