Email Best Practices

APS sends out about 62 unit emails per month to 46 APS Units. On average, 39% of the recipients will read the email and 4% will click on the email (this is much higher than the industry average of 25.2% open and 2.8% click). 1.5 members will unsubscribe from every unit’s email each month.

The average unit sends out two emails per month. Some units send as many as 11 emails per month!

Email Standards

All of our messages conform with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and always include:

  • Accurate from name and subject line
  • Unsubscribe link
  • APS’s physical address

If you, or any of your unit’s members, are having trouble receiving unit emails, please contact the Email Marketing Manager Ryan Kneapler at kneapler@aps.org.

Sample Emails

Sample email from DGRAV unit

Sample email from GPMFC unit

Sample Email Newsletters

Sample email newsletter from FHP unit

Sample email newsletter from DLS unit

Email Analytics

We are happy to provide analytics for specific emails. Email communications@aps.org and let us know what email you’d like to learn more about.

Analytics Available

  • Total Sends
  • Open Rate
  • Click Rate
  • Bounced (rejected emails)
  • Unsubscribes
  • SPAM reports

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I send emails?
That depends on your unit. Some units send one a month, while others send three a week. Ask your members what they prefer, or contact us for assistance. The Email Marketing Manager (kneapler@aps.org) can look at past data and make a recommendation.

Some unit members aren’t getting our messages. Why?
There are a few reasons:

  • Unit messages are turned off on their APS profile. To fix, they can update their member profile.
  • They unsubscribed from a unit email by using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. To fix, email communications@aps.org.
  • Emails are going to their junk mail/promotions folder (Gmail). To fix, whitelist APS emails, mark them as “Not Spam” or drag the email to your inbox.

Our emails aren’t SPAM, why are they being marked as SPAM?
Most email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail), automatically determine what looks like SPAM or unwanted information. The client either rejects the email completely or moves it to the spam folder. APS takes a number of steps to make sure our emails aren’t marked as SPAM, but some still get marked as such.

Can I attach a file in my email?
No, but we can upload and link to the file. This is an email best practice as it lowers the odds of being caught in a SPAM filter and improves deliverability. This will be done automatically, so there is nothing you need to do when requesting your email.

General Best Practices

  • Pictures are great! Include any pictures or logos that you would like included in your message.
  • Don’t use a salutation (Dear / Attention / Hi unit members) at the beginning of the email — jump straight to the details.

Tips to Improve Open Rate

  • Make the subject line short, but specific to the email: APS Prize Deadline this Friday; ABC Conference — June 23; Polymer Research Paper. Emails with short subject lines (28 characters or less) do significantly better.
  • Avoid SPAM trigger words in your subject line, such as: “FREE”, “Win”, and exclamation points (!).
  • Don’t send the same email twice. When sending a reminder email, include the words “Reminder” in the subject line and change the copy a little bit.

Tips to Improve Click Rate

  • Don’t make the email too long. Link to large information on a website.
  • Utilize your website! Link to your APS website from emails to provide more detailed information.
  • Use a button (just mention it in your request). Buttons can improve clicks by 28%. However, we don't recommend using more than two buttons.
  • Have a clear call to action (CTA). It should be easy to tell just by glancing at the email where the reader is supposed to go.

Tips to Reduce Unsubscribes

  • Don’t send too many emails back to back. Consider merging messages into one email, or start a monthly newsletter.
  • Confirm with your members that you are sending information they want to receive emails about.

Want more tips? Email communications@aps.org and we’re happy to help.