James Russell has been running his professional photography business, James Russell Photography, for the past seven years. Over those years, his portfolio has grown very diverse, ranging from business portraits to landscapes to product photos.

He’s won a number of awards for his work, too, from Advertising Photography of the Year to Second Prize in the BIPP/Towergate Camerasure Fine Art Competition.

That portfolio comes in handy every time James uses email marketing, because one of his photographs is at the core of every email he sends.

Here’s how:

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In September 2012, Rainbow International Restoration and Cleaning® franchises sent out over 20,000 emails to insurance agents across the country.

The emails got an average open rate of 37% and a clickthrough rate of 15%. Not bad, considering the average franchise open rate is 16.7%, with a clickthrough rate of 8.9%.

This is even more impressive considering that, as a restoration company, Rainbow International doesn’t work directly with customers. Instead, the franchisees work with referral sources like insurance agencies that are dealing with everything from fire damage to mold.

So what’s the secret to the open rates?

Across the board, the answer is engaging email content.

Here’s how they do it:

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