How do I explain poor email performance despite a good open rate?

Summary

A high email open rate with poor performance (low clicks, conversions) suggests several interconnected issues. Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates, making them unreliable. Therefore, marketers must shift focus from open rates to metrics like CTR, conversions, and ROI to accurately gauge campaign success. The content's relevance, value, and alignment with subject line expectations are crucial. Poor design and user experience contribute to low engagement. Targeting the right audience and setting clear campaign goals are essential. Effective strategies involve A/B testing, audience segmentation, personalization, and strong calls to action.

Key findings

  • MPP Skew: Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates, distorting performance metrics.
  • Beyond Vanity Metrics: Focus on meaningful metrics: CTR, conversions, ROI, not just open rates.
  • Content-Expectation Mismatch: Subject line lures opens, but content fails to deliver, leading to low clicks.
  • Relevance and Value Deficit: Content isn't valuable or relevant to the audience, resulting in low engagement.
  • Poor User Experience: Difficult navigation and unappealing design hinder engagement.
  • Audience-Content Mismatch: Sending to the wrong audience leads to poor engagement.
  • Weak CTAs: Unclear or uncompelling calls to action reduce click-throughs.

Key considerations

  • Recalibrate Metrics: Prioritize performance metrics beyond open rates.
  • Enhance Content: Create relevant, engaging, and valuable content aligned with audience expectations.
  • Optimize User Experience: Improve email design for easy navigation and visual appeal.
  • Refine Targeting: Segment audience and tailor content to their interests and needs.
  • Strengthen CTAs: Use clear, compelling calls to action to drive clicks and conversions.
  • A/B Test Continuously: Experiment with subject lines, content, and design to optimize results.
  • Define Campaign Goals: Establish clear, measurable campaign objectives to evaluate success beyond open rates.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

A high email open rate coupled with low engagement (clicks, conversions) suggests several potential issues. Mail Privacy Protection may inflate open rates, skewing true engagement metrics. Beyond open rates, marketers should focus on metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rates, and ROI to gauge campaign success. Content relevance is crucial; the email body must deliver on the promise of the subject line and provide value to the recipient. Design and user experience play a significant role; emails should be easy to navigate and visually appealing. Lastly, aligning campaigns with specific goals, segmenting audiences, and testing various CTAs can optimize email performance.

Key opinions

  • MPP Impact: Mail Privacy Protection can significantly inflate open rates, making them unreliable as a sole measure of success.
  • Vanity Metric Trap: Focusing solely on open rates is misleading; prioritize metrics aligned with business goals, such as CTR, conversions, and ROI.
  • Content Disconnect: A mismatch between subject line and email content can lead to high opens but low clicks. Ensure content aligns with user expectations.
  • Relevance is Key: Irrelevant or unengaging content fails to resonate, resulting in low CTR. Personalize and segment to deliver valuable content.
  • Design Matters: Poor design and user experience can hinder engagement. Optimize email layout and navigation for better results.

Key considerations

  • Refine Measurement: Move beyond open rates and track meaningful metrics that reflect business outcomes.
  • Improve Content: Craft compelling and relevant content that caters to the audience's interests and needs.
  • Optimize Design: Ensure emails are visually appealing, easy to read, and simple to navigate on all devices.
  • Segment Audience: Divide your audience into smaller groups based on demographics, behavior, and preferences to deliver targeted content.
  • Test and Iterate: Experiment with different subject lines, content, and CTAs to identify what resonates best with your audience and continuously improve campaign performance.
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that a low click rate, in relation to the open rate, can indicate that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection has skewed the data significantly and to look for a clear CTA.

October 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign states that if you have a good open rate and a bad click rate it may be due to the email being bad to view, and difficult to navigate. They suggest testing different designs.

June 2024 - ActiveCampaign
Marketer view

Email marketer from SuperOffice shares that a good open rate but a bad click rate means that the people who opened the emails may have been mislead by the subject title, meaning the content of the email was not what they thought, so they did not click anything. Make sure what the email says matches the expectation.

May 2023 - SuperOffice
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel shares that to increase click-through rates, you need to make sure your emails are relevant and valuable to your subscribers. He suggests segmenting your list, personalizing your messages, and testing different calls-to-action to see what works best.

November 2024 - Neil Patel
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog explains that while open rates are a starting point, focusing on click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and overall ROI provides a more accurate picture of email campaign performance. A good open rate with low CTR suggests the content isn't resonating with the audience.

April 2021 - HubSpot Blog
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that if a high percentage (50-90%) of opens are attributed to Mail Privacy Protection, the "true" open rate is likely much lower.

September 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus shares that marketers need to move beyond vanity metrics like open rates and instead focus on more meaningful metrics like conversion rates, revenue, and customer lifetime value. A high open rate doesn't necessarily equate to success if it's not driving business results.

April 2021 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit says that high open rates but low click through rates can mean that your subject lines are good at getting attention, but the body of the email isn't interesting to your users, therefore, experiment with design.

July 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks recommends determining the goals of each campaign to avoid getting caught up in vanity metrics, and using the goals of the campaign to determine how to measure success.

March 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from LinkedIn explains that if your open rates are good and your click through rates are not, then you need to improve the content of the email, which should be more engaging to the target audience.

October 2023 - LinkedIn

What the experts say
2Expert opinions

Experts emphasize that simply being in the inbox is valuable for brand recall, but direct metrics are more important. Content needs to be engaging, targeted, and drive action, mitigating the cost of losing subscribers due to opt-outs when performance is poor despite high open rates.

Key opinions

  • Inbox Presence Matters: Merely being in the inbox has value for reminding people of your brand.
  • Direct Metrics are Crucial: Focus on actionable metrics over vanity metrics like open rates.
  • Compelling Content Required: Content must be engaging and drive a specific action from a target market.
  • Opt-out Cost: Poor email performance can lead to opt-outs, creating a cost that needs to be considered.

Key considerations

  • Prioritize Actionable Data: Track and act upon direct metrics like click-through rates and conversions.
  • Target Content Effectively: Develop content specific to your target audience to engage them and drive desired actions.
  • Evaluate Opt-out Impact: Assess the potential long-term cost of losing subscribers due to unengaging email campaigns.
  • Balance Brand Awareness with Action: While visibility matters, ensure emails provide value and a clear call to action.
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Belgray, responds that despite the importance of high open rates, it is more important to include information that is not bland, and is something that will have a call to action for a specific target market. The content should have a compelling effect.

June 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains the importance of being in the inbox and reminding people you exist, but emphasizes the importance of direct metrics. He suggests presenting the data as a funnel and highlighting the cost of losing contacts due to opt-outs compared to the desired actions achieved.

May 2023 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Documentation suggests that a high open rate coupled with a low click-through rate points to issues with email content, call-to-action, or audience targeting. Solutions involve A/B testing content, segmenting audiences for personalized messaging, and ensuring the offers are compelling and relevant to the subscribers.

Key findings

  • Content Issues: High open rates and low click rates often indicate that the email content is not engaging enough for the audience.
  • CTA Problems: Weak or unclear calls-to-action can contribute to low engagement, even with high open rates.
  • Audience Mismatch: Sending emails to an inappropriate audience can lead to poor engagement, despite the potential for opens.

Key considerations

  • A/B Testing: Employ A/B testing to experiment with different subject lines and content to determine what resonates best with your audience.
  • Audience Segmentation: Segment your audience to deliver more personalized and relevant content, improving engagement and results.
  • Compelling Offers: Craft offers and content that are genuinely valuable and encourage subscribers to take action.
  • Targeted Sending: Ensure that your emails are being sent to the appropriate audience based on their interests and needs.
Technical article

Documentation from Oracle suggests that you need to improve the engagement rate by sending to a more appropriate audience that the content is targeted at.

April 2021 - Oracle
Technical article

Documentation from Sendinblue explains that if your open rates are high but your click-through rates are low, this could be a sign that your email content isn't engaging enough. They recommend segmenting your audience to deliver more personalized and relevant content, which can increase engagement and drive better results.

July 2023 - Sendinblue
Technical article

Documentation from Campaign Monitor explains that low click-through rates despite high open rates can suggest that your content is not resonating with subscribers. Focus on creating compelling content and offers that will encourage your subscribers to click.

November 2021 - Campaign Monitor
Technical article

Documentation from Mailchimp explains that high open rates and low click rates could indicate a problem with the content or call-to-action of your email. It suggests A/B testing different subject lines and content to see what resonates better with your audience to drive more clicks and conversions.

December 2021 - Mailchimp