Why has my email open rate decreased recently?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that low open rates could stem from deliverability issues, such as emails landing in the spam folder. They advise checking sender reputation, authenticating your email, and cleaning your email list.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that segmenting your email list allows you to send targeted messages to specific groups of subscribers, which can increase open rates and engagement. They recommend segmenting based on demographics, behaviors, and interests.
Email marketer from Email Geeks asks about the size of the drop and if there are patterns in the emails that are seeing the decrease in open rates such as same theme, repeated content, repeated subject line, and same day/time.
Email marketer from Email Geeks states that they are seeing the same overall drop, not ISP specific, with no change in audience or email content, meaning they are only targeting engaged users with messages that they came looking for.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that factors like poor subject lines, incorrect timing, and sending to unengaged subscribers can negatively impact open rates. They emphasize the importance of segmentation and personalization.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests that a possible reason for decreased open rates is that email providers are getting better at filtering out spam and unwanted emails. They recommend ensuring your sender reputation is good and that you are sending relevant content.
Email marketer from Neil Patel recommends personalizing subject lines and email content to improve open rates. He suggests using the recipient's name and tailoring the message to their interests and behaviors.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that the decrease in open rate could be due to increased competition for the inbox or an issue with the email content itself.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that improving email deliverability involves maintaining a clean email list, sending relevant content, and avoiding spam triggers. They recommend regularly removing unengaged subscribers and segmenting your audience.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that factors like sender reputation, email authentication, and list hygiene affect open rates. They recommend monitoring your sender score and implementing best practices for email deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests it could be a change in how open rates are calculated to improve quality.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that decreased open rates can be due to several factors, including poor list hygiene, irrelevant content, and deliverability issues. They recommend regularly cleaning your email list, segmenting your audience, and crafting engaging content.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that improving email engagement starts with providing value to your subscribers. They recommend creating compelling content that addresses their needs and interests and sending emails at the right time.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that the ESP may have rolled out filtering of non-human interaction image loads, reducing open metrics. They advise checking with the ESP about this.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) changes impact open rates, as all images are downloaded, inflating open rates regardless of user interaction. This makes traditional open rate metrics less reliable for engagement.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that lower open rates could be due to BIMI causing Apple Mail to load images automatically even when remote content loading is disabled, meaning the open may not indicate actual engagement. Suggests excluding Apple Mail users from tests.
Expert from Email Geeks advises to ask ESP if they are counting all image loads as opens or doing any filtering to remove non-human interactions. Also if they are, whether they've changed how they're doing that recently. They also provide a link for background information.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC explains that implementing SPF records in DNS is vital for email authentication to prevent spoofing and improve deliverability. The information explains the structure and purpose of SPF records, which help receiving mail servers verify that incoming mail from a domain is coming from an authorized source.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that using DKIM signatures can help ensure your email isn't marked as spam by verifying the email's authenticity, so the contents haven't been altered during transit.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that implementing DMARC helps protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks, which can improve your sender reputation and open rates. It enables you to specify how receiving mail servers should handle emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that adhering to Google's sender guidelines is crucial for ensuring email deliverability and maintaining good open rates. This includes authenticating your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Documentation from Mailchimp emphasizes that email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) is crucial for ensuring your emails are delivered to the inbox and not marked as spam. The information explains how to set up these authentication protocols for your domain.
Related resources0Resources
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