Why have my email open rates dropped suddenly after a redesign and what steps can I take to fix it?

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign Blog responds that a decrease in open rates after a redesign could be due to the new design being flagged as spam. Review the email's content and code for any potential triggers, and A/B test different elements to see what resonates best with your audience.

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog explains that a drop in open rates can be caused by changes in list hygiene (more inactive subscribers), shifts in audience interest, or deliverability problems. Redesigning emails might introduce code issues affecting how emails are received and displayed, potentially triggering spam filters.

Email marketer from Email on Acid explains the importance of email testing before sending. They share that using their testing tool is an essential step to confirm your HTML emails will render correctly across a wide variety of email clients and devices.

Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog shares that strategies to improve open rates include segmenting your email list, personalizing subject lines, and optimizing email preview text. If a redesign coincides with a drop, evaluate whether the new design is mobile-friendly and accessible.

Email marketer from ZeroBounce states that email list validation is a crucial component of email marketing. Ensuring list hygiene through validation prevents bounces and helps keep open rates up.

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that several factors can affect open rates, including subject line relevance, sender reputation, email timing, and list quality. A sudden drop after a redesign might indicate issues with how the new design renders across different email clients or a negative impact on sender reputation due to changes in email content.

Email marketer from Mailchimp Resources shares that inconsistent sending schedules, irrelevant content, and poor subject lines can negatively impact open rates. A redesigned email may inadvertently contain elements triggering spam filters, leading to lower inbox placement and fewer opens.

Email marketer from Marketing Discussions Forum suggests that if a redesign coincides with a sudden drop in open rates, test your email across various email clients and devices to ensure compatibility. Coding errors or broken layouts can deter recipients from opening the email.

Email marketer from Reddit states that a sudden drop often means you've triggered spam filters. Check your content against common spam triggers and ensure your IP address isn't blacklisted. Also, make sure your 'from' address isn't new or drastically changed.

Email marketer from Optinmonster says subject lines are the first thing subscribers see, which makes it important to write compelling ones. Share that you must test different options with A/B testing and write multiple options for each email.

Expert from Email Geeks suggests that Google might not be pre-fetching images for 'new' mail (change IP, change DKIM domain, etc.), which can lower open rates temporarily while filters adjust. She also notes the links aren't https:// and recommends fixing, suggesting this could cause images not to be fetched.

Expert from Email Geeks advises that there's no reason to stop sending emails, recommends to fix the List-Unsubscribe header and ensure links are https://.

Expert from Email Geeks suggests it could be a technical issue with the provider's event collector reading redirect calls, particularly if the reporting issue is across the board, recommend raising a ticket with the provider.

Expert from Spamresource.com shares that consistently monitoring and responding to feedback loops (FBLs) is essential for maintaining email deliverability and open rates. FBLs provide insights into recipient complaints and spam reports, allowing senders to promptly address issues, improve email practices, and protect their sender reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks recommends allowing a few weeks for everything to settle and the machine learning filters to catch up after fixing the https issues. She thinks that the lack of https:// links may have stopped pre-fetching, causing artificial depressed open rates.

Expert from Email Geeks recommends creating a new Google account and sending mail to it to check placement (inbox, promotions, or spam). She explains that inbox/promotions placement suggests good reputation and the issue might be image pre-fetching. She also recommends fixing the non-compliant List-Unsubscribe header, which should be https://.

Expert from Word to the Wise responds the subject line is your email's trailer. Is it exciting, intriguing, benefit-driven? A boring subject line equals zero opens. Also, avoid sounding generic. Use specific numbers, stats, or details. The more targeted you are, the better.

Expert from Email Geeks suggests sending two new emails to a Gmail account with + addressing (+noopen and +browser). The +noopen is a negative control and the +browser tag is for checking if mail opens are showing outside of Google by copying the open tracking link to the browser to test.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools shares that using Google Postmaster Tools to monitor sender reputation, spam rates, and feedback loop complaints is key to troubleshooting deliverability issues. Significant changes in these metrics after a redesign can point to specific problems.

Documentation from Validity (formerly Return Path) explains that sender reputation is crucial for email deliverability. Sudden changes in sending patterns or content can negatively affect reputation, leading to lower open rates. Monitor sender score and address any identified issues.

Documentation from RFC shares the importance of implementing a proper List-Unsubscribe header, to ensure compliance with email standards and to avoid spam filters. This is especailly important since Google and Yahoo have announced new requirements around spam thresholds and easy unsubscribe mechanisms.

Documentation from Litmus explains that email design should prioritize rendering consistency across various email clients and devices. Issues like broken images, incorrect formatting, and unresponsive layouts can deter recipients from opening and engaging with emails. A new design must be thoroughly tested.