5 Factors Affecting Email Open Rates (Based on Research)

Over the past weeks, we noticed that our weekly emails have been performing below expectations. In our quest to do better, we decided to carry out extensive research to ascertain the causes of the poor performance.

Of course, when we complain of poor performance in email marketing, it boils down to one main thing- Low Open Rate.

This seems to be a major challenge for a lot of email marketers. You are left to wonder if the problem is with the email sent or the recipients of the mail.

Well, whatever the case may be, we can’t give a specific answer. However, we can only proffer solutions based on our research from testing the waters.

Having applied different strategies to improve our open rate, we came up with helpful tips we believe will be helpful to you too.

Before moving on to do that, for the benefit of those who may not have a clear understanding of what ‘Open Rate’ is all about, an email open rate shows you the number of subscribers (contacts on your email list) that open up a particular email you send.

To calculate your email open rate, simply divide the number of subscribers who opened your email by your total number of subscribers. Then multiply your answer by 100%.

Let’s assume that you have 37 subscribers on your mailing list. If you get 23 subscribers to open your emails, on average, your email open rate would be 62.2% which is fair enough but doesn’t call for relaxation.

You do not really need to stress yourself with the calculation. Most Email marketing platforms like ConvertKit do that automatically.

Your email open rate gives you an overview of how well your email marketing strategy is performing. Knowing this helps you to know if your emails are getting your subscriber’s attention. Where the open rate is low over a long period of time, it’s a red alert.

Over time, we have discovered some factors that constantly affect email open rates.

A number of factors can have a significant effect on the email open rate. Some of these factors are below:

1. Content of Email
On the list of important factors that may be affecting your open rate is the email content. Is it something your subscribers look forward to? As an email marketer, you need to understand to a large extent the kind of subscribers on your list in order to ascertain the possible contents to dish out.

If you understand this, you should tailor the content of your emails to educate, inform as well and entertain them. Sending quality content that resonates with your subscribers will increase your open rate and vice versa.

2. Wrong Target Audience
You’re probably wondering what this has got to do with the open rate. I will explain.

People do not get on email lists by magic. They got to subscribe from one means or the other. Whichever means they get to subscribe is very important because it determines the type of people on your list.

There is a probability that some of your subscribers are not the right target audience. Some may just get on your list for personal reasons and needs or maybe they were tricked into signing up. Where your content does not meet the expectations of your subscribers, chances are your emails won’t get opened by such subscribers.

People appreciate Information more when they can apply it in real-life situations.

So, it is important to target specifically the group of people who are interested in your niche and what it has to offer, or else you will struggle with a low open rate.

3. Time of The Day
This is still one factor a lot of email marketers and content creators find difficult to arrive at a standard conclusion.

The common question has become “When is the right time to send out emails?” The truth is, there’s no perfect time. Some people prefer to read emails first thing in the morning, afternoon, or late at night. Human behaviors differ so picking a specific time to send out emails may be difficult.

However, as for the days to send out emails, research has shown that Tuesdays and Thursdays are best, unlike Mondays and Weekends when people are busy with work or relaxing with loved ones.

So, try sending your emails at different times and days, track the record for the different times, find which time works best, and stick to just that.

4. Unopened Emails
Sometimes, when your subscribers already have many emails to attend to, yours may be lost in the crowd. This has nothing to do with the subject line. They didn’t just notice your mail. Sometimes, this is why you have a low open rate.

In the course of our research, we discovered that one way to fix this is by simply resending these emails to those categories of subscribers who didn’t get to open the email. Be careful so you do resend to those who have already opened the mail as it may trigger a subscriber to hit the ‘unsubscribe’ option.

5. Subject Lines
This seems to be a major challenging factor, hence the decision to have it come last. There is no doubt that the subject line is a major determinant of the open rate since it’s the first thing your subscribers will see even before clicking to open the mail. A subject line can be likened to the container with the content.

In other words, your subject line is your only chance to grab the attention of your subscribers.

Therefore, ensure your subject line is properly crafted. To come up with a great subject line, we have some helpful tips that we have tried and found to work. Here are the easy tips for crafting a subject line that will increase your open rate:

- Use Personalization On Subject Line
As time goes by, the generic methods of sending mail have phased out. Before now, it was normal to have “Hello, esteemed/ valued subscriber” in the subject line. This pattern is so 2001. That has been replaced with personalization.

Ever received mail that carried your first name? For example “Hi Felix.” Sometimes, Readers are stunned to see their names being mentioned. Well, that is a strategy to get the attention of the reader. A personalized subject line gives the reader a totally different feeling and helps you build a sort of personal relationship with your subscribers as compared to the old-fashioned “Hi subscriber.”

This in turn increases their level of trust in your brand. We are not preachers alone but also doers of what we preach. In other words, we practice what we preach. So, take a look at one of our results from using a ‘personalized subject line.’

- Subject Line With Triggers
Triggers can be any word that will generate any of the following:
Curiosity
Sense of urgency, etc

Humans are curious about nature. When your subject line stirs curiosity, it will get them inquisitive and eager to open the mail to satisfy their curiosity. Keeping your subscribers curious is an excellent way to increase your email open rate.

The same thing happens when your subject line makes your subscriber feel like there’s something to lose for not opening the mail immediately. Once your subject line strikes a chord of urgency, they are most likely to open.

However, there is a downside to this. Do not deceive your subscribers with such subject lines. Let your subject line meet up to their expectation, else, they may feel “played” which may likely prompt some subscribers to hit “unsubscribe.” You wouldn’t want that.

Also, be mindful of the words you use in creating a sense of urgency to avoid having them flagged as ‘spam.’ Such words include the following:

Buy Now!
Order Now!
Free, etc.

- Humorous Subject Lines
Oftentimes, email marketers get it wrong by thinking it has to be all about business and serious content. The world is full of frustrating situations already. So, why not get your readers to feel relaxed with a bit of humour?

Humorous subject lines will catch a reader’s attention, stir a smile, and eventually get them to open your mail. Your subscribers naturally are interested in knowing what happens in your personal space. You can spice up your serious emails with a bit of personal ‘gist.’ Try this and thank me later.

- Use ‘Trends’ As Subject Lines
People follow trends and would love to know your views about such trends especially when a public figure is involved.
Subject Lines bearing ‘trends’ trigger curiosity and get opened easily.

See this

- Use Title Case And Emoji On the Subject Line
A Subject can be written in capital letters, small letters, or title cases. A subject line where the first letter of every word is in capital letters is a title case.

For example, this Is Why I Lost My First Contract.

Using capital letters all through the subject line is not advisable.

On the other hand, the use of emojis has been discovered to increase email open rates. Honestly, we do not have a clear reason for that. Maybe there are some sort of emotional and psychological effects emojis have on humans. Whatever the case may be, we tried it out a number of times and it actually worked too.

- AB Testing for Subject Lines
AB test gives you the opportunity to try out your email performance using two subject lines for a particular email.

If you have ever drafted out different subject lines, and you’re left at a crossroads and wondering which subject line would get you the most open rate from your readers? Save yourself the headache by using an A/B test. The email will be sent with different subject lines based on the tracked behaviour of each subscriber.

Apart from subject lines, you can also test other elements on your emails like the CTAs and images.

The use of images depends on the email marketing platform you’re using. In the case of CTA’s, you can switch between the use of buttons and hyperlinked texts.

Discover which approach appeals better to your subscribers and stick to it in order to boost your email open rate.

Bottom line
Getting a high open rate may appear so daunting especially when you have put in your very best. There is a saying that “how far you can go depends on the information you have.” The question is, have you really done your best?

Having taken the time to read this article, what are the tips you haven’t applied?

Go back to your drawing board and tweak your strategy. Remember, we practice what we preach and these tips have been tested.

Again, to increase your email open rate, apply the following tips:

Create quality content that is relevant to your audience.

Send your email at a specific day and time that you have discovered to work best for your subscribers.

Use personalized subject lines.
Also, your subject line should be catchy. Title case subject lines with emojis are advisable. The subject line is the major determinant of your open rate. It should be brief but should also capture as much information about the content of your email as possible.

Resend unopened emails

Use AB Testing.

Are you having issues getting an encouraging email open rate? Try these tips.

PS: We all win when you share this content with friends and colleagues! 🏆

• Felix from the 360VA Team