Why Are My Email Open Rates So Low?

The average open rate for emails across all industries is 18%. If your email open rates aren’t meeting your expectations, it’s okay. You can improve email open rates with a few small changes to your campaigns.

Here are the 10 tips you need to succeed! With these 10 tips, you can determine why your open rates are so low. Then, you can make adjustments to encourage people to open and read your emails!

Improving your open rate can encourage consumers to read through your content. Then, you can use a compelling call-to-action (CTA) to drive them to take action. Your conversion rate and ROI could improve as a result.

Ready to generate more success with your email campaigns this year? Learn how to improve email open rates with these 10 easy tips today!

1. Improve Your Subject Lines

What’s the first thing a reader sees when they receive your marketing emails? If your subject line isn’t eye-catching and intriguing, they’ll send it straight to the trash bin. In fact, an email that looks like spam could hurt your entire campaign.

If too many people hit the “Spam” button, your email provider will take notice. You could get blacklisted as a result.

If people are trashing your emails based on your subject line alone, your open rates will drop. Instead, you can improve email open rates by improving your subject lines.

First, make sure each email in your campaign has a dedicated purpose. What action do you want readers to fulfill? What will they find within the email?

Having a single focus for each email will keep you and your readers focused. Otherwise, you might confuse them with too many messages at once.

Once you determine the email’s purpose, consider what action you want readers to take. Then, create a compelling CTA for your email subject line. Keep it short and concise.

Try to add a sense of urgency within your subject lines. For example, you can add a daily countdown to your emails. Otherwise, encourage readers to “Act Now!”

To write strong email subject lines and boost your email open rates:

Start with an action-oriented verb
Create a sense of importance
Use numbers
Don’t make false promises
Tease what’s inside the email
Use personalization tokens
Use a familiar sender name
Segment your lists
Time it right
Use concise language
Ask questions

Don’t forget to check your spelling and grammar. You don’t want to seem unprofessional or spammy.

Add engaging preview text to your subject lines, too. You can use preview text to create a secondary CTA. Preview text will give readers an extra hint as to what’s inside your email.

As you start writing new subject lines, A/B test them! See what works for your target audience. Then, keep optimizing.

2. Keep It Short and Sweet

As you start writing your subject lines, make sure they’re short and to the point. Think about your mobile audience. How will the email appear on their smaller screens?

You don’t want to write a subject line that will get cut off. Instead, keep it brief.

A brief subject line and preview can spark intrigue.

Try to use fewer than 50 characters. Short subject lines are easier for readers to scan. They can determine if there’s value in opening your email at a glance.

3. Avoid Buzzwords

The words you use can cause low email open rates, too. You don’t want people to confuse your emails with spam. Try to avoid buzzwords that could scare off subscribers.

For example, try avoiding words that seem:

Manipulative
Cheap
Sleazy or pushy
Needy
Far-fetched/exaggerated claims
Shady or unethical

Avoid adding a negative connotation to your subject lines, too. You don’t want to come off as aggressive in your emails.

In fact, some keywords can trigger spam alerts. It’s possible you have low email open rates because your emails never reach an inbox. Avoid words like:

Attention
Re
FWD
100% Free
Money
F r e e
Cash
Cheap
Compare rates
Bargain
Big Bucks
Pure profit
Save $
Save big money
Discount
Affordable
Why pay more?
$$$
!!!

Using “Re:” or “Fwd:” could make your emails sound deceptive. Instead, remain honest with your readers.

4. Segment Your Email Lists

Are you targeting a broad audience of customers? Your customers differ based on:

Language
Location
Age
Gender
Education
Household income
Buying behaviors
Pain points
Interests/hobbies

If you’re not segmenting your email lists, you’re failing to create emails that will appeal to your readers. Segmenting your lists will help you create personalized content. Then, you’ll have an easier time connecting with readers on an emotional level.

About 51% of email marketers say list segmentation is the most effective way to personalize lead nurturing.

Once you segment your lists, you’ll have an easier time personalizing your emails.

5. Keep It Personal

Most marketers personalize emails with personalization tokens. These tokens can add the recipient’s name or location to your subject lines. Don’t go overboard with tokens, though.

Instead, find other ways to personalize your emails.

For example, start using “your” and “you” in your subject lines and email content. “You” will make it sound like you’re addressing the reader directly.

Find ways to make your readers feel special, too. For example, you can say:

“You’re invited”
“Just for you”
“My gift to you”
“For our valued customer”

You can also personalize your emails with dynamic content. Dynamic content displays based on the subscriber’s behaviors and interests. For example, maybe someone abandoned their cart on your website.

You can send an email reminding them they abandoned their cart with an image of the products they left behind.

You can use the subject line “You forgot something…” to boost your email open rates.

6. Add Incentives and Urgency

Adding incentives to your emails can spark the reader’s intrigue. Focus on the value you’re offering them. Why should they open your email?

Incentive emails can help you acquire new customers. It can help you retain loyal customers and boost impulse purchases, too.

Consider offering exclusive discount codes and offers. You can send these emails when someone leaves your website without converting. These emails are great for abandoned carts, too!

Consider sending incentive emails on customer anniversaries, too. Use “thank you” in the subject line to show your gratitude. Then, let the reader know you have a gift for them.

In the meantime, try to avoid heavy promotional language. Otherwise, readers could unsubscribe.

Try adding a sense of urgency to your emails, too. You can leverage the fear of missing out to drive an immediate reaction.

You can use words like “first come, first serve,” or “this weekend only.” Otherwise, consider adding a countdown timer within your emails.

7. Know When to Send

Consider when you’re sending your emails. According to research, Tuesday has the highest open rates among all days of the week. The best time for opens is between 10 and 11 am.

The wrong timing could cause low email open rates. People are less likely to open your emails during business hours. After work, it’s possible they’re too tired to check their emails.

Every industry has a different sweet spot. You might need to use A/B testing to determine the right time to send emails to your audience.

It’s not enough to consider the timing, though. You need to think about how often you send your emails, too.

About 57% of email addresses are abandoned because users receive too many marketing emails.

Try to avoid sending emails every day. Otherwise, subscribers will start automatically deleting your messages. Instead, space your emails out.

When someone subscribes to your email list, give them the option to decide how often they want to receive emails. That way, you can meet the reader’s expectations and reach out.

8. Improve Your Content

Were your email open rates great in the past? Have they recently started dropping? It’s possible people are disappointed in your content.

If your past email content didn’t wow readers, they might decide not to open your emails in the future.

Look for ways to improve your content. For example, you can start adding dynamic content to your emails. Make sure your content is branded and offers value to the reader, too.

9. Clean Your List

How old is your email subscription list? It’s likely full of outdated or inactive emails. If you have low email open rates, clean your list!

You can weed out inactive recipients and discover how to improve email open rates with ease!

Avoid purchasing email lists. If someone didn’t give you their authorization, they likely don’t want emails from you. They could hit the spam button, which will hurt your open rate.

Some purchased lists are full of inactive users, too.

10. Keep A/B Testing

As you use these tips, make sure to A/B test your campaigns. Which subject lines are boosting your open rates? Which CTAs are encouraging clicks?

A/B testing will help you make more informed decisions regarding your campaigns in the future.

Email Open Rates: 10 Tips for Reaching an All-Time High

Ready to boost your email open rates? Give these 10 tips a try. With these 10 tips, you can determine why you have low email open rates.

Then, you can make a change to your campaigns and start boosting engagement.

Need help with your emails? We’re happy to lend a hand.

Explore our pricing today to get started.