May 22, 2025
The question every email marketer asks when they push the red hot send button is - does anyone really care? Does it matter? Will anyone even notice?
If you want to know, open rate is the metric to measure by. It helps to define who is getting your emails and who is engaged and responding.
Even though open rate is a base level metric every marketer should look at, privacy and Inbox provider regulations also turn it into a vanity metric. Measuring open rate alone or with weight is going to mislead the growth of your channel.
However, maintaining a set level with your open rate and reading into the results also directs engagement and growth of email health.
When someone opens an email, you can move forward with so much to talk about, to prove, to use to build trust. But if someone sees your email and doesn’t care, then you can’t show them what’s really inside.
Open rate is all about setting up the right hook - it grabs the attention of the audience and let’s them know they want to read more. Without having a subject line and preview text that makes someone want to open your email, you lose out on the possibility of getting the results you need.
There’s more that impacts the open rate outside of these base strategies. Inbox providers measure and determine where you are placed in the Inbox. That means if you don’t have enough engagement, you’re moving to a promotion folder or potentially into spam.
Focusing on deliverability to increase your open rate is a foundational tool you want in your tool kit to keep in front of your audience and to get engagement rates up.
Before you fall into the depths of creativity with open rates, make sure you are following these best practices. If not, you shall be banned by the Inbox providers.
1. Don’t use ALL CAPS. This is considered a spam hook and will move you out of Inboxes and into the spam bucket.
2. Stay away from $, %, or any other monetary promises. Inbox providers read these symbols and flag emails that have too many of these equations in their subject lines.
3. Beware of spam trigger subject lines. Just this once. One time only. Get it before it’s gone. All of these subject lines are designed to trigger the audience into urgency. While it psychologically works to build your audience, Inbox providers consider it spam and not a best practice for open rates.
4. Stay relevant and focused. If you have empty processes in your subject line just to get opens, then you’ll see the click through fall through the cracks. Open and click through should work proportionately to each other. As you measure open rate by itself, also measure the open to click ratio to make sure you’re getting the most of through each subject line.
Even though parameters are set by Inbox providers, the rest of the subject line world is an empty canvas waiting to be played with. The more creative you are with your subject lines, the more likely your audience will not only engage but will look forward to hearing more from you.
Break your subject lines down from a high level first, identifying types of content that your audience will engage in. This begins with the brand voicing that you want your audience to recognize and is furthered with the hooks that make your audience tick.
If you don’t remember anything about subject lines, remember this: The more you speak and relate to your audience, the more they will want to engage with you. The personal touch and the emphasis on communication is the key to getting results. Think audience first and you will find the answers to your subject lines.
Often, the dilemma with subject lines filters down to the easiest ways to grab attention. Emojis, exclamation marks, and other configurations in the subject line often dominate over triggers that can be used. Follow these general rules to round out your subject lines:
* Emojis work like a charm. But if you use them with every single send, your audience will disengage. Follow your subject line guidelines first and add in emojis when you have something you want to emphasize.
* Extra symbols. Exclamation marks, symbolic figures, and specific topics that don’t say words are also attention grabbers. However, if it detracts from your email, consider it unnecessary use of subject line space.
While open rates are one of the keys to getting responsiveness from your audience, also recognize how deep this goes with measurements. For best practices, compare the open to click through rate for consistency in audience engagement vs. using the open rate alone and as a vanity metric. With this measurement, expect it to be slightly lower than normal, specifically because of the inflated open rates.
* Open Rates and Privacy. Apple came out with regulations for open rates in 2021, deciding that users could add in a layer of iOS privacy. This means that open rates are measured as a “yes” whether your audience member opened or not. This block in tracking causes the open rate to be skewed, usually by being inflated at an average of 50% higher than other metrics.
* Recognized Reliability. Auto resends, opens that happen more than one time based on how Inbox’s are read, and other mechanics of Inboxes limit the reliability of opens. This will inflate the numbers of the open rate and lessen the reliability that is associated with each of the sends.
* Generic Read Outs. The difference of an open rate by 37% to 40% doesn’t matter. Instead, use the measurements as broad stroke changes. If your open rate trend remains the same, then consider you are reaching the audience as you should be. If you suddenly decline from 40% to 20%, then look at deliverability issues that are taking place. If your open rate is low (10% or less) and remains lower, than the audience is either not receiving or is disengaged with your email. Use these measurements in relationship to your ESP, as each measurement will take averages differently based on how they’re reading the privacy features in Inboxes.
Open rates aren’t just about an announcement. They are the first relationship builder with your audience. Give them a complete representation of who you are and what you want them to know. Your job with the subject line is to hook your audience into the brand and to entice their curiosity enough to where they engage. Using tonality, approach, and engagement tactics for your open rates will boost engagement and lead to higher revenue.
See all
© 2025 Structured. All Rights Reserved.
