{"id":8121,"date":"2022-05-02T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailsnap.ai\/?p=8121"},"modified":"2022-04-26T15:01:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T14:01:15","slug":"what-should-your-average-email-open-rate-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailsnap.ai\/en\/best-practice\/what-should-your-average-email-open-rate-be","title":{"rendered":"What Should your Average Email Open Rate Be?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What’s a good open rate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sigh. While I’d love to be able to throw out a single percentage that rings true across the board \u2013 15%, 25%, etc. \u2013 open rates are a bit more complicated than that. In fact, there is an endless number of variables to consider when evaluating whether you’ve achieved a “good” open rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s break it down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all, what counts as an open?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To understand what’s included in your open rate, it helps to know how tracking works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"To<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So here goes: The HTML version of your email includes images, like your logo, that display when the recipient opens the email. When you send through an ESP like Emma<\/a>, there’s also an invisible image in the HTML mailing that doesn’t display but that gets ‘called’ just like the real images. A recipient opens your email, and the mailing calls our server to request the images. Our server delivers the image and counts the email as having been opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most ESPs can also track opens for anyone who receives the plaintext version of your mailing and visits at least one of the links you’ve included in the email. (Remember that we automatically deliver the HTML version whenever we can, but we have a plaintext version ready in case someone’s email client isn’t set up to receive HTML.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in short, two actions…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Viewing the images in your email, or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Clicking through <\/a>to your website using one of your mailing’s links<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… are trackable as opens. However, when it comes to your brand’s actual open rates, they’ll vary wildly based on a ton of factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should your average email open rate be?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since every business (and email marketing campaign) is different, it\u2019s pointless to compete when it comes to average email open rates. Yes, even with other businesses in the same niche. One of the biggest reasons for this is that open rates are determined by your audience \u2013 and people are never the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is good to have a ballpark figure that you can work with when determining your average email open rate. According to Campaign Monitor,<\/a> a healthy email open rate can be anything from 20% – 40% (or higher). As you start your email marketing campaigns, your only competition is your previous campaign. In other words, always focus on beating your previous email open rate \u2013 not your competitor\u2019s.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To set realistic benchmarks for your own average email open rate, you\u2019ll have to take several factors into consideration. Let\u2019s take a look at the 7 most important ones, shall we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factors that can influence open rates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. What industry are you in?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is often where marketers look first to determine whether or not their email open rates are on the right track: industry benchmarks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On some level, it makes sense. Someone who sends internal communications (aka, emails people must open to keep their jobs) will probably get higher open rates than someone sending sales promos for their online store. Big-name publishers sending breaking news will probably get higher open rates than B2B companies pushing demos for high-dollar enterprise software. And so on, and so forth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will say this, though: Industry benchmarks MUST be taken with a grain of salt. There are a ton of variables that impact open rates beyond industry, like… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Did you use your typical sender name?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your recipients will choose to open your email, mark it as spam, or send it to the trash bin based on three things: your subject line, your preheader text (if it’s displayed in the email client<\/a> they’re using), and your sender name. Deviating from your typical sender name \u2013 by using the name of a person at your organization instead of your brand name, for instance \u2013 can boost or destroy your open rates depending on how recognizable that name is to your subscribers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What was your subject line?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Similar to the sender name, your subject line<\/a> can make or break your open rates. Just consider these stats… <\/p>\n\n\n\n