Summary
Estimating real open rates with Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) requires a fundamental shift in how email engagement is measured. Since MPP inflates open rates due to image caching, relying solely on this metric is no longer reliable. The consensus across marketers, experts, and documentation is to prioritize alternative engagement metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), website visits, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value. Segmenting audiences by email client (Apple Mail vs. others) allows for more nuanced analysis. Improving email content, personalizing messaging, ensuring deliverability, and utilizing email intelligence tools are all vital strategies for understanding true audience engagement in the post-MPP landscape.
Key findings
- Inflated Open Rates: MPP significantly inflates open rates, making them an inaccurate reflection of actual engagement.
- Focus on Engagement: Click-through rates, website visits, conversions, and customer lifetime value provide more reliable insights.
- Segmentation is Key: Segmenting audiences based on email client (Apple Mail vs. others) enables better data analysis.
- Content Matters: High-quality, personalized content drives engagement and encourages clicks.
- Deliverability is Crucial: Maintaining a good sender reputation ensures emails reach the inbox.
Key considerations
- Adapt Measurement Strategies: Re-evaluate and adapt email marketing strategies to prioritize engagement over open rates.
- Understand Your Audience: Gather data and feedback to understand subscriber behavior and preferences.
- Optimize Email Content: Improve the quality, relevance, and personalization of email content.
- Utilize Advanced Tools: Explore and implement email intelligence tools to gain better insights into engagement.
- Prioritize Deliverability: Continuously monitor and improve email deliverability.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Estimating real open rates after Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) requires a shift in focus from relying solely on open rates to analyzing a broader range of engagement metrics. MPP inflates open rates by pre-loading images, making them less reliable. Experts recommend tracking trends over time, segmenting audiences, and concentrating on metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), website visits, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value. It's also crucial to improve email content, personalize messaging, and use email intelligence tools to gather engagement signals for a more accurate view of subscriber interaction. Ensuring deliverability through monitoring sender reputation and following email best practices remains vital.
Key opinions
- MPP Impact: Apple's Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates, making them an unreliable metric for measuring email engagement.
- Focus on Trends: Track open rate trends over time to understand how MPP affects your specific audience rather than focusing on absolute numbers.
- Alternative Metrics: Click-through rates (CTR), website visits, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value provide a more accurate picture of engagement.
- Segmentation Importance: Segmenting audiences by Apple Mail users vs. non-Apple Mail users allows for more granular analysis.
- Content Quality: High-quality, personalized content encourages engagement, driving clicks and conversions.
Key considerations
- Rethink Measurement: Re-evaluate how you measure email campaign success, prioritizing engagement metrics over open rates.
- Audience Understanding: Strive for deeper insights into your subscribers' behaviors and preferences through surveys and feedback forms.
- Deliverability Matters: Maintain good sender reputation and follow email best practices to ensure your messages reach the inbox.
- Engagement is Key: Concentrate on providing value to your subscribers and building strong relationships through personalized communication.
- Use of Email Intelligence: Investigate and implement email intelligence tools to improve insights into subscriber engagement.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that for customers showing 100% inbox placement, she typically expects to see between 60-70% open rates at iCloud.com, @me.com, and @mac.com counting MPP opens in that rate. For non-Apple owned domains, she expects to see around 25-30% open rates from senders seeing 100% inbox placement, though she often sees newsletters hit 40-50% if they are reliably getting into the Primary tab at Gmail. She’s also seen transactional sends around 60-90% open rates depending.
26 Nov 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Vero answers that MPP affects open rates, it's crucial to improve the quality and relevance of your email content and offers to drive engagement. Focus on providing value to your subscribers and creating personalized experiences that encourage them to click through to your website.
15 Nov 2024 - Vero
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Estimating real open rates in the era of Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) and image caching requires a shift in perspective. The consensus is that traditional open rates are no longer a reliable measure of campaign success. While comparing trends over time can offer high-level insights, focusing on engagement metrics such as clicks and conversions provides a more accurate assessment of audience interaction. The key is to adapt measurement strategies to account for MPP's impact and prioritize metrics that reflect genuine engagement.
Key opinions
- Open Rate Unreliability: Mail Privacy Protection significantly reduces the reliability of open rates as a primary metric.
- Trend Analysis: Open rate trends can provide a high-level overview but should not be the sole basis for evaluation.
- Engagement Metrics: Clicks, conversions, and other engagement metrics offer a more accurate reflection of campaign success.
Key considerations
- Shift Focus: Transition from relying on open rates to emphasizing engagement metrics for campaign assessment.
- Contextualize Data: Interpret open rate trends with caution, considering the influence of MPP and other image caching.
- Holistic Measurement: Employ a combination of engagement metrics to gain a comprehensive understanding of audience interaction.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that unless you have reason to believe your Apple audience responds far differently than your non-Apple audience, you might be able to get an estimate. However, Apple isn't the only one caching/prefetching images. Your open rate is only really useful as a high-level trending, like comparing similar sends to similar audiences on a monthly basis to see if they're going up or down.
18 Jul 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) effectively hides opens, and that while opens used to be a quick look at a campaign's success, they're no longer reliable. It is suggested to measure success based on clicks instead of opens.
2 Feb 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Documentation consistently advises against relying on open rates as a primary metric due to the impact of Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP). Instead, focusing on metrics like click-through rates (CTR), website traffic, and conversion rates is recommended for a more accurate understanding of audience engagement. Segmenting audiences by device and email client (particularly Apple Mail users vs. non-Apple Mail users) allows for comparative analysis. Personalization and valuable content are also highlighted as crucial for driving engagement.
Key findings
- Unreliable Open Rates: Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) diminishes the reliability of open rates as a performance metric.
- Alternative Metrics: Click-through rates (CTR), website traffic, and conversion rates are more reliable engagement indicators.
- Audience Segmentation: Segmenting audiences based on device and email client usage improves data analysis.
Key considerations
- Metric Shift: Shift focus from open rates to more dependable engagement metrics.
- Segmentation Strategy: Implement audience segmentation to compare behaviors of Apple Mail users vs. others.
- Personalization: Focus on personalizing email content to improve engagement and encourage clicks.
- Content Value: Provide valuable content to incentivize subscriber interaction.
Technical article
Documentation from Litmus explains that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) impacts the reliability of open rates as a metric. It suggests marketers should shift focus towards other engagement metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates, and website traffic. Segmenting audiences based on Apple Mail users vs. non-Apple Mail users can also provide insights.
18 Mar 2023 - Litmus
Technical article
Documentation from Oracle Bronto answers that to deal with the impact of MPP on open rates, it's important to segment your audience based on device and email client. Analyze click-through rates and website traffic to get a better understanding of engagement. Personalize your emails and focus on providing value to your subscribers.
9 Sep 2023 - Oracle Bronto
Do images in emails affect deliverability?
Do ISPs re-fetch email tracking images, and what causes delayed email opens?
How accurate is email client market share data when Apple Mail intentionally opens messages?
How do AI assistants and MPP impact email open rates, and what are better metrics to measure outbound campaign effectiveness?
How do Apple Mail user settings impact email deliverability and spam filtering?
How does Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) affect the tracking of email opens and clicks, and how are machine opens categorized?
