Summary
Decreasing email open rates in Gmail, especially for new subscribers and welcome emails, arise from a complex interplay of factors. These include inbox placement challenges (landing in promotions or spam), sender reputation issues, and content relevance problems. Technical factors like email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and proper message formatting are vital for reaching the inbox. Subscriber engagement, clear value propositions, and well-maintained email lists play a crucial role. Furthermore, external elements like Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) skew open-rate metrics, requiring careful consideration when analyzing campaign performance. List fatigue, stale data, and failing to meet signup expectations also hurt engagement. Strategies involve warming up IP addresses, segmenting lists, providing immediate value in welcome emails, and closely monitoring sender reputation.
Key findings
- Authentication Matters: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for improving deliverability and reaching Gmail inboxes.
- Inbox Placement is Key: Emails landing in the Promotions tab or spam folder significantly reduce open rates, particularly for new subscribers.
- Sender Reputation Impacts Deliverability: Poor sender reputation, due to factors like spam complaints and lack of authentication, negatively impacts inbox placement.
- Content Relevance Drives Engagement: Irrelevant or promotional content, especially in welcome emails, leads to lower open rates and subscriber disengagement.
- List Quality Affects Performance: List fatigue, stale data, and unengaged subscribers significantly reduce overall open rates and campaign effectiveness.
- MPP Skews Metrics: Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates, making it challenging to accurately measure deliverability and engagement.
Key considerations
- Implement Authentication: Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify email authenticity and improve sender reputation.
- Optimize Inbox Placement: Structure email content and subject lines to avoid spam triggers and improve chances of landing in the primary inbox.
- Prioritize Subscriber Engagement: Provide immediate value and set clear expectations in welcome emails to engage new subscribers from the start.
- Maintain List Hygiene: Regularly clean email lists to remove unengaged subscribers and reduce spam complaints.
- Monitor Reputation Metrics: Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools to track sender reputation and identify deliverability issues.
- Warm up IP Addresses: Gradually increase sending volume to new IP addresses to establish a positive sender reputation.
- Segment email lists: Segment your email list to send relevant information for better engagement.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Email open rates in Gmail, especially for new subscribers and welcome emails, are declining due to a confluence of factors. Inbox placement issues, including emails landing in the promotions tab or spam folder, play a significant role. This can be exacerbated by poor sender reputation, lack of email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and low engagement with initial emails. Email content can also be a factor, with overly promotional language or irrelevant content contributing to lower open rates. Furthermore, Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) is skewing open rate metrics, making it harder to accurately assess deliverability. Other considerations include, subject line optimisation, list cleaning and relevant content.
Key opinions
- Inbox Placement: Welcome emails and emails to new subscribers frequently land in the promotions tab or spam folder, reducing visibility and open rates.
- Sender Reputation: Poor sender reputation, often due to lack of email authentication, spam complaints, or low engagement, can negatively impact deliverability to Gmail.
- Content Relevance: Irrelevant or overly promotional content in welcome emails can deter new subscribers from opening future emails.
- MPP Impact: Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates, making it more difficult to accurately gauge deliverability and engagement.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list is vital. Removing unengaged users leads to better open rates.
Key considerations
- Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication to improve sender reputation and deliverability.
- Welcome Series: Create a welcome series that provides valuable content and builds trust with new subscribers, rather than sending a single promotional email.
- Segmentation: Segment your email list and personalize content to ensure that emails are relevant to each subscriber's interests and preferences.
- IP Warm-up: Warm up new IP addresses gradually to establish a positive sending reputation with Gmail.
- Monitor Engagement: Actively monitor email engagement metrics (open rates, click-through rates) and remove inactive subscribers to maintain a healthy email list.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that they are seeing open rates of 1% for new to list email addresses, but 30% open rates for new to list names from January of this year.
12 Jun 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks asks if Klaviyo recently excluded Apple Mail Opens, which could explain the drop in open rates, especially with MPP. It could also explain why opens aren't passed back if opened on Apple Mail.
22 Jan 2025 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
Low email open rates in Gmail, especially for new subscribers and welcome emails, are often due to inbox placement issues and a lack of engagement. Emails may be directed to the spam folder due to the recipient not having marked the sender as a contact. Furthermore, list fatigue, stale data, and unmet expectations from the signup process contribute to reduced engagement. Acquiring engaged subscribers, authenticating emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and warming up dedicated IPs are crucial steps to improving deliverability and open rates.
Key opinions
- Inbox Placement: Emails are landing in the spam folder, unseen by recipients, particularly when the sender isn't marked as a contact.
- List Fatigue: Stale data and a lack of meeting subscriber expectations lead to disengagement and lower open rates.
- Acquisition Issues: Acquiring unengaged subscribers through unclear value propositions contributes to low open rates.
Key considerations
- Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve inbox placement and sender reputation.
- Engaged Acquisition: Focus on acquiring genuinely interested subscribers through transparent value propositions and confirmed opt-in processes.
- IP Warm-up: Warm up dedicated IPs to build a positive sending reputation before sending large email volumes.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource suggests inbox placement issues may affect open rates, which means emails may be going straight to the spam folder and not being seen by recipients. This is even more likely with welcome emails if a recipient has not marked you as a contact. Senders should authenticate their emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to help improve inbox placement, also use a dedicated IP if sending a lot of email and warm it up.
26 Apr 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that low engagement from new subscribers often stems from list fatigue, stale data, or not meeting expectations set during signup. She recommends focusing on acquiring engaged subscribers through clear value propositions and using confirmed opt-in.
7 Feb 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Decreasing email open rates in Gmail, particularly for new subscribers and welcome emails, stem from several technical and strategic factors. Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for establishing sender legitimacy and avoiding spam filters. Maintaining a low spam rate, providing easy unsubscribe options, and following best practices for message formatting and sending volume all contribute to positive sender reputation. Regularly monitoring sender reputation via tools like Postmaster Tools, segmenting email lists, warming up IP addresses, and removing unengaged subscribers are also crucial for optimizing deliverability. Correct email headers are crucial to ensuring the email is delivered and processed.
Key findings
- Authentication Required: Gmail requires SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication for proper delivery.
- Sender Reputation is Key: A positive sender reputation is critical to avoid spam filters and maintain deliverability.
- Hygiene Improves Results: List segmentation and removing unengaged subscribers improves open rates.
- Headers need to be right: Using the correct format for the 'From', 'To', 'Subject' and 'Date' headers can help ensure the email is successfully delivered
Key considerations
- Implement Authentication: Implement and properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify email legitimacy.
- Monitor Reputation: Utilize tools like Postmaster Tools to monitor sender reputation and identify deliverability issues.
- Practice List Hygiene: Regularly segment email lists and remove unengaged subscribers to maintain list quality.
- Warm up IPs: Warm up new IP addresses to establish a positive sending reputation gradually.
- Maintain sending cadence: Maintain consistent sending volume and cadence to improve sender reputation.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailjet shares tips for improving email deliverability to Gmail, including warming up your IP address, segmenting your email list, removing unengaged subscribers, and using a dedicated IP address. They also emphasize the importance of consistent sending volume and cadence.
7 Jun 2025 - Mailjet
Technical article
Documentation from Google Support explains that to ensure proper delivery to Gmail inboxes, senders must authenticate their email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. They must also keep spam rates low and make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe. Senders need to follow best practices for formatting messages, sending from consistent IPs, and monitoring their reputation via Postmaster Tools.
6 Nov 2021 - Google Support
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