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Why do all-image emails have higher open rates and are open rates a reliable KPI?

Summary

The phenomenon of all-image emails seemingly achieving higher open rates than text-plus-image counterparts is a common observation in email marketing. While this might appear counterintuitive given conventional wisdom about accessibility and deliverability, the underlying reasons often relate to how open rates are tracked and the recipient's interaction with email clients. It raises a crucial question: are open rates truly a reliable indicator of email campaign performance or merely a vanity metric that can be easily skewed?

What email marketers say

Email marketers often debate the value and reliability of open rates. While some still view them as a key performance indicator, especially for subject line effectiveness, others acknowledge their limitations and advocate for a shift towards more tangible metrics like clicks and conversions. The higher open rates observed in all-image emails are particularly contentious, with many marketers suspecting a technical rather than engagement-driven cause.

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks indicates that they've observed higher open rates, specifically 10-15% higher, for all-image email versions compared to text-plus-image versions in their A/B testing. This finding is perplexing given that both versions appear nearly identical on desktop and mobile and receive similar spam scores from tools like Mail-Tester.com. The text-plus-image version is only slightly larger, by 13KB, which doesn't seem to account for such a significant difference in open rates. This discrepancy persists even after addressing potential spam trigger words, suggesting other factors are at play.

10 Sep 2019 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that marketers should investigate whether the observed difference in open rates is consistent across specific ISPs (Internet Service Providers). This granular analysis can reveal if certain providers' behaviors, such as automatic image pre-fetching, are contributing disproportionately to the higher open rates of all-image emails. Understanding ISP-specific data can help marketers identify if the higher open rates are genuine engagement or merely a technical artifact.

10 Sep 2019 - Email Geeks

What the experts say

Deliverability experts often provide a more critical view of open rates, particularly regarding all-image emails. They highlight the technical mechanisms behind open tracking, such as image loads and ISP pre-fetching, which can inflate reported figures without indicating genuine human engagement. For experts, true performance is measured by deeper interactions, making open rates more of a diagnostic tool than a standalone KPI.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks points out that a significant number of users have their email clients configured not to load images by default. When an email is designed as all image, recipients who want to read the content are effectively forced to enable image loading. This action, necessary to view the email, directly triggers the tracking pixel that registers an open. Consequently, the observed higher open rate is less about genuine user interest in the subject line and more about a forced interaction to access content.

10 Sep 2019 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks indicates that open rates do not measure actual email performance. The primary reason for this is that an open is simply an image load, not an active engagement with the content. Therefore, even if an all-image email shows a higher open rate, it doesn't necessarily mean it is better performing or more effective in achieving business goals. In fact, it could be a user-hostile approach that merely games the metric without delivering real value.

10 Sep 2019 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says

Official documentation and research into email metrics often clarify the technicalities of open rate tracking and its inherent limitations. They typically emphasize that an open is recorded when a tracking pixel loads, which can happen without direct user intent due to automatic image rendering or security scanning. This technical foundation suggests that while open rates offer some indication, they are not a definitive measure of user engagement or campaign success, especially with evolving privacy features.

Technical article

Documentation from Salesforce's blog highlights that email open rates can still be a valuable metric for marketers, especially when analyzed in aggregate over time. While acknowledging the individual inaccuracies due to factors like image pre-loading, they suggest that observing trends in open rates can provide insights into campaign performance. This perspective encourages marketers to use open rates as a comparative tool for understanding the effectiveness of subject lines and send times, rather than as a standalone absolute measure of engagement.

24 Apr 2024 - Salesforce Blog

Technical article

Mailchimp's resources often discuss the distinction between open rates and click-through rates (CTR) or click-to-open rates (CTOR). They imply that while an open indicates initial interest, a click signifies a deeper level of engagement and action from the recipient. Their guidance typically steers marketers towards optimizing for clicks and conversions as more reliable indicators of campaign success, moving beyond open rates as the sole measure of performance. This emphasizes that actual interaction with the email's content or calls to action is more critical than merely the act of opening.

10 Aug 2023 - Mailchimp Resources

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