Why do email open rates vary for specific languages and countries?

Key findings

• Cultural differences: The content and tone of email messages, including subject lines, may resonate differently with various cultural groups. What is engaging in one culture might be considered irrelevant or even insulting in another. This extends beyond literal translation to contextual and social norms.
• Subject line relevance: A direct translation of a subject line may not convey the same urgency, value, or appeal in another language, impacting the initial decision to open the email. Effective localization goes beyond mere translation to include transcreation.
• Image loading habits: There can be regional or cultural differences in whether users automatically load images in emails. Since open rates are often tracked via image pixels, a widespread practice of not loading images in certain countries could artificially depress reported open rates, even if recipients are seeing the text content. We discuss the nuances of open rate accuracy and Gmail image caching here.
• Local internet conditions: Internet speeds, data costs, and prevalent email clients or devices in different regions can affect how quickly or reliably emails load, potentially influencing user engagement and perceived open rates.
• Regional engagement norms: General email usage patterns, attitudes toward marketing emails, and spam perception can vary significantly by country. What is considered a good open rate in one region might be considered low in another. You can learn more about general open rate benchmarks here.

Key considerations

• Localization over translation: Focus on localizing your entire email strategy, not just translating text. This includes adapting imagery, offers, calls to action, and even email sending times to fit local preferences and cultural contexts.
• Audience segmentation: Segment your audience not just by language, but also by country or region to account for distinct cultural and behavioral patterns. This allows for more targeted content and subject lines.
• Testing localized content: Routinely test different subject lines and email content variations within specific language and country segments to identify what resonates best. A/B testing can be invaluable here.
• Holistic engagement metrics: While open rates are a common metric, consider supplementing them with click-through rates, conversion rates, and overall engagement to get a more complete picture of campaign performance, especially when image loading might be a factor. For more details, Mailjet offers insights into global email strategy here.

Key opinions

• Content relevance is key: Marketers note that content, including subject lines, must resonate culturally and be highly relevant to the specific audience, or engagement will suffer, regardless of delivery rates.
• Translation vs. transcreation: A common challenge is ensuring that messaging isn't just literally translated but adapted ('transcreated') to fit cultural nuances, idioms, and emotional context. This affects how the message is received and whether it prompts an open.
• Impact of local events: Current events or local challenges in a country can significantly influence audience receptiveness to emails, potentially leading to lower open rates for specific campaigns.
• Image loading practices: Some speculate that cultural differences in how images are loaded (or not loaded) by default in email clients could impact reported open rates, which are often tracked via invisible pixels. This is a factor in understanding open rate reliability.
• Engagement benchmarks vary: Marketers acknowledge that what constitutes a 'good' open rate can differ dramatically between countries and industries, making direct comparisons sometimes misleading.

Key considerations

• Investigate content strategy: Deeply examine how email copy (especially subject lines) is created and localized for target languages to ensure it genuinely resonates with the audience.
• Cultural sensitivity: Be mindful of cultural sensitivities that could inadvertently make content less relevant or even offensive in different regions, leading to lower engagement. Campaigner's blog provides tips on designing emails with localization in mind, emphasizing cultural barriers, as detailed here.
• Monitor image display: While hard to directly measure, consider if image-heavy emails might be impacting open rates in regions where image loading is less common or slower.
• Set realistic expectations: Understand that average open rates vary widely by industry and country. It's crucial to set realistic benchmarks based on regional data, rather than applying a universal standard. If you're seeing a sudden drop, you can diagnose it using our guide on what causes sudden open rate drops.

Key opinions

• Deliverability as a baseline: Experts first question whether the emails are even reaching the inbox consistently in these specific countries, as deliverability issues would directly impact open rates.
• Varying country-specific metrics: It's widely acknowledged that open rates, spam rates, and general engagement can differ significantly from one country to another due to diverse internet landscapes and user behaviors. Learn more about email deliverability issues.
• Image blocking by region: The possibility of certain countries or ISPs more aggressively blocking images is raised, which could skew open rate data (as opens are typically tracked by image loads).
• Sender reputation nuances: Sender reputation can be perceived differently by various international ISPs and mailbox providers, potentially influencing inbox placement and, consequently, actual and reported open rates. Understanding your email domain reputation is key.

Key considerations

• Verify inbox placement: Before attributing low open rates solely to content, ensure emails are consistently landing in the inbox for the target regions. Check for any country-specific blocklist (or blacklist) issues that might be affecting delivery.
• Analyze full email journey: Look beyond just delivery rates. Examine if there are differences in spam filtering, bounce rates, or even greylisting that might be occurring uniquely in these countries.
• Content optimization: Even if deliverability is solid, invest in culturally appropriate content and subject lines that genuinely appeal to local audiences. This includes understanding what might make content insulting or irrelevant. WordtotheWise frequently discusses how cultural context impacts email effectiveness.
• Consider local ISP policies: Different international ISPs may have unique filtering rules or user habits that affect how emails are handled, leading to varied engagement. For example, some ISPs might have more aggressive spam filtering that impacts even legitimate mail, as often discussed on SpamResource.

Key findings

• Comprehensive localization: Effective global email strategy requires adjusting email content to different cultural norms, languages, and traditions to offer an exceptional subscriber experience.
• Tracking localized performance: Monitoring open rates and click-through rates for each specific language group is crucial to identify significant performance differences and optimize campaigns accordingly.
• Market-specific content: For countries with a substantial presence, it is often beneficial to create email marketing content specifically for that country, rather than relying solely on translations.
• Unique regional quirks: Research indicates that different countries, even within the same region (e.g., Central & Eastern Europe), possess unique email-related behaviors, problems, and specific requirements that influence engagement.
• Bridging communication gaps: Multilingual emails are essential for ensuring that all recipients receive the same core information, regardless of their native language, particularly in internal communications or for global companies.

Key considerations

• Tailor content to local customs: When expanding into international markets, it is imperative to adapt email content to align with the distinct languages, customs, and traditions of each target country.
• Segment by language and geography: For effective multilingual email marketing, segmenting your audience by both language and geographic location allows for more precise targeting and analysis of performance disparities.
• Implement robust tracking: Utilize analytics to track open rates, click-through rates, and other engagement metrics on a per-language or per-country basis to pinpoint areas needing improvement. SendLayer's advice on writing transactional emails for multi-language audiences emphasizes this.
• Strategic campaign launch: Businesses deciding to enter an international market via email marketing must carefully plan how to launch and manage campaigns to account for cultural differences. Bubbles Translation Services offers an essential guide to international email marketing.