Summary
A recent decrease in email open rates can be attributed to a multitude of interconnected factors. Changes in email provider policies, such as filtering of non-human interactions and updates related to image loading (Apple Mail Privacy Protection and BIMI), impact the accuracy of open rate metrics. Deliverability issues, resulting from poor sender reputation, inadequate email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and spam triggers, can cause emails to land in spam folders. Engagement challenges stemming from irrelevant content, poor subject lines, incorrect timing, and lack of personalization also contribute to lower open rates. Effective solutions involve improving sender reputation, authenticating emails, cleaning and segmenting email lists, personalizing content, optimizing sending times, and focusing on alternative engagement metrics to assess campaign effectiveness.
Key findings
- Filtering and Privacy Changes: Email providers are implementing stricter filtering and privacy measures (e.g., Apple's MPP, BIMI), influencing open rate metrics.
- Authentication Issues: Lack of proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) leads to deliverability problems and emails being marked as spam.
- Engagement Factors: Poor subject lines, irrelevant content, incorrect timing, and lack of personalization decrease user engagement and open rates.
- List Hygiene Concerns: Sending emails to unengaged subscribers and outdated email addresses negatively impacts sender reputation and open rates.
- Increased Competition: A higher volume of emails in inboxes increases competition and makes it more challenging to capture user attention.
Key considerations
- Email Authentication: Implement and maintain SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to ensure email authenticity and improve deliverability.
- Sender Reputation: Monitor and improve sender reputation by consistently adhering to email best practices and sender guidelines.
- List Hygiene and Segmentation: Regularly clean email lists, segment audiences, and personalize content to increase engagement and relevance.
- Content and Timing Optimization: Craft compelling subject lines, provide valuable content, and optimize sending times to resonate with subscribers.
- Engagement Metrics: Re-evaluate open rate metrics and focus on other engagement metrics (e.g., click-through rates, conversions) for a more holistic view of campaign performance.
- ESP Communication: Inquire with your ESP about changes to their open rate tracking methodologies and filtering practices.
- A/B Testing: Exclude Apple Mail users from A/B tests when open rates are a key metric due to MPP and BIMI's impact.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Decreased email open rates can stem from various factors related to deliverability, engagement, and email provider filtering. Changes in how opens are calculated, increased inbox competition, and audience-specific issues also play a role. Solutions involve improving sender reputation, authenticating email, cleaning email lists, segmenting audiences, personalizing content, and avoiding spam triggers. It's crucial to ensure emails reach the inbox, provide value, and are sent at the optimal time.
Key opinions
- Deliverability Issues: Low open rates often result from deliverability problems, such as emails landing in spam folders due to poor sender reputation, lack of email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), or being flagged as spam.
- Content Relevance: Irrelevant or unengaging content negatively impacts open rates. Generic subject lines and content that doesn't resonate with the audience can lead to lower engagement.
- List Hygiene: Poor list hygiene, including sending to unengaged subscribers or outdated email addresses, contributes to decreased open rates. Regularly cleaning and segmenting email lists is essential.
- Increased Competition: Increased competition for inbox placement can cause a decline in open rates. As more emails compete for attention, standing out becomes more difficult.
- Calculation Changes: Changes in how ESPs calculate open rates or increased filtering of non-human opens can skew metrics downwards.
Key considerations
- Sender Reputation: Continuously monitor and improve your sender reputation to ensure emails are trusted by ISPs. Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools to track reputation metrics.
- Email Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication to verify the legitimacy of your emails and prevent spoofing. This helps improve deliverability and sender trust.
- List Segmentation: Segment your email list based on demographics, behaviors, and interests to send targeted and relevant content. This increases engagement and open rates.
- Content Personalization: Personalize subject lines and email content to resonate with your audience. Use the recipient's name and tailor messages to their specific interests and needs.
- Regular List Cleaning: Remove unengaged subscribers and invalid email addresses from your list regularly. This improves your sender reputation and ensures you're only sending to active users.
- Timing Optimization: Send emails at the optimal time for your audience to increase open rates. Analyze past campaign data to identify peak engagement times.
- Value Proposition: Ensure your emails provide value to your subscribers. Create compelling and informative content that addresses their needs and interests.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that low open rates could stem from deliverability issues, such as emails landing in the spam folder. They advise checking sender reputation, authenticating your email, and cleaning your email list.
4 Nov 2023 - Sendinblue
Marketer view
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that segmenting your email list allows you to send targeted messages to specific groups of subscribers, which can increase open rates and engagement. They recommend segmenting based on demographics, behaviors, and interests.
6 Apr 2024 - ActiveCampaign
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Decreased email open rates can be attributed to changes in how email service providers (ESPs) track opens and privacy-related updates. ESPs may be filtering out non-human interaction image loads, leading to reduced metrics. Additionally, Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) and BIMI can cause automatic image loading, skewing open rate data and making it less reliable for gauging true engagement.
Key opinions
- Filtering of Non-Human Interactions: ESPs may be implementing filters to exclude non-human interaction image loads, resulting in lower reported open rates.
- Impact of Apple's MPP: Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates by automatically downloading all images, regardless of user engagement.
- BIMI and Automatic Image Loading: BIMI implementation can cause Apple Mail to load images automatically, even when remote content loading is disabled, further distorting open rate metrics.
- Unreliable Open Rate Metrics: Due to MPP and BIMI, traditional open rate metrics are becoming less reliable for accurately measuring user engagement.
Key considerations
- Inquire with ESP: Check with your ESP to determine if they are filtering non-human interaction image loads and if they have recently changed their methodology.
- Re-evaluate Open Rate Metrics: Recognize that open rate metrics may be skewed due to MPP and BIMI and should not be the sole indicator of email campaign performance.
- Alternative Engagement Metrics: Focus on other engagement metrics such as click-through rates, conversions, and website traffic to better assess campaign effectiveness.
- Testing and Segmentation: Consider excluding Apple Mail users from A/B tests related to open rates due to the impact of MPP and BIMI.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that the ESP may have rolled out filtering of non-human interaction image loads, reducing open metrics. They advise checking with the ESP about this.
26 Aug 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) changes impact open rates, as all images are downloaded, inflating open rates regardless of user interaction. This makes traditional open rate metrics less reliable for engagement.
19 Nov 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Decreased email open rates are often linked to deliverability issues arising from a lack of proper email authentication. Google, Microsoft, and DMARC.org emphasize the importance of implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to verify email authenticity, prevent spoofing, and ensure emails reach the inbox rather than being marked as spam. Adhering to sender guidelines and authenticating emails are crucial steps for maintaining a good sender reputation and improving open rates.
Key findings
- Email Authentication is Crucial: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are vital for verifying email authenticity, preventing spoofing, and ensuring emails are delivered to the inbox.
- Sender Reputation: Implementing DMARC helps protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks, which improves sender reputation and consequently, open rates.
- Adherence to Sender Guidelines: Following Google's sender guidelines is crucial for ensuring email deliverability and maintaining good open rates.
- Preventing Emails Marked as Spam: Using DKIM signatures helps ensure your email isn't marked as spam by verifying the email's authenticity.
Key considerations
- Implement SPF Records: Implement SPF records in DNS to allow receiving mail servers to verify that incoming mail from your domain is coming from an authorized source.
- Implement DKIM Signatures: Use DKIM signatures to verify the email's authenticity and ensure the contents haven't been altered during transit.
- Implement DMARC Policy: Implement DMARC to specify how receiving mail servers should handle emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks, protecting your domain from spoofing and phishing attacks.
- Regularly Review Authentication Setup: Ensure that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are properly configured and regularly reviewed to maintain optimal email deliverability.
Technical article
Documentation from RFC explains that implementing SPF records in DNS is vital for email authentication to prevent spoofing and improve deliverability. The information explains the structure and purpose of SPF records, which help receiving mail servers verify that incoming mail from a domain is coming from an authorized source.
22 Oct 2022 - RFC 4408
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft explains that using DKIM signatures can help ensure your email isn't marked as spam by verifying the email's authenticity, so the contents haven't been altered during transit.
24 Sep 2022 - Microsoft
How can I improve my email open rates and avoid spam filters?
How can I recover my email domain reputation after a drop in open rates?
How do AI assistants and MPP impact email open rates, and what are better metrics to measure outbound campaign effectiveness?
What steps should I take to improve email deliverability with a large, unengaged contact list and high bounce rates?
Why are my email open rates low and how can I improve deliverability?
Why did my email open rate suddenly drop and what can I do about it?
