Many marketers believe that email open rates are a key indicator in gauging the success of an email marketing campaign. The logic is simple – a higher email open rate equals more opens, increased interest, readership, and overall success of the email campaign. While this is true in theory, the raw numbers reported in an email open rate may be a bit trickier to understand.

The definition of an email open rate is the percentage of “delivered” email messages that were “opened”. Bounced messages are not considered delivered because those messages are returned to the server from which they were delivered. Therefore, when looking at email delivery reports it is important to keep in mind that email open rate percentages are not based on of the entire “sent” list, and at first glance they may seem higher than they really are.

“Opens” are tracked by the rendering of a 1x1 pixel or, invisible image. In order for an opened email to count as part of the open rate, images have to be enabled on the user’s email account. Since tracking is based on image rendering, only HTML email messages can be considered open. Text email messages are not counted in this regard.

Email platforms which provide the user with a preview pane can also falsely increase the number of email opens if images are enabled. Clicking on or hovering over a message to view the preview of an email can cause the 1x1 pixel to render when the message was never actually read. Email platforms such as Outlook can open the same, unread message multiple times which inaccurately increases message reports as well.

A more comprehensive understanding of email open rates can contribute to a different approach for future campaigns. For example, sending a targeted email campaign based on a segment defined by opens AND clicks instead of just opens can capture a more accurate group of engaged readers. Though this statistic is helpful, email open rates should be analyzed in conjunction with other email metrics in order to accurately evaluate the success of an email marketing campaign.

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About The Author

Shanel Choi is an account manager at Lyris, working with clients to improve their online marketing initiatives and programs. She provides clients with strategic and best practices knowledge to help them meet their e-marketing goals.

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