What is open rate and what does it not tell you?
Photo: Avila Ops Tecnologia
Open rate is the percentage of delivered emails recipients opened. If you sent 200 messages, 190 arrived and 57 were opened, the rate is 30%. It is measured through an invisible image inside the email: loading the image records an “open.” This mechanism makes the number misleading.
The rate indicates subject-line and timing performance rather than sales: it does not say whether people read, liked or bought.
Why is open rate unreliable?
- Since 2021, Apple Mail loads images on its servers before users view messages when its privacy protection is enabled. iPhone Mail users with this setting appear as having opened messages even if they deleted them unread.
- Gmail and Outlook sometimes block images. Customers may read the entire message while the system records no open.
- One contact opening three times may count as three opens, depending on the tool.
Consequently, campaigns showing 30% and 45% may have had equal readership.
Which numbers should you watch instead?
Replies and clicks. Replies are the most honest metric for small companies: how many people wrote back, called or contacted you on WhatsApp after the email. Clicks come second: how many clicked the quote, catalog or Carnival-hours link.
Use opens only to compare your own campaigns. If January produced 40% and February 20% with the same list, something changed. See Open rate dropped: what to investigate first.
Record replies somewhere lasting beyond the month: who replied, what they requested and whether it became a sale. That starts a funnel, explained in avilaops.com/glossario/funil-de-vendas.
What to do now
Stop looking at opens alone. Count replies and clicks per campaign and link each reply to a named contact with history. That is what simple CRM does: learn how many messages become sales at avilaops.com/crm-para-pequenas-empresas or WhatsApp wa.me/5517997811471.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good open rate?
It depends on the list and measurement tool, so there is no honest universal number. High rates are common for small lists of customers who know you; cold lists tend to be lower. Compare previous campaigns rather than internet tables.
Does a low open rate mean my email went to spam?
Possibly, but not necessarily. Open rate measures opens among delivered messages. Spam still counts as delivered but unopened. Test your own Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo accounts before concluding.
Is tracking opens worthwhile for individual quote emails?
No. In individual conversations, measure replies. If customers do not reply within two business days, ask on WhatsApp whether they received it.
Turn what you learned into your next step.
Tell us about your company and what you want to improve. We can explore the right tools, integrations or custom project together.