Struggling with email open rates? If your emails are falling short of the 17%-28% healthy range, you’re not alone. With the average person receiving 121 emails daily, standing out in crowded inboxes is tough. But here’s the good news: small changes can make a big difference.
Here are 5 quick fixes to boost your open rates:
- Write better subject lines: 47% of recipients decide to open emails based on the subject line alone. Keep it short, clear, and personalized.
- Resend to non-openers: A second chance can increase open rates by up to 30%. Adjust timing or tweak the subject line for better results.
- Clean your email list: Remove inactive or invalid addresses to protect your sender reputation and improve deliverability.
- Segment and personalize: Target specific groups with tailored content. Segmented campaigns get 46% higher open rates.
- Optimize send times: Timing matters – most emails are opened within the first hour. Test different times to find when your audience is most active.
These strategies don’t require major overhauls. Start small, track results, and refine your approach to see immediate improvements in engagement.
5 Ways That Can TRIPLE Your Email Open Rates
Why Open Rates Matter and What ‘Low’ Really Means
Understanding why open rates matter is key to improving your email marketing efforts. Open rates are more than just a number – they’re a measure of how well your messages connect with your audience. If your emails aren’t being opened, nothing inside them gets read, clicked, or acted upon.
"Open rates do matter to us, particularly as a diagnostic tool. A sudden drop in open rates can alert us to issues that may require immediate attention, such as problems with email deliverability or declining subscriber interest."
– Jason Hennessey, CEO, Hennessey Digital
Open rates also directly influence your return on investment. With email marketing offering an average return of $36 for every $1 spent, unopened emails mean missed opportunities. Without opens, there’s no path to conversions. Simply put, open rates are the first step in turning emails into results.
Understanding Open Rate Benchmarks
What qualifies as a "low" open rate depends on your industry and your baseline performance. The median open rate across all campaigns is 42.35%, but this figure can be misleading due to factors like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection. A more realistic range for healthy open rates falls between 17% and 28%, depending on your industry. Here’s a breakdown of how various industries typically perform:
| Industry | Open Rate Benchmark |
|---|---|
| Religion | 59.70% |
| Hobbies | 53.33% |
| Non-profit | 53.21% |
| Photo and video | 52.01% |
| Artist | 51.35% |
| Creative services/agency | 50.00% |
| Sports | 49.83% |
| Health and fitness | 48.90% |
| Coaching | 48.17% |
| Government | 47.11% |
| Consulting | 45.74% |
| Educational institution | 45.32% |
| Higher education | 45.37% |
| Marketing and advertising | 39.05% |
| Software and web app | 38.14% |
| E-commerce | 31.08% |
| Manufacturing | 32.65% |
| Travel and transportation | 22.57% |
For example, in the travel industry, a 25% open rate might be acceptable, but a nonprofit organization with a 30% open rate has room to grow. Knowing these benchmarks helps you assess your performance and identify areas for improvement.
Consequences of Low Open Rates
Falling below these benchmarks can create a ripple effect that weakens your email marketing efforts. Low open rates often point to deliverability problems. If engagement remains low, email providers may start flagging your messages as spam, further reducing visibility and reach.
"The open rate shows whether our emails are engaging enough to our audience. Higher open rates indicate that your subject line compelled recipients to engage."
– Pankaj Kumar, CEO, Naxisweb
Low open rates also make it harder to refine your campaigns. Without enough opens, testing subject lines, content strategies, or calls-to-action becomes unreliable. Over time, persistently poor open rates can signal a low-quality email list, wasting your resources and harming your sender reputation.
The good news? Nearly half of email recipients – 47% – decide to open an email based solely on the subject line. This means even small adjustments to your subject lines can lead to noticeable improvements, giving you a clear starting point to enhance your email strategy.
Fix #1: Improve Your Subject Lines
The subject line is your first – and sometimes only – chance to grab attention. In fact, 47% of email recipients decide to open emails based solely on the subject line. On the flip side, 69% of people mark emails as spam based only on the subject line. Clearly, getting this right is essential.
"Email subject lines are the most important part of any email you send. That’s because they’re the key to whether a reader opens your email, ignores it, or why they go to spam." – OptinMonster
Even small adjustments can make a big difference. For example, subject lines with fewer than 50 characters see 12.5% higher open rates. These changes don’t require complex skills – just a thoughtful approach to what will resonate with your audience.
Practical Subject Line Tips
Creating subject lines that work starts with understanding a few simple principles. Keep them short and to the point – under 9 words and 60 characters. This ensures they display properly on mobile devices, where 55% of emails are opened. This limitation forces you to focus on clarity and impact.
Personalization is a game-changer. Add a personal touch by including the recipient’s name, location, or other details using merge tags. Emails with personalized subject lines are 22% more likely to be opened. It’s an easy way to stand out in a crowded inbox.
A single emoji, when used thoughtfully, can also make a difference. Emails with one emoji in the subject line can see up to a 45% increase in open rates. Just don’t overdo it – too many emojis can look unprofessional or even trigger spam filters.
Urgency works, but don’t overdo it. Phrases like "Last chance", "Ending soon", or "Limited time" can drive action, increasing open rates by 22%. However, avoid sounding desperate by skipping excessive punctuation or ALL CAPS, which can come off as spammy.
Be clear about the value your email offers. Instead of vague subject lines like "Newsletter #47", try something more specific, like "5 marketing trends shaping 2025." This approach sets clear expectations and makes your email more appealing.
Finally, watch your punctuation and word choices. Limit punctuation to three marks per subject line, and avoid words like "Free", "Guaranteed", or "Act now", which can trigger spam filters. These small refinements can make a big difference in deliverability and open rates.
Once you’ve polished your subject lines, consider tools that can help you take them to the next level.
Using Groupmail‘s Subject Line Generator
Groupmail offers an AI-powered subject line generator that simplifies the process of crafting attention-grabbing headlines. By entering a brief description of your email’s purpose, the tool generates multiple subject line options tailored to your content and audience.
You can even adjust the tone – whether professional, friendly, or playful – to match your brand’s voice. This tool saves time and sparks creativity, especially when you’re juggling multiple campaigns or working under tight deadlines.
Here’s the best part: you can test different subject lines to see what works best. Groupmail’s analytics provide insights into which options drive the highest open rates, helping you fine-tune your strategy over time. This feedback loop ensures you’re always improving based on what resonates with your audience.
Plus, the subject line generator integrates seamlessly with Groupmail’s other features, making it easy to implement and test new ideas without switching between tools. It’s a quick and efficient way to boost your email marketing results while staying focused on your goals.
Fix #2: Resend Emails to Non-Openers
Sometimes, subscribers miss your emails – not because they’re uninterested, but because of crowded inboxes, poor timing, or simple oversight. While crafting sharp subject lines grabs attention, resending emails to non-openers ensures your message gets a second chance. In fact, resending can boost your open rate by up to 30%, click-through rate by 14%, and ROI by 29%. That’s a simple tweak with a big payoff.
Here’s an eye-opener: only 12.8% of people read more than half of the emails they receive. Even your most engaged subscribers can overlook important messages. Resending gives you another shot at grabbing their attention – without coming across as overbearing.
For example, one campaign saw open rates jump from 20% to 29% just by tweaking the subject line and targeting non-openers. Since these recipients have already opted in, resending is a low-risk way to re-engage them. Let’s dive into some best practices to make your resend campaign a success.
Best Practices for Resending
A successful resend isn’t just about hitting "send" again – it’s about making meaningful adjustments. Start with your subject line. This is crucial because up to 69% of email recipients decide whether to open an email based solely on the subject line. A fresh, attention-grabbing subject can make all the difference.
Timing matters, too. Research from MailChimp suggests that resending within 24 hours minimizes performance drops. For most campaigns, aim for a 24–48 hour window. If your email content isn’t time-sensitive, you can even wait up to a week. Also, consider varying the send time. If your initial email went out on a Tuesday morning, try a Wednesday afternoon or even a weekend resend. Since most email opens happen within an hour of delivery, experimenting with timing can help you catch subscribers when they’re more likely to engage.
Focus your resend on the right audience – specifically, those who received but didn’t open your first email. Segment your list to exclude subscribers who’ve already opened or clicked. And keep it simple: limit yourself to one resend per campaign to avoid overwhelming your audience and potentially harming your sender reputation.
Resend Campaigns with Groupmail
Want to make follow-ups easier? While Groupmail doesn’t currently offer full automation, it still gives you the tools to run effective resend campaigns. You can download a list of non-openers, create a new group, and send a tailored follow-up message to just those recipients.
This approach ensures only people who didn’t open your original email get the resend—avoiding unnecessary duplicates. You can customise the subject line, message content, and timing to improve engagement, especially for time-sensitive emails like event invites, limited-time offers, or key updates.
And because Groupmail tracks open rates and clicks, you’ll be able to compare the performance of your original email and your follow-up. It takes a few manual steps, but the results can be well worth it.
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Fix #3: Clean and Maintain Your Email List
Keeping your email list tidy is essential for improving open rates and ensuring your messages reach an audience that actually cares. Did you know email lists shrink by 22–30% every year? That’s why regular maintenance is so important – not just for engagement, but also for your sender reputation. For instance, even a single spam complaint per 1,000 emails can hurt your credibility. Plus, if your open rate dips below 15%, email providers might flag your messages as spam.
Steps to Keep Your Email List in Shape
Here’s how you can effectively clean and maintain your email list:
- Remove hard bounces: These are email addresses that are permanently unreachable (like ones tied to closed accounts). Keeping your bounce rate below 0.5% is key for good deliverability.
- Address soft bounces: Soft bounces happen due to temporary issues, like full inboxes or server problems. If an address keeps bouncing for 1–3 months, it’s time to take action.
- Handle inactive subscribers: If someone hasn’t opened or clicked an email in 6–12 months, try a re-engagement campaign. Send 2–4 emails to reignite their interest. As Brad Smith from Wordable shares:
"To keep our list healthy and up to date, we do not send an email to someone who does not open our emails three times in a row. We try to reactivate their interest in our brand by sending another email that is personalized and has an amazing offer."
- Eliminate duplicates: Use built-in tools to find and remove duplicate addresses. This prevents recipients from getting the same email multiple times and keeps your subscriber count accurate.
- Stick to a cleaning schedule: Aim to clean your list every six months. If you manage a large list (100,000+ subscribers), you might need to clean it more often. Smaller lists (under 1,000 subscribers) can be reviewed less frequently.
How Groupmail Simplifies List Maintenance
Groupmail makes list cleaning a breeze with its automated contact hygiene features. It automatically handles hard bounces and unsubscribes, so you don’t have to manually update your list.
The platform also tracks engagement across your campaigns, helping you spot inactive subscribers. You can segment your audience by activity level and send targeted re-engagement campaigns before deciding to remove anyone. This ensures you don’t accidentally delete someone who’s still interested.
Groupmail’s real-time analytics let you monitor bounce rates, engagement stats, and list growth, giving you a clear picture of how your cleaning efforts are paying off. Plus, its duplicate detection feature flags repeats during the import process, preventing inflated subscriber counts and saving you money.
Fix #4: Segment and Personalize Your Campaigns
Sending generic emails is a surefire way to see your open rates drop. On the other hand, when you craft targeted content for specific groups, you connect directly with their interests and needs. The numbers back this up: segmented campaigns see 46% higher open rates, and segmented, targeted, and personalized emails account for 58% of all email-driven revenue. Relevance makes all the difference.
Getting Started with Segmentation
Email segmentation is all about dividing your subscribers into groups based on traits like demographics, behaviors, or interests. This allows you to send messages that resonate with each group. Here’s how to begin:
- Collect the right data. Use sign-up forms, surveys, purchase histories, and website activity to gather details about your subscribers.
- Focus on key criteria. Segment by demographics (age, location, job title), behavior (purchase history, site engagement), email activity (open and click rates), or customer lifecycle stage (new, loyal, or at-risk customers).
- Experiment with proven strategies. For example, introduce new subscribers to your brand with a welcome series, send tailored offers to past buyers based on their purchase habits, or create location-based campaigns to deliver region-specific content.
"Segmentation is key. The more you know your subscribers/customers, the more you’ll be able to segment your database and your sendings."
- Victor Montaucet, CEO, Ben&Vic
- Start simple, then refine. Begin with broad categories like engagement level or purchase history. As you learn more about your audience, dive into micro-segmentation to address niche behaviors and preferences.
The impact of segmentation is undeniable. For instance, Andie Swim used a fit-finder quiz to segment their email list by style and fit preferences, generating over $70,000 in extra revenue within 8 months. Huda Beauty focused on their most engaged subscribers, sending campaigns only to those active in the last 120 days, and doubled their year-over-year growth.
Once your segments are set, the next step is to take engagement up a notch with thoughtful personalization.
Personalization with Groupmail
Personalization is the natural next step to complement segmentation. Personalized emails and subject lines can increase open rates by 26%.
Groupmail makes it easy to combine segmentation with personalization. This platform allows you to divide your email lists by location, interests, or any data field in your group, ensuring your campaigns reach the right audience. You can also use its personalization tools to merge subscriber details into your emails, creating messages that feel custom-made for each recipient.
From subject lines to content – and even attachments – Groupmail enables you to tailor every aspect of your email. This goes far beyond simply adding a first name; it’s about crafting campaigns that reflect individual preferences and behaviors.
Top-performing email marketers, who achieve ROI ratios as high as 36:1 or even 50:1, consistently segment their campaigns. With Groupmail’s user-friendly tools, you can join their ranks and ensure every email you send is relevant and impactful. No technical expertise required – Groupmail’s ready-to-use features handle segmentation and personalization seamlessly.
Fix #5: Optimize Send Times
Timing plays a crucial role in determining whether your email gets opened or overlooked. Even the most attention-grabbing subject line won’t help if your email lands in an inbox at the wrong moment.
"The difference between an opened and an ignored email often comes down to timing. If you send your message when inboxes are overcrowded, it’ll disappear. However, if you send it during peak engagement hours, it’ll get the attention it deserves." – Syed Ali Nemath, Senior SEO Manager, Pipedrive
Research shows that 75% of emails are opened within the first hour of delivery. This makes timing one of the most important factors in email marketing success.
When to Send Emails in 2025
A study of 1.7 million emails has revealed some clear patterns in engagement. Monday emerges as the top performer, with open rates averaging 51.90%. This finding challenges the belief that Monday emails are often ignored.
Weekdays consistently outperform weekends when it comes to email engagement. The best time to send during the week is between 3 PM and 7 PM local time, as many people check their emails later in the workday. For weekends, 9 AM tends to see the highest engagement.
Here’s a breakdown of the optimal send times:
- Monday–Friday, 3–7 PM: Peak open rates, with notable highs on Monday at 4 PM (53.4%), Friday at 6 PM (52.7%), and Thursday at 7 PM (52.5%).
- Newsletters: Best sent on Monday or Tuesday between 4–6 PM.
- Promotions and sales offers: Perform better on Thursday or Friday between 6–7 PM.
- Surveys: Ideal times are Sunday at 9 AM or Wednesday at 4 PM.
While these benchmarks provide a useful starting point, every audience is unique. Testing different send times is essential to find what works best for your specific subscribers.
Using Groupmail’s Scheduling Tools
Groupmail makes it easy to plan your emails ahead of time. With built-in scheduling, you can set your campaigns to send at a later date and time—ideal if you’re coordinating messages across time zones or simply want to hit inboxes at the right moment.
While Groupmail doesn’t yet support segmentation or A/B testing, you can still test different send times manually by creating separate groups and monitoring results. This helps you learn when your audience is most likely to engage.
By tracking open rates after scheduled sends, you’ll start to see patterns in how timing affects performance. Over time, this helps you build a basic strategy for when to reach your audience—without needing advanced tools.
It’s a simple but effective way to stay organised and send smarter.
Conclusion: Start Improving Your Open Rates Today
Building on the five quick fixes mentioned earlier, here’s your game plan for boosting email open rates. By addressing key elements like subject lines, sender names, and timing, you can turn around underperforming campaigns.
Start with your subject lines – they’re critical. Nearly half (47%) of users decide to open an email based solely on the subject line. Experiment with proven strategies and consider adding a relevant emoji to grab attention. Don’t overlook your sender name, either. Using a personal name instead of a company name can increase open rates by up to 50%. As Steven Hua from Medallia points out, placing the most important words at the beginning of your subject line, pre-header, or sender name ensures they stand out before the email is even opened.
Keep your list clean and segment your audience. Remove contacts who haven’t engaged in 6–12 months and focus on segmenting the rest based on their interests and behavior. Campaigns that utilize subscriber filters are 28% more likely to succeed, making this a crucial step for long-term results.
Timing matters, too. While some studies suggest emails sent at 8 PM often perform well, every audience is unique. Experiment with different send times to discover what resonates with your subscribers.
Groupmail’s integrated tools make implementing these strategies easier. Features like the subject line generator, automated scheduling, and contact hygiene tools ensure your campaigns are both effective and efficient. The subject line generator provides inspiration when you’re stuck, while scheduling tools help you test send times effortlessly. Plus, segmentation and automated list cleaning keep your audience engaged and your emails landing in inboxes.
Don’t feel the need to tackle everything at once. Start small – maybe focus on refining your subject lines or testing send times this week. Track your progress, then move on to the next area. Incremental changes can lead to big improvements in engagement.
Ready to see results? Try Groupmail’s subject line generator today and take the first step toward better open rates.
FAQs
How can I personalize my email campaigns to boost open rates?
To improve your email open rates, focus on personalization. Tailor your subject lines and content to reflect your recipients’ preferences, past interactions, or demographic details. For instance, you could include their name in the subject line or suggest products based on their previous purchases.
Emails that feel personal often lead to better open and click-through rates because they connect with readers on a more meaningful level. Leveraging AI tools can also help you craft subject lines and content that align with individual interests, making your emails more likely to stand out. A good place to start? Segment your audience into smaller groups and experiment with personalized touches to find out what resonates most effectively!
What’s the best time to send emails to boost engagement?
The ideal window for sending emails is generally 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays, with Tuesday through Thursday standing out as the most effective days. Steer clear of sending emails during hectic work hours or late at night, as these periods tend to result in lower open rates.
For even better results, think about your audience’s routines and experiment with various times to pinpoint what resonates with your specific recipients. Sometimes, even minor tweaks can significantly boost engagement!
Why should I clean my email list regularly, and what’s the best way to do it?
Keeping your email list clean is essential if you want an audience that’s active and engaged. Regular maintenance helps cut down on bounce rates, improves deliverability, increases engagement, and safeguards your sender reputation. Ignoring this step can mean more of your emails end up in spam folders, dragging down your campaign’s overall performance.
To tidy up your list effectively, start by removing invalid or inactive email addresses. Update subscriber preferences to ensure you’re sending content they actually want, and consider using automation tools to streamline the process. A good rule of thumb is to clean your list every 6 to 12 months. This keeps your campaigns running smoothly and ensures your subscribers stay satisfied.