An open rate is the percentage of your email recipients who actually open the email you sent.
It’s one of the most important metrics in any email marketing strategy because if people don’t open your email, they’ll never read your email content or take action.
In this article, you will learn how to increase the open rate by 20% using the tracking power of MailTracker and stand out in crowded inboxes, avoid spam filters, and more.
Let’s break down what works, and what doesn’t, so your next campaign gets more eyes, more clicks, and better results.
What Is Open Rate?
The email open rate is the percentage of people who open your email compared to the total number of delivered emails.
It’s an important email marketing KPI that helps you understand how well your email subject lines, timing, and sender reputation are working.
Here's an example of the open rate when you’re using MailTracker:
A strong open rate means your emails delivered are actually making it into the subscriber’s inbox, and your email subject is doing its job, grabbing attention.
A low open rate means your emails are getting lost, ignored, or worse, landing in the spam folder.
The open rate also impacts your overall email marketing success. It affects your:
- Click-through rate
- Unsubscribe rate
- Bounce rate
- And even future deliverability
It’s often the first sign that your subscriber list is engaged, or that it might be time to re-engage or clean out inactive contacts.
Keep in mind: open rates can vary a lot depending on your industry average, your target audience, and whether your emails are optimized for mobile. That’s why tracking, testing, and tweaking your approach is so important.
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What Affects Your Open Rate?
If you want to increase email open rates, it starts with understanding what actually drives them. These key factors can either boost your performance or drag it down.
Let’s break them down:
1. Subject Line
Your email subject line is your first impression. It’s what gets your email noticed, or ignored. If it’s too long, too vague, or sounds like a sales pitch, people won’t bother opening it.
A good subject line is clear, short (think under 50 characters), and gives a reason to open without giving everything away. The goal is to entice recipients to click, not scroll past.
2. Personalization
Personalized subject lines work because people want to feel seen, not spammed. Adding a name, company, or specific detail shows you’ve done your homework, and boosts your chances of being opened.
This is an example of a personalized email from Zalando:
Personalized emails also perform better overall, especially when the email content speaks directly to the reader’s pain points. It’s a simple move that adds a human touch and drives more engagement.
3. Timing
When you send emails, it matters just as much as what’s in them. Your most active subscribers might open emails in the morning, while others respond better in the afternoon or mid-week.
If your timing is off, even the best subject line can be missed. MailTracker helps you spot those patterns by showing when people actually open your emails. Use that data to hit send when it counts.
The best times to send emails usually depend on your audience and goals. But if you're looking for a day-by-day breakdown, this guide has you covered: Best Time to Send an Email Newsletter in 2025
4. Sender Name
A familiar name builds trust. If your sender name is unclear, generic, or looks automated (like “noreply”), it’s a red flag for your audience.
People are more likely to open emails from a recognizable sender name they know or remember from past emails. Keep it consistent, professional, and human, your name or your company’s name works best.
5. Relevance
If your email doesn’t feel relevant, it won’t get opened, plain and simple. That’s why segmenting your subscriber list and tailoring your email content to the target audience is so important.
Your buyer persona should guide what you send and how you say it. The more your message feels like it “fits” the reader, the more likely they’ll open, and respond.
6. Mobile Optimization
A big chunk of your audience reads email campaigns on mobile devices. If your subject line gets cut off or your layout breaks, it’s a missed opportunity.
Always test your emails on mobile before sending them. An email that looks good on a desktop but clunky on a phone can kill your open rate fast. Make sure your content is clean, clear, and easy to read, anywhere.
7. Spam Triggers
Some words and formats will send your marketing emails straight to the spam folder.
Things like excessive punctuation, all caps, or misleading subject lines will hurt your email deliverability and increase spam complaints.
Avoid sounding too “salesy” or deceptive, and don’t try to trick your readers. A clean, honest subject line will always perform better in the long run.
8. Engagement History
If a subscriber hasn’t opened your emails in months, they might not be longer interested, or they may have just missed a few. Either way, continuing to email inactive subscribers drags your open rate down.
Here’s how MailTracker helps you to track your emails that were never opened. You will receive a notification like this one:
Focus more energy on your active subscribers, and consider a retargeting campaign to win others back. Cleaning up your list helps improve overall performance and keeps your stats healthy.
How to Increase Open Rate by +20% with MailTracker
Writing better email subject lines is just the beginning — the real power comes from knowing what works.
That’s exactly what MailTracker gives you: clear, actionable insights into how your email subscribers interact with your emails.
When you send a campaign, MailTracker shows you:
- When someone opens your email in Gmail, and how many times
- When they opened it
- If your links were clicked
- And who never opened at all (inactive contacts)
With this kind of email open rate data, you’re no longer guessing. You can spot your best-performing subject lines, test new ideas, and avoid the ones that keep landing in the spam folder.
Need to re-engage inactive subscribers? MailTracker shows you who hasn’t opened your last few emails, so you can design a re-engagement campaign that feels timely and relevant.
Want to find your most active subscribers? The data is right there, so you can follow up with more targeted, personalized content for the people who are most likely to convert.
In short: MailTracker helps you send better emails to the right people at the right time, and that’s how you increase open rates consistently.
Start Increasing Your Open Rates Today
If you want to boost your email open rate, it’s not about luck, it’s about knowing what works and using the right tools.
With MailTracker, you get the real-time data and clear insights you need to improve your subject lines, spot your most active subscribers, and optimize every email you send.
Want to increase open rates by 20% or more? Want to avoid the spam folder and actually get seen?
Try MailTracker for free and start sending smarter, more effective emails today.
No credit card. No guesswork. Just results.
FAQs
How do I increase my open rate?
To increase your email open rate, start by writing a perfect subject line that grabs attention but feels relevant and honest. Use personalization, send at the right time, and make sure your content is optimized for mobile users. Tools like MailTracker help you test what works by tracking open data, so you can adjust your approach based on real results.
Is 40% a good open rate?
Yes, a 40% open rate is above the average email open rate for most industries, which typically ranges from 20–25%. If you're consistently hitting 40% or higher, it means your subscribers open and engage with your content, a strong signal that your subject lines, timing, and email service provider setup are working well.
Which two marketing actions would increase open rates?
Two of the most effective actions are:
- Writing a strong, personalized subject line that makes your subscribers respond.
- Sending relevant emails at the right time, based on behavior and engagement history.
Does my email service provider affect open rates?
Yes, your email service provider plays a big role in email deliverability. A trusted provider helps ensure your email campaigns don’t land in the spam folder and are accepted by the receiving server. Good ESPs also support important features like split testing, list segmentation, and mobile-friendly formatting, all of which help increase open rates.
How can I tell if my subject line is working?
The easiest way is to track open rates using tools like MailTracker. You can also run split tests, send two versions of the same email with different subject lines to see which gets more opens.
