Email Newsletter Open Rate
Percentage of supporters who open the organisation’s email communications
What is Email Newsletter Open Rate?
Email newsletter open rate is the percentage of delivered newsletter emails that were opened. It shows how well subject lines, sender names and timing attract attention.
For organisations that rely on supporters or subscribers, it is a basic signal of whether the audience is still interested.
How this KPI is measured
- Function
- Marketing
- Sub-function
- Supporter Engagement
- Industry
- All Industries
- Type
- Lagging
- Impact
- Quality
- Unit
- %
- Measurement frequency
- Per campaign / Monthly
- Formula
- (Emails opened / Emails delivered) × 100
How to calculate it
Divide the number of emails opened by the number of emails delivered, and multiply by 100.
For example, if 20,000 emails were delivered and 5,000 were opened, the rate is (5,000 / 20,000) x 100 = 25%.
Privacy features in some mail programs load emails automatically, which inflates opens. Treat the rate as a directional guide and look at clicks too.
Where it is used
Testing subject lines
Compare versions to see which gets opened.
Finding the best send time
Test different days and times.
Monitoring list health
Spot declining interest.
How to improve it
Tips and common mistakes
- Open rates are less reliable than they were. Use clicks and actions as well.
- Do not use misleading subject lines to increase opens.
- Compare with your own history, not other organisations.
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