Your open rate tells you the percentage of those on your list who opened your email campaign.
Even if your rates are consistent there is a good chance that it's not the same people opening your emails every time. As an example: You may not open every email that a business or organization sends you. You may open a newsletter from the local restaurant in May and not in June, while your neighbor opens it in June and not May.
You are both staying connected with the restaurant even though you aren't opening their emails every month.
Here are 5 things you can do to improve your open rates:
1. Send more targeted emails - The better you know your list members and their interests and the more your emails cater to them, the higher your open rates will be. Have you thought about how you can segment your list into interest groups? It's worth the effort.
2. Improve your subject lines - A good subject line will get a campaign opened. Lead with a benefit that let's the receiver know what's in it for them. Make it interesting and try to peak the reader's curiosity. You want them to feel compelled to find out more. Avoid all caps, exclamation points, and words like 'free'.
3. Test your sending times - Try a different day or a different time of day to see if you achieve a higher open rate. We've seen accounts improve their rates from 15% - 20% by changing when they send.
4. Check your 'from' name - Is your "from" name easily recognizable? Will your list members know who they are receiving an email from? Put the name that your receivers are most familiar with in your 'from' line and add your organization's name. Emails which are unrecognizable are quickly deleted.
5. Evaluate how often you send - You might send too often or you might not send often enough. Consider asking your list how often they want to hear from you. For example, give them the option to sign up for weekly or monthly emails.