Definition of Open Rate
Open Rate refers to that percentage your email service provider brags about when people supposedly "open" your emails. It's tracked by a tiny invisible pixel that loads when someone views your message, or when their device pretends to.
Why you should care
Remember when open rates were the rockstar metric everyone obsessed over? Those days are gone.
Thanks to Apple Mail Privacy Protection, your amazing 45% open rate is about as reliable as a weather forecast two weeks out.
Apple devices and a bunch of other email clients now automatically fire off an "open" signal before a human eyeball gets anywhere near your email.
This makes your numbers look great but tells you almost nothing about actual engagement. Smart newsletter creators watch Click-Through Rate instead.
Quick win: Try segmenting your subscribers by who's clicking rather than who's "opening". These folks are your true fans who deserve your absolute best stuff.
While every ESP dashboard still displays open rates front and center (they want you feeling good about yourself), the savvy email crowd builds growth strategies around real reader actions.
Some resources we rely on
Ask Claude for help with Open Rate
Copy and paste this prompt into Claude or the AI of your choice. Be sure to tweak the context for your situation.
<goal>
Improve my email newsletter engagement beyond unreliable open rates
</goal>
<context>
* My ESP says my open rate is [X]%, but I know this metric is unreliable due to Apple MPP
* My current click-through rate is [Y]% over my last [N] sends
* Here's an example of my most recent newsletter: [PASTE RECENT EMAIL]
</context>
<output>
Please provide:
* 5 specific, actionable changes I can implement in my next email to improve CTR
* Analysis of which single change would likely have the biggest impact based on my example
* A simple test to measure the effectiveness of this change
</output>
<example>
CTR improvement suggestion:
- Make the first link appear within the first 40 words of content
- Use action-oriented button text instead of generic "Click Here"
- Reduce the total number of links to 1-3 high-value options
</example>
<guardrails>
* Focus only on changes I can implement myself
* No need for external tools or resources
* Keep suggestions practical for my next send
</guardrails>