5 Reasons Your Email Open Rate is Dropping. And How to Fix It

Ever since Digital Marketing came into existence, Email Marketing has been a favorite with marketers for many reasons. It helps you connect with your customers and prospects at a personal level, hence leaving room for building trust, connection; and more often than not, aids brand recall. And all of these, without making a hole in your pockets.

As the world continues to grow in digital footprints, marketers and small business owners today must up their ante to create strong and impactful Email Marketing campaigns.

Imagine you write a letter to 100 people and drop it in the mailbox. Now, let’s say only 20 of them actually open the letter and read it. That’s your Email Open Rate (EOR). It tells you how many people opened your email out of the total number of recipients.

Here’s the simple formula to calculate your Email Open Rate:

Email Open Rate (%) = (No. of Opened Emails ÷ No. of Delivered Emails) × 100 For example, if you send 1,000 emails and 250 people open them, your Open Rate is 25%.

Why Does Email Open Rate Matter? Your email open rate is like the front door to a store. If people don’t step inside, they won’t buy anything. A low open rate means your emails are being ignored, which directly affects the following aspects of your business:

Click-through Rate (CTR): How many people click on links inside your email. If no one opens your email, no one clicks.

Conversion Rate: The percentage of people who take action (buy, sign up, or register).

Email Deliverability: If too many people ignore your emails, email providers like Gmail may start marking them as spam.

What’s a Good Email Open Rate?

According to Campaign Monitor, the average email open rate across industries is 21.5%. If yours is below that, it’s time to take action.

Now that you have a fair bit of understanding on how Email Open Rates work, let’s dive into the five biggest reasons your open rates might be dropping and how to fix them.

1. Your Subject Line Is Weak "The best subject lines tell what’s inside, and the worst ones sell what’s inside." - Mailchimp

Your subject line is the first thing people see and if it’s boring, confusing or too salesy, people won’t open your email.

Here’s how to fix it?

Use curiosity: “You’re Making This Mistake in Your Emails”

Add numbers: “3 Quick Ways to Improve Your Marketing”

Keep it short & clear: 6-10 words work best

Quick Fact: Subject lines with personalization (e.g., using the recipient’s name) increase open rates by 26%.

2. Your Emails Land in Spam

If your emails go to the spam folder, they won’t be opened. It’s as simple as that.

"People don’t open what they don’t see." – Neil Patel, Digital Marketing Expert

Why Does This Happen?

-You’re sending emails to old or inactive email lists.

-Your emails have too many spam trigger words

-You don’t have proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

Here’s a Quick Fix:

Regularly clean your email list (remove inactive users)

Avoid spam words like “Earn Money Fast”

Set up email authentication to build trust with email providers

Quick Fact: 85% of all emails are considered spam (Cisco 2024 Report).

3. You’re Sending Emails at the Wrong Time

If you send emails when your audience is asleep or busy, they’ll get buried under other emails.

"Timing is everything in marketing." – Seth Godin

Here’s a Quick Fix:

Best Days: Tuesday & Thursday have the highest open rates

Best Time: Between 9 AM to 11 AM (for B2B) and 6 PM to 8 PM (for B2C)

Test & Optimize: Try different send times and see what works best for your audience

Quick Fact: Emails sent on Monday mornings have the lowest open rates (HubSpot).

4. Your Emails Don’t Look Good on Mobile

More than 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices. If your email looks broken or hard to read, people will ignore it.

"If it doesn’t look good on mobile, it doesn’t exist." – Google

Here’s a Quick Fix:

Use short paragraphs & bullet points

Keep subject lines under 40 characters

Test your email on different devices before sending

Quick Fact: 80% of users delete emails that don’t display properly on mobile (Bluecore).

5. You’re Sending Too Many (or Too Few) Emails

If you flood people’s inboxes, they’ll unsubscribe. But if you send emails too rarely, they’ll forget about you.

"Marketing is about consistency, not chaos." – Ann Handley

Here’s a Quick Fix:

For B2B Brands: 1-2 emails per week is ideal

For B2C Brands: 2-3 emails per week works well

Ask Your Subscribers: Let them choose their email frequency

Quick Fact: 69% of users unsubscribe because they get too many emails (HubSpot).

Final Thoughts: Fix Your Open Rates Today

Your email open rate is the key to a successful email marketing strategy. If it's dropping, don’t panic. Instead, focus on fixing these five issues and you’ll see better results:

Write stronger subject lines

Keep emails out of spam

Send emails at the right time

Optimize for mobile readers

Find the right email frequency

Want expert help with your email marketing? Let’s connect for a quick consultation call to make the most of your email marketing campaigns!