Email Marketing

Why Your Email Open Rate Is Low (And How to Fix It)

Apr 2, 2025

The Frustration of Unopened Emails

You spent time crafting the perfect email. The subject line? On point. The content? Valuable. The offer? Irresistible.

But when you check your email stats, the open rate is embarrassingly low.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. The average email open rate across industries is around 20-25%, which means that at least 75% of your email list isn’t even opening your emails — let alone clicking or buying.

But here’s the good news: It’s fixable.

If your open rate is lower than you'd like, there are clear reasons why — and even better, clear ways to fix it. Let’s break down why people aren’t opening your emails and how to get them to start paying attention again.

What Is a "Good" Email Open Rate?

Before panicking over a low open rate, let’s set expectations.

A good email open rate depends on your industry, audience, and the type of emails you send. Here’s a general breakdown:

20-25% – The average benchmark for most industries.
25-40% – Strong open rate. Your audience is engaged.
40%+ – Excellent. You’re doing something very right.
Below 15% – Red flag. Time to fix your strategy.

If your open rate is consistently below 15%, email providers may start flagging your emails as spam — leading to even lower open rates.

So why are people ignoring your emails? Let’s dive in.

Why Your Email Open Rate Is Low (And How to Fix It)

1. Your Subject Lines Are Boring (Or Too Salesy)

Your subject line is the first (and sometimes only) thing people see. If it doesn’t spark curiosity or feel relevant, people will scroll right past it.

Common Subject Line Mistakes:

Too generic: "Our Latest Newsletter" (boring!)
Too salesy: "Buy Now and Save 50%!" (spammy!)
Too long: If it gets cut off, it loses impact.

How to Fix It:

Make it personal: Use their name or reference past actions (e.g., "Sarah, still thinking about this?")
Create curiosity: “You’re missing out on this secret…”
Keep it short and punchy: Under 50 characters is ideal.
A/B test different subject lines to see what works best.

Subject Lines That Work:

"You left this behind…"
"A quick tip to [solve their problem]"
"This changed everything for me…"

2. You’re Sending Emails at the Wrong Time

Even the best email will flop if it lands in an inbox at the wrong time.

Common Timing Mistakes:

Sending emails when your audience isn’t checking their inbox.
Blasting emails during peak hours when they get buried.
Sending too often (or not often enough).

How to Fix It:

Test different send times to see what works best for your audience.
Generally, the best times are Tuesday-Thursday mornings (8-10am) or afternoons (2-4 pm).
If your audience is international, segment by time zone for better results.

3. Your Emails Land in Spam (Or the Promotions Tab)

If your emails never even reach the inbox, they don’t stand a chance.

Common Deliverability Mistakes:

Using too many spammy words like “free,” “discount,” or “cash.”
Sending emails to cold or unengaged lists (email providers flag inactive recipients).
Using too many images and links, which can trigger spam filters.

How to Fix It:

Authenticate your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (your email provider can help with this).
Warm up new email lists instead of blasting emails to thousands of people at once.
Ask subscribers to whitelist your emails or move them to their Primary inbox.
Remove inactive subscribers who haven’t opened an email in months.

4. Your Email List Is Full of Unengaged Subscribers

If you’ve built your email list over time, chances are, a chunk of those people just aren’t interested anymore. And that’s okay — what’s not okay is keeping them and letting them hurt your open rates.

How to Fix It:

Clean your list regularly — remove subscribers who haven’t engaged in 3-6 months.
Send a re-engagement campaign with a subject like "Do you still want to hear from us?"
Make it easy to unsubscribe — better to lose a disinterested subscriber than have them mark you as spam.