For those who do email marketing in the IM / make money niche...

Hi Steve,

I believe that we must start getting subscribers to notice us and building trust once they subscribe to our list. And I think it's very important. When they get to know you while reading your first few emails, they may not trust you right away, but trust is gaining when they start noticing you and read more of your emails.

Here are some tips that I found on the web, I think it will help you. The article tells you when to send and what free resources to send to get more open rate. And you said that there are subscribers who never open your email, in the article (tips #8) show you how you can engage to the inactive subscribers.
https://blog.bufferapp.com/8-effecti...ed-by-research

You may also check out the free ebook provided my Copyblogger. I subscribed to their blog and still learning from them.
Email Marketing Essentials: The Keys to Email Marketing that Works

I hope it helps and wish you all the best.

I am no email marketer but I hope you appreciate my point of view on this one, as a recipient/subscriber.
What catches my attention is the subject headline, freebies and promotions mostly. But that should be well associated with what I can get , you know what I mean? Something that is valuable for me but at the same time a good deal (money terms). It is automatically understood that freebies are meant to be in exchange of something. You don't expect people to get interest in a free pen if you avail a 2000 worth of a product. You should have something to offer that is a win-win for both of you, something reachable (this is something for you to think about). The thing is, your subject headline should be honest, it should complement well with whatever you have on your email. That's where you build your relationship and trust with your list.

Competing on the reputation and content front is pointless and less profitable.

Don't listen to marketers telling you to give as much value as possible in order to build trust among your subscribers.

Also, don't listen to subscribers telling you the same thing. The people on your list who ONLY want free stuff are most often opportunists who look at buying as a purchase and not an investment.

With everyone else trying to "out content" each other, it's difficult not to blend in and fall through the cracks. Sure, it does work for people who have an already established prescence online, but for the new comer, it's always going to be an uphill struggle to get noticed.

What you should be focusing on when communication with people on your list, is getting them to buy into YOU. Tell stories. Polarise. Be real, controversial, kooky, and all that good stuff.

There's more to it than that, but it's a good start for now.

From a full time email-marketer. Tell stories, and turn the story into a promotion.

Telling stories gets people to trust you, because they get a glimpse into your personal life and see you are a real person... and if you use the story to promote whatever it is you're promoting. You build trust and make money at the same time... and you don't even have to try and "add value" either... people respond very well to the fact that you are letting them get a glimpse into your life... and then they're curious to see what it is you're promoting them that day.

I offer a blend of Free stuff, good content and irresistible offers. I have found it is best to not get in a particular schedule. Always have an offer with your freebies. Always give freebies with your offers. Deliver great content. Inject yourself. If you are promoting the same affiliate stuff as everyone else then someone else will beat you to the punch. Find what others are not promoting and give value to it. Be the trend setter not a trend watcher.

If you have a list and you are watching the product launches then look for the new offers. Do what they do on here and ask for a review copy. Become involved personally. If you are in the MMO niche then when looking for offers don't focus on how much you will make focus on the products. Let those whose products you will be reviewing know that you will be honest with your readers. If their product is junk and they know it then they won't want you to review it.

You stand out by being unique, different. You stand out EVEN more by providing lots of value. Answering their biggest questions. Resolving their pains and frustrations. Its an art to the whole thing.

Get in front of them on multiple channels.

Email is great, but if you're having trouble gaining trust and credibility then expose them to your Facebook page where you can show them you're a real and relatable person. (make sure you have pictures of yourself / videos / status updates that back it up).

Get them on YouTube so they can hear your voice, see your mannerisms, body language, tonality, etc.

Connect with them on Instagram so they can become attracted to your day to day life.

You can do this with your emails, too.
Add in pictures to break up the text, screen shots of your videos, link to videos, etc.

In a competitive niche, leverage your story to get people attracted to you.

Doing your best to provide quality should go without saying and I'm sure you're already doing your best for it. So I'd get back to what you said, that a quarter of your list hasn't opened any of your emails. And back to what someone else mentioned here, about the subject lines.
First you need to make yourself noticed in the inbox. Have you tried shrinking your subject lines to 3-5 words and adding one symbol / emoji in the subject line?

there are no speciale trick that competitors doesn t use!
the system is the same!
you must try to be different giving hight quality free resources, grat articles and offering good products!