Low open rate

Yeah, that does sound pretty low considering the type of traffic.

I average around a 15% open rate, but my subscribers are a combination of solo ads and really, really, REALLY cheap search engine traffic (around 20c a sub), so it's only to be expected.

Thanks mate! Well, it's not always every 2 days, sometimes more...
I grow my email list giving aways eBooks or videos, sometimes someone subscribe to have free updates... But the thing I don't understand is 80% of people who simply don't open emails and don't unsubscribe as well.
What they do? They keep receiving emails from a website and delete those emails systematically without even know what they talk about?

In all due respct, I do not agree with this.

You may hate it but emailing just 1 to 2 a week will NOT maximize your ROI if you are doing things properly.

That's a fact that has proven time and time again.

Particularly if you are in the MMO Niche.

It should be Everyday ..if you really have something to say that is of Value to your Subs. If you are not talented in this regard,well you need to really work on it.

In non- mmo niches I do every other day with Broadcast mixed in about twice a week.

Btw, 20% in MMO Niche is decent. In non- mmo you could work on it, definitely.

How ?

Establish yourself from the git go as an Authority in the Niche. In the beginning email give them some history on you. Tell them what you know ( and what you do not know). Give them specifics on your own Success in the field

The fact of the matter is the one ingredient above all else in determining Open rates is WHERE or WHO the email is coming from


- Robert Andrew

All right, maybe my subject lines are really bad to not be opened at all!
What you mean with "keep your list fresh"?

Yep, getting traffic is a huge problem for me right now (as it is for 90% of the people out there I guess ). I've read that your business is going bad if you don't get at least 10 subscribers every single day!
Well, 10 subscribers per day looks like a really difficult task right now!

Hi thirdeyeblind82,

While industry benchmarks can give you a general ideal of how your own stats compare to others in the same industry, as a rule you should pay little attention to metrics based on aggregate data, especially if that data is not from your own list. Sure, it can be used to impress your boss, or a client, by comparing your own stats to industry benchmarks, but between me and you, it holds little to no real marketing value. Instead you should be focused on individual segments within your own list, that is where metrics like open rates can be useful.

Every list is different, each will contain a different mix of people from various sources, with various interests, intent, and engagement levels. Some people on your list may have only a passing interest in the topic, while others might have an intense and enduring interest. When, where, and how you attracted your subscribers will have an enormous influence on the makeup of your subscriber lists. For this reason you should setup segments based on date, source, category topic, engagement levels, etc.

Open rates will not only vary based on list characteristics, but also on frequency of mailings, timing of mailings, and most importantly the perceived value derived from both your subject lines, headlines, as well as the content that you deliver. Anytime you look at your metrics in aggregate you are ignoring the bulk of your most informative data. For that reason you should not focus much attention on your aggregate data metrics. Instead, dive deeper into the various segments and try to understand why each segment is higher, or lower than other segments. Those insights can be very valuable when applied to future campaigns.

I recommend that you ignore advice that recommends a specific frequency for your mailings. They are, for the most part offering anecdotal advise based on their own list, not your list. That is something that I suggest you test for yourself, as it tends to vary a great deal from one list to another, and from one content strategy to another.

I also suggest that you should not listen to those that may imply you should focus on open rates as a primary objective. Sure, open rates are certainly a useful metric, they inform you of a specific behavior that can provide insight, but generally should not be used as the primary metric to focus on in managing campaigns. For example, a campaign with a very high open rate combined with a very high unsubscribe rate tells you something very different from another with the same open rate and a very high retention and conversion rate. Open rates are just a hint that helps you gain insight, but using it in isolation, or as the primary objective, can often lead you to poor campaign performance.

Another metric that is useful and informative, but also a poor choice as a primary objective is the often targeted ROI. Using ROI as a primary objective can, and often does lead to disastrous results. This common practice may be one of the biggest causes of failure in marketing that I have seen. Myopic focus on ROI often leads to a significant reduction in total number of conversions. Instead, focus on total value, or total profits, not only for the immediate campaign, but lifetime customer value.

It's so easy to burn up the lifetime customer value of a list with the harmful practice of excessive mailings. Make sure that you know the effect your mailing frequency is having on the lifetime customer value, and make sure that is used in measuring the effectiveness of your campaigns. Ignoring lifetime customer value while focusing myopically on ROI can do some major damage to valuable business assets, like list value, and brand image value, especially in the long run.

It is often the case that in a given month you might make more profit with higher frequency mailings. However most analysis I've seen do not calculate this correctly. Typically, they only measure the effect for the short period like a single month, or just a single campaign. In reality you have lost more than that from an unsubscribe, you have lost all of the revenue potential for the average subscriber retention time Those calculations that use short-term metrics are wrong because they do not use LTV (lifetime values) for the calculation.

By using LTV you are including the full cumulative value of a lost subscriber, not just the short term impact. Not using LTV will skew you results towards excessive email frequencies and less than optimal performance. When you use the proper metric, subscriber LTV, the net result can often be the opposite of what you concluded from short-term based analysis. The bottom line, is use LTV in your calculations to get a true analysis of your data.

2-3% is not a normal open rate and is actually very poor. Stop spreading lies here on the forum. If that's the average for your lists, then you're doing something very wrong or just have low quality content.

Here's a few reports and statistics:
Email Marketing Benchmarks | MailChimp

What's a Good Email Open Rate & Click Rate? [Benchmark Data]

Email marketing statistics 2015 compilation

Open rate varies by industry but 20% is an ok average. However, like I mentioned before, you should still try to improve it. No one gets rich by being average.

Ok Maxi ,here is the question ,I still cant get what you wanted to say ,When you say if they dont listen to you ,Obviously they wont listen to you if you r provinding something of extreme bad quality,On the other hand if your product is good ,I dont see y they wont listen to you ,

When you said about 2 to 3 per open rate ,which is pretty bad and you gotta do something about it ,You also need to check the source from where you have built your list ,If everything is coming from fiverr ,Even a one per open rate will be considered huge and if you get a sale from that,you can call it a blessings in disguise

Chyanit

Any it also depends on which marketer you have listened to ,please dont put everyone in the same boat Mate

Chyanit

I would look at the subject line first of all.

And if people do not open your emails then there are no sales hence no return on investment. So, improving your open rate is key to successful email marketing

al

A little insane. Albeit you are right the CTR on Product Offering links is what really matters, but to get those as Al said you have to get people to Open your Emails

I have some very large/lower quality lists, that I don't track or have any stats for opens/clicks (I do segment the opens and clicks, which produces better lists) and all I look at is daily, weekly and monthly profit.

My other higher quality lists, I do look at open/clicks rates and try and get them as high as possible.

You can always prune the addresses that don't open over X time, to make the list more responsive.

Yes!

Most people don't give you their main email. Most people will give you 'one' of their email addresses. And some people who actually give you their main email are actually getting tons of emails from other marketers.

That's the way it goes in email marketing.

Focus on sales conversions.

I definitely have to try it!

But you don't think is gonna overcrowd the subscribers mailbox?