Glossary: pipeline measures
What is email open rate?
Email open rate is the percentage of delivered emails that recipients opened. You work it out by dividing the number of emails opened by the number of emails delivered and multiplying by 100.
Formula
Worked example
540 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = 45%
Open rate is emails opened divided by emails delivered.
The two numbers in the formula are less solid than they look, and it helps to know how each is counted.
Opens are counted with a tracking pixel.
A tiny invisible image is added to the email. When it loads, the sending tool records an open.
Delivered means sent minus bounces.
Use delivered as the base, not sent, so that a bad list does not hide a good subject line.
The count is an estimate.
Some mail apps load images automatically and some block them, so an open can be recorded without a reader or missed with one.
Here is open rate worked out for an invented company.
Imagine Corvenby, an invented IT services company. It sends 1,250 emails and 50 bounce, so 1,200 are delivered. With its first subject line, tracking records 540 opens. Its open rate is 540 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = 45%.
The next week Corvenby keeps the email body and writes a new subject line. Of 1,200 delivered emails, tracking records 660 opens: 660 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = 55%. The new subject line earned 120 more opens. Corvenby then checks replies, because an open is only worth something if it leads to one.
Opens from 1,200 delivered emails for each Corvenby subject line
Use open rate as an early signal.
Open rate is quick to read and imprecise. Treat it as a first check, and decide on replies.
The four steps in order
- 1Compare like with like
- 2Test subjects
- 3Watch for drops
- 4Decide on replies
- 1
Compare like with like.
Open rates differ by audience and mail app, so compare a campaign with your own earlier ones to the same kind of audience.
- 2
Test subjects with it.
The subject line and the sender name are what a reader sees before opening.
- 3
Watch for drops.
If opens fall sharply across a campaign, mail may be landing in spam.
- 4
Decide on replies.
Replies are counted exactly and sit closer to a meeting.
Prymatica A/B tests subject lines, angles and CTAs weekly and sends from warmed, authenticated domains engineered for inbox placement. See how Prymatica's cold email process works.
Teams make these mistakes with open rate.
Open rate is treated as exact.
Automatic image loading and image blocking both distort it. Read it as a rough guide.
Opens are the goal.
A subject line that tricks people into opening earns opens and loses trust. Replies are the goal.
The base is emails sent.
Dividing by sent mixes list quality into a measure of the subject line. Divide by delivered.
These glossary terms sit next to open rate.
Questions
People ask these questions about open rate.
How do you calculate email open rate?
Divide the number of emails opened by the number delivered and multiply by 100. For example, 540 opens from 1,200 delivered emails is 540 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = 45%.
How is an email open tracked?
The sending tool adds a tiny invisible image to the email. When the recipient's mail app loads that image, the tool records an open. If images are blocked the open is missed, and if they load automatically an open is recorded whether or not anyone read the email.
What is a good open rate for cold email?
There is no single number worth aiming at, because tracking differs between mail apps. Compare each campaign with your own earlier campaigns to the same kind of audience, and watch the trend.
Does open tracking affect deliverability?
The tracking image adds a remote link to the email, which is one more thing for a spam filter to weigh. Some senders turn open tracking off and judge campaigns on replies alone.
What is the difference between open rate and reply rate?
Open rate counts emails that were opened, as estimated by a tracking image. Reply rate counts emails that were answered, which is exact. Open rate reflects the subject line and inbox placement. Reply rate reflects the whole message and the fit of the list.
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