How to Improve Open and Click Rates - Online Help | Zoho Campaigns

How to Improve Open and Click Rates

In short: Open and click rates show how well your campaigns reach and interest your contacts. To improve them, send trackable HTML emails, write a crisp and honest subject line, add a clear call to action button, and send at the right time to well-segmented, active contacts. Judge your results mainly by clicks, since Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates.
Open and click rates are measures of the success and reach of your email campaigns. If your marketing approach is on the right track, then you will see decent open and click rates for your campaigns.

Open and click rates – An infographic.

Open rates are no longer a reliable yardstick on their own. Apple Mail Privacy Protection loads emails automatically and records an open even when nobody read the message, so reported open rates run high. Click rates are the better measure, and they typically sit in the low single digits, often about 1-3% depending on your industry and list. Low engagement can hurt your email deliverability, so keep an eye on both. Here are a few pointers to help you take your open and click rates to the next level.

None of this works if your emails don't reach the inbox. Authenticate your sender domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: Gmail and Yahoo (since February 2024) and Outlook.com (since May 5, 2025) require all three from senders of 5,000 or more emails a day.

Use HTML-generated content

Before you can improve your open and click rates, it is important to get as much information as possible from your campaigns. Open rates can't be tracked in a text-only email. Clicks can: Zoho Campaigns replaces the links in plain-text emails with tracking URLs. We still recommend that you use HTML-generated email content, so you can track both opens and clicks and find out what is and isn't working for you.

Here's how it works: every time an email campaign is sent, a hidden, one-pixel image is placed in the body of your email. This is known as web beacon or tracking pixel. Whenever a recipient opens your campaign email, the pixel loads and an open is recorded. When a recipient clicks on any of the links in the email body, it is known as a click-through. The image pixel is embedded by default when the email content is framed using HTML. Because Apple Mail Privacy Protection loads the pixel automatically, an open doesn't always mean a person read your email, which is why clicks are the more dependable signal.

Subject

Open rates depend mostly on how your subject line is framed. At first glance, the subject says more about your intent and organization than your email content. The best thing you can do for the success of an email campaign is to frame it with an irresistible subject line that can never be left unclicked. See how to craft a dynamic subject line.

We recommend you avoid the common mistakes made while crafting a subject line as given below
  • Too much punctuation (for example, Welcome!!!!!)
  • ALL CAPS subject line
  • Usage of common spam words (for example, dating, absolutely free, singles, etc)
  • Lengthy, misleading content
Today's spam filters weigh your sender reputation and engagement far more than any single word, but still avoid the patterns spammers overuse. See why emails land in the spam folder. Keep the subject line short too: mobile screens show only limited characters, so put the key words first.

Call to action button

Set up your email content with a visible call to action button that correctly leads to your target webpage. Always use a button instead of a hyperlink, preferably one with a small click animation. Position your button where your recipient can see it without scrolling (above the fold) so that it's convenient for your recipients to click it. Use verbs that describe the action you want your recipients to take, such as 'Shop', 'Learn', 'Get', or 'Submit', instead of the same old 'click here' phrase to make your call to action button feel more engaging.

Consider recipient's time zone

It is essential that you know the geographic timezone of your contacts so that you can decide when users at that location are more likely to open your emails. Your open rates will be higher if you send your messages when your recipients are actually looking at their emails. Depending on where you're sending messages to, your recipients are more or less likely to open an email or check their inboxes. For example, in Asian countries, the usual time to check email is in the late evening. Consider your regional demographics before clicking the send button. Zoho Campaigns can also send at each recipient's time zone or at their optimal open time; see send and schedule email campaigns.

Demographic factors

Of course, demographic factors such as gender, occupation, age, and income level will dictate the content of your campaign. Analyzing the above factors and framing more specific content for corresponding target groups can yield higher response rates. For example, target your premium level customers when you're campaigning about highly-priced products. See target marketing.

Segmentation

Segmentation is where you break a mailing list up by various demographic factors. This ensures that your campaigns are sent out to the most relevant targets and helps increase your sales. See how to create segments.

Language matters

If you have an international audience, it is very helpful to have your messages translated into the native language for each region. If you send emails in a language your contacts don't use, recipient systems may treat them as irrelevant and your emails may end up in the spam folder.

Eliminate inactive contacts

Uninterested and inactive contacts are the biggest cause for low open/click rates. Identify them (by their clicks as well as their opens) and either try to reengage with them or purge them from your mailing lists. See how to craft a win-back campaign and mailing list pruning.

Sending frequency

The time between two consecutive email campaigns plays a huge role in your open and click rates. Too frequent can irritate your contacts. Meanwhile, they may forget who you are if you send them emails with long communication gap. It is essential to find out the best frequency for your messages according to your market and audience. A good baseline frequency is two emails per week. You can limit how often each contact is emailed with frequency capping.

Test before sending

Before you send a wide-reaching campaign, try to get some testing in so that you can get better insights into what works and what doesn't. A/B Testing is a great way to determine the success of your email content. Decide the winner on clicks rather than opens. 

Personalization

Add a personal touch to your emails. When you address your contacts by their first names or send them offers on their birthday, you are more likely to grab their interest.

Mobile-friendly emails

Most people check their emails on their mobile phones. So, your email campaign should be compatible with all portable devices. Be succinct with your subject and preheader content, as space on a mobile device is at a premium. You can utilize some online services (as shown in image below) to see how it appears on your recipients' devices.

Keep your layout consistent

Standardize your content layout to create a consistent and familiar feel for your readers. Try to make it resemble your homepage and include your logo.

Resend unopened emails

If your email goes unopened, you can change the subject and preheader text, then try sending it again. Just make sure not to resend it to a recipient who has already opened your message. Keep in mind that some "opens" are automatic, so a contact who never clicked may not have seen your first email.
Make sure that your CTA and any links in your email work perfectly and redirect your recipients to the intended page.