What does the open rate measure in email marketing?

The open rate in email marketing is a crucial metric that measures the percentage of delivered emails that are opened by recipients. This metric helps marketers assess how effectively their subject lines and preheaders engage the audience and encourage them to open the emails. A higher open rate indicates that the email campaign is successfully capturing recipients' attention and persuading them to read further.

Understanding the open rate is essential for evaluating the initial interest and engagement of subscribers with your email content. It sets the stage for possible further actions on the part of the recipient, such as clicking on links or taking specific actions within the email, but primarily focuses on the first critical step of opening the email.

Other metrics, while important for assessing different aspects of email performance, do not directly measure how many subscribers chose to open the email after it was delivered. For instance, the percentage of email content viewed or the overall conversion rate pertains to different stages of engagement beyond the initial open.