Death of the Open Rate You know how some email teams cling to open rates as holy marketing truths handed down from onto… well, vendors? Thanks to privacy, blocking, and automation, opens have become less valuable than ever. Smart marketers use richer engagement signals that actually tell a story about what subscribers did.
Open Rates Are Irrelevant for Most Teams Today
Open rates used to provide an easily understandable metric for campaign success: did people open the email? Nowadays, there are far too many edge cases where pixels get blocked, cached, or fired without human involvement.
Metrics matter because they tie email activities to real business results. If getting opens were enough, everyone would optimise for subject lines alone. Marketers who dig deeper understand why clicks, conversions, and revenue fell short of their goals.
Engagement Metrics Modern Marketers Care About
Leading teams measure behavior that proves subscribers were interested, not just served an email. They want proof that someone read something meaningful and took an action toward conversion, not simply that an email program loaded an image.
- Click through rate indicates subscribers took action on the email.
- Conversion rate tells teams email contributed to a sale.
- Revenue per email demonstrates business value (best).
- Reply rate shows replies to prove reader interest.
- Forwarding/sharing emails indicates value was high enough to share.
- Unsubscribe rates/complaints point to subscriber fatigue.
By combining several signals, marketers can see which messages led to customers and which generated impressive Vanity Metrics. Campaign measurement at top businesses revolves around actions and trust.
How Clicks Are the Best Proxy for Interest Right Now
Email opens are declining as an actionable metric. When was the last time you clicked on an email link without opening it first? Most users would say never. Clicks show real intent.
Why? Teams that analyze clicks dive into which links were clicked, how many people scrolled before clicking, and whether some content blocks convert better than others.
Why Conversion Rate Is More Useful Than Open Rate
Good clicks don’t equal dollars. Metrics matter when they prove the email produced value for the business. Conversion rates help close that loop by quantifying completed goals.
The table below highlights key metrics that demonstrate why conversion rates are more valuable than open rates.
| Metric | Purpose | Key Insight | Example Tool |
| Conversion Rate | Quantify goal completion | Tracks purchases or signups | Google Analytics |
| Click-through Rate | Measure email engagement | Indicates intent to explore | Mailchimp |
| Offer Friction | Assess barriers to action | Spot low-conversion campaigns | Optimizely |
| Segment Performance | Compare customer data | Identify high converters | HubSpot |
These data points emphasize how focusing on conversion rates paints a clearer picture of email campaign success.
When measuring conversions, teams start thinking about which segments convert most easily. What email flow had the fastest converters? Which offer had the lowest friction? Which sequence had the highest propensity to purchase?
Long-term Engagement Metrics
Clicks matter. But top companies don’t obsess over single transactions. They invest in subscribers who prove likely to convert again and again. Which email metrics tell that story?
Many teams analyze longitudinal trends to gauge behaviors that will drive future revenue. They also identify high-quality subscribers by comparing engagement metrics across different customer cohorts.
- Did subscribers make repeat purchases from promotions?
- Did subscribers continue reading after clicking the email?
- How long did it take subscribers to take the desired action?
- Do emails increase customer lifetime value?
- Do emails increase reactivation rates?
- Do subscribers forward emails to friends?
Chasing opens won’t define which subscribers are fully engaged for your business. But encouraging repeat purchases and measuring subscribers over time can illuminate who your best customers are by email behavior.
Email Metrics by Flow (Automation)
Email marketers use automation for different purposes. Welcome emails should flow quickly, whereas nurture campaigns might meander. Since subscribers reach each email at different stages, behaviors will vary.
Rather than focusing on open rate declines across all emails, take time to understand how automation affects engagement metrics. For example: what should your expectation be for a cart abandonment email?
Deliverability Still Matters When Discussing Email Metrics
Yes, open rates are trivial. But if nobody can see your emails, it won’t matter how well you track clicks or cart recoveries. Deliverability is the foundation for email marketing.
It prevents your messages from being dumped into the spam folder where no amount of clicking matters. Evaluate your email program’s deliverability health if your engagement metrics are disappointing.
Leading-edge Teams Take a Different Approach
Once you wade through the metrics fluff, top performing email marketers focus less on opens and more on customer lifecycle. How does email help the subscriber along their journey?
Additionally, high-IQ teams run more comprehensive experiments. Instead of testing just subject lines, they test offers, timing, segmentation rules, creative templates, and more.
A few things these teams have in common:
- Identify one main objective per email.
- Focus on what subscribers do after receiving the email.
- Don’t report on your entire list – segment.
- Check your email marketing analytics weekly.
- Run controlled experiments with holdouts.
- Share email marketing numbers internally.
Strong measurement practices should lead to better email campaigns. Measure with purpose and your bounce rate will thank you.
