What is Open Rate? Inbound Marketing Terms Under 150 Words

An open rate is the percentage of people on an email list who have viewed or opened an email compared to the total number of email of people the email was sent to. The primary purpose of an open rate is to determine the effectiveness of your subject line.

Getting your email recipients to open your emails is the first hurdle to cross on the path of guiding your prospects further into the sales funnel. The date and time an email is sent, subject line copy, the quality of your email list and how well your email list is segmented (making sure the information you are sending is relevant to that specific audience) are all factors that impact open rates.

Expert Tip:

Use a subject line copy that gives recipients a reason to open the message. This can be achieved by providing an incentive – “Receive a free one month trial,” or adding a sense of urgency – “Your 20% discount offer expires Monday.” By inspiring your recipients to take action on your emails, you will see higher open rates and increased conversions on your offers.