What are open rates, how are they tracked, and what to use them for.
How Are Open Rates Calculated?
Open rates are calculated using a pixeled image automatically embedded in your emails. When an email is opened, the email server will request to download the image from that link. Then, because the email server has to request the image, our server knows which email server/contact downloaded the image and the location due to the email server's IP Address.
Some privacy protections, including the Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), are unable to determine email opens since all emails are pre-downloaded on a different email server before arriving at the user's email box. In addition, real user IPs are hidden since the email server is using a virtual private server (VPN). Therefore, we will report all opens from MPPs as opens even if a user may not have actually opened the email.
What Should You Use Open Rate For?
Due to MPPs, open rates as key performance indicators (KPIs) have become less of a factor. Instead, open rates can be used as a general reference guide to how effective your subject line is and how receptive your audience is to your email at that given time.
You can use open rates to A/B test your email subject lines, as well as, test your email sending time.
For better overall email marketing KPI measurement, we recommend using email click-through rates, or link clicks.