It’s a common question, “What’s a good open rate for my emails?”  While every email campaign is a little different and campaign goals can skew these numbers open rate often come down to one variable, email list building practices.

Double Opt-Ins are the most intensive way of building a list.  People have to opt-in and then confirm that opt-in via email.  Lists built in this way have a focused audience and usually subscriber fatigue or email address expiration causes non-opens.  Double opt-ins often have a high open rate, anywhere from 40% – 60%.

For email lists that are built on an opt-in basis open rates are usually around 18% to 20%.  Opt in is usually done online but offline additions can also be added from sign ups at events or gathered by the business development team.

Purchased or found lists often have the lowest open rates, typically 8 – 10%.  These are lists where the email marketer buys, rents, or finds addresses and the recipients have not specifically requested their particular communication.

So as a general rule that’s a breakdown on what to expect from open rates.  Open rate success often directly correlates to the quality of the list it’s being sent to.