It’s time to say goodbye to your email open rate

In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, it's time to bid farewell to relying solely on email open rates as a measure of success.

WHY THIS IS HAPPENING:

The data privacy landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by legislative changes like GDPR and CPRA, as well as growing consumer pressure on tech giants. In this shifting environment, marketers can no longer freely utilize personal data, and this shift in paradigm affects not only digital advertisers but also email marketers.

Over the past few years, we've witnessed a surge in privacy legislation, with more than 75% of states considering privacy laws, and several enacting comprehensive state privacy regulations. While U.S. legislation may not explicitly require opt-in consent for email marketers as GDPR does, it's essential for marketers operating both within the U.S. and in B2B spaces to stay informed. These laws can have unforeseen impacts on your email marketing strategies.

Beyond legislation, big tech companies like Google and Apple have implemented data privacy tools, such as Google's end of third-party cookie tracking and Apple's Mail Privacy Protection, in response to consumer demands. These tools can have unexpected consequences for your email strategy:

1. Apple's Mail Privacy Protection can make it appear as if emails have more opens than they genuinely do.
2. Security bots can artificially inflate click rates in email reports.
3. Your marketing automation platform may rely on third-party cookies to track website visitors.
4. Tools like DuckDuckGo's email inbox may conceal interactions from your marketing tools.

Given these changes, it's essential to reevaluate the reliability of email open rates as a key performance indicator.

Depending on whether you're a B2B or B2C marketer, you may be impacted by tools such as Apple's Mail Privacy Protection, Outlook's peculiar method of calculating opens, or emerging services like DuckDuckGo's privacy email inbox.

It's crucial to investigate whether your marketing automation platform allows you to identify the email clients used by your recipients.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

When considering the impact of these clients on your open rates, a high percentage of Apple Mail Privacy Protection users may artificially inflate your open rates. On the other hand, a high percentage of Outlook users might lead to lower open rates since Outlook often blocks the automatic download of images, affecting the tracking of opens by pixel triggers.

While tools like DuckDuckGo's inbox may not currently impact your reports significantly, it's worth noting that consumer demand for data protection is growing, and more privacy-focused email tools may emerge. This trend adds to the reasons why relying solely on email opens for reporting may no longer be a viable option.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

In light of these developments, the time has come to reconsider how we measure success in email marketing.

Instead of focusing solely on open rates, consider direct engagement metrics. Report on actions taken by email recipients, such as engaging with the content you've sent, visiting your website, or becoming list members. Evaluate whether email recipients are more profitable than non-recipients and analyze the broader impact of your email program.

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