Good Open Rates for Email Newsletters: How Does Yours Compare?

You've put in the hard work and created an email newsletter that people want to read. Now you’re staring at the screen and tracking the opens, eager to discover how your content performs.

Email open rates and other newsletter metrics are one way of evaluating success. But what's a good open rate for an email newsletter?

As with so many questions, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The open rate for your email newsletter will vary depending on a number of factors, including your industry or niche.

So let’s take a look at what constitutes a good open rate for your email newsletter and offer some tips on how to improve it.

What Is a Good Open Rate for Email?

Email open rate is the percentage of recipients that opened your message out of the total number of people to whom you sent it. It indicates the effectiveness of your email content and design in engaging your audience.

You calculate the email open rate by dividing the number of unique opens by the number of emails delivered (and then multiplying the resulting fraction by 100%):

• Open rate = (Total Unique Opens/Total Deliveries) x 100

You’ll find different numbers scattered across the web, each of them determined by a different sample set. But looking at them as a whole, a good open rate for email is around 17-40%.

Why yes, that is a large range.

A Good Open Rate for Email Newsletter by Industry

The average open rate for all marketing emails in the United States was 17.6% in 2020. But you’ll get a better idea of a newsletter’s success by looking at industry-specific open rates.

These averages come from a study with numbers current as of November 2022.

• All industries: 33.86%

• Administrative Support: 27.66%

• Business Consulting: 26.41%

• Child Care: 29.55%

• Dining and Food Businesses: 37.11%

• Education: 36.06%

• Faith-Based Organizations: 42.85%

• Family and Social Services: 36.59%

• Financial: 26.44%

• Health and Wellness: 34.62%

• Home and Building: 37.87%

• Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers: 37.10%

• Legal: 31.08%

• Manufacturing and Distribution: 27.08%

• Nonprofit Organizations: 37.84%

• Personal Care and Beauty: 37.59%

• Real Estate: 32.81%

• Recreation, Sports, and Entertainment: 38.61%

• Repair and Maintenance: 32.77%

• Technology Services: 17.86%

• Transportation Services: 32.70%

• Travel and Tourism: 40.18%

Why are these numbers so much higher? Only the rate for Technology Services falls near the 2020 U.S. average.

This data mostly comes from small businesses, which are a better reference point for most brand newsletters than the national average open rate for email marketing in 2022. That number is shaped by mega-corporations that send huge numbers of emails at a time.

Look at the average for your niche. How does your open rate compare?

5 Other Factors That Influence an Email Newsletter’s Open Rate

Averages emerge out of differences. In all probability, very few education newsletters have an exact open rate of 36.06%. Different factors account for the wide range of numbers in a given industry. Stay near the top of yours by integrating them into your email strategy.

1. Frequency

Don’t overwhelm your readership. For most publications, the ideal newsletter frequency ranges from once a month to twice a week.

There are very successful newsletters that issue installments once a day–Morning Brew, developed by our very own founders here at beehiiv, is a great example. Some even hold audience interest more often. But if you plan to step outside the average publication’s ideal frequency, make sure that your subject, audience, and energy can sustain the target. Better to put out quality content than quantity content.

And never resend an email to subscribers who didn’t open it the first time around. Your open rate will suffer, which may cause deliverability issues down the line.

2. Timing

When you send your emails also matters. You want to find the best time to send your newsletters. For example, if you contact people on the cusp of a weekend (Friday afternoon or Monday morning), fewer people may have the necessary attention or time to spare.

You can go even further than general timing guidelines by setting up A/B tests and issuing the same newsletter during different windows. Maybe your target audience is most responsive on Wednesdays at 10 am. beehiiv’s automation tools make it easy to accommodate them.

Depending on your niche, open rates also can vary across the year. Health and wellness writers might see an uptick at the start of a new year, and important news in any industry could justify an extra issue. Take advantage of these surges in interest.

3. Relevance

People open newsletters they find valuable and well-targeted to their needs and interests. While variety can be a good thing, don’t stray too far from the promise that made your audience subscribe.

Where does your value proposition lie? People should want to read your newsletters because you provide ____. If you want to experiment in new directions, tie these forays back to your central theme or authority.

Your subject lines should also advertise the newsletter’s subject. Let readers immediately identify your central topic as they scan their inboxes. Clever titles are good but don’t sacrifice clarity for wit.

4. Subject Lines

Think in terms of the three C’s. Subject lines should be:

• Clear

• Concise

• Captivating

The subject line is the most important single phrase that you’ll write for any issue. It’s your chance to persuade a subscriber to click and start reading. As with timing, you can test different subject lines to see which performs best.

Aim for subject lines that feel personal, honest, and relatable. Urgency is good–but don’t overpromise or fall into click-bait language.

5. Quality

The truth is that there’s no magic secret or shortcut, just best practices. The number one factor that will determine whether someone reads your next email is how much they liked the last one.

Different elements can go into making content high-quality. People might read one newsletter for the witty prose, another for its insider access to industry, and a third for its comprehensive treatment of subjects. As with newsletter relevance, make sure that you consistently provide the type of quality that initially attracted your audience.

Be smart and strategic with your newsletter delivery, but remember that nothing substitutes for good content creation.

Set the Right Email Newsletter Targets

The above numbers should help you evaluate where you are now. That said, a good open rate for an email newsletter isn’t your only source of information. Pay attention to click-through rates and direct customer feedback, too. beehiiv provides powerful tools for analytics — take advantage of them.

So how should you set a good target? Start by looking at your industry average and your own performance over time. What have been your own highs and lows?

Read up on notable successes, too. You can find beehiiv case studies and creator spotlights in the blog. After all, the goal isn’t to meet the average but to exceed it.

And be patient — particularly if this is your first time launching an email newsletter. beehiiv gives you the resources you need to scale quickly, not immediately. Enjoy the journey.