How to Boost Your Email Open Rates in 2025

Struggling with low email open rates? Many businesses spend hours crafting campaigns only to find their emails land in the wrong folder or worse, get ignored. 

The good news: there are proven steps you can take to make sure your emails cut through. 

In this article, we’ll show you how to time your sends, segment your database for relevant content, write subject lines that get clicks, and set up the technical side so your emails actually make it to the inbox.

Open rates can jump significantly after segmenting their list and testing subject lines. Small tweaks really can drive big results.

Tips to Improve Your Open Rates

Use segmentation

Broad “blast” emails are less effective. Audiences want and expect personalised, targeted communication. By tagging subscribers with their interests and behaviours, businesses can deliver content people actually want, rather than one size fits all blasts.

Spend time on your subject lines and be specific

It goes without saying but if you don’t have a subject line that makes people want to open your email, they won’t. Don’t try to be too clever, just be clear and specific on what is in the email that they might be excited about (a little FOMO works too). 

A/B testing different subject lines can also help reveal what drives clicks, whether it’s curiosity, FOMO, or a personalised touch.

Don’t forget your domain setup

Without proper domain authorisation, your emails may be pushed to spam or promotions tabs. Verifying your domain ensures email clients recognise you as a trusted sender, improving your deliverability.

Measure beyond open rate

Track clicks, goals and conversions to understand the real impact of your emails.

Send at the right time

As a general rule for B2C, Sunday evenings after 7pm are often best. For B2B, Thursday afternoons perform strongly.

Predictive send tools pick the send at the time that is best for each individual.

Platforms like HubSpot, ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo use AI to learn when each individual is most likely to open. Over time, they optimise send times automatically.Here is an example of how AI-driven CRMs highlight the best send times for each contact and industry benchmarks.

With Privacy Settings Are Open Rates Relevant in 2025?

While useful, open rates aren’t the full story. Privacy settings mean they’re not as accurate as they used to be, so they should always be considered alongside other metrics like click-through rates and the actual actions people take from your emails.

Why Are Email Open Rates Still Important?

Your overall open rate trends are still the first signal of whether your email campaign is connecting with your audience. If people aren’t opening your emails, they’re not reading your offers, updates, or insights.

Lower open rates can mean wasted time, missed opportunities, and even lost revenue.

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Email marketing isn’t just about sending messages, it’s about getting them opened, read and acted upon. By mastering timing, segmentation, subject lines, and technical setup, you’ll give your campaigns the best chance to succeed.

If you’re running email campaigns and want to see better results, Walk Digital can help. We work with businesses to optimise their CRM tools and create campaigns that actually drive action.

👉 Get in touch today and let’s make your emails impossible to ignore.