Your email open rate is the percentage of people who open an email, out of everyone who received it. It is a core measure of whether your emails are getting attention in a crowded inbox.
Why it matters to you:
- Email is the most reliable and highest-converting channel for selling art. Unlike a social post that scrolls past, an email sits in the inbox waiting to be seen.
- A strong open rate means your subscribers trust that opening your email is worth their time. That trust is something you build, email by email.
- It is a leading indicator. Poor open rates today will limit your sales tomorrow, because fewer people see what you launch.
What drives it:
- The quality of your past emails. If every email gives real value, people keep opening. Dull or purely salesy emails quietly kill your list.
- Your subject line. Make it intriguing and keep it short so it reads well on a phone. Test different subject lines to see what your audience responds to.
- Freshness. Recently joined subscribers tend to open at higher rates, so keep growing your list.
What to do next:
- Make most of your emails value-giving: behind-the-scenes stories, sketches, inspiration, work in progress. Save the hard sell for drops.
- Split-test subject lines and keep them concise.
- Track your open rate over time and treat a rising trend as proof your content is landing.
Great emails grow open rates; weak ones shrink them. Protect your list by only ever sending something worth opening.