A lot of people still judge the success of their email campaigns by open rates, but the truth is those numbers aren’t accurate anymore. Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection inflates opens, which means someone might never actually read your email but still show up in your stats. In this episode, I break down why open rates can be misleading, what other metrics matter more, and how to rethink success so your email strategy actually supports your business goals.
Podcast intro music is "High-Altitude Party" by Pamela Yuen, licensed under CC-BY-4.0
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Why Open Rates Are a Vanity Metric
Email open rates, including those you send en masse from HubSpot or Substack, are not fully accurate. And yet many people still judge the success of an email campaign by an open rate percentage. What’s going on here?
© 2025 Laura MacGregor
