As a safelist user it's important to be aware that low open rates are common in our niche. The average member receives hundreds and thousands of emails every day so they can't open every ad in their inbox.

If your headline is not exceptional then chances are your message will not attract many readers. This is true not only for safelist emails, but also for emails sent to your own list, as the audience and their behavior are similar.

The key difference is you established relationships with your list and subscribers pay more attention to your messages.

However, sometimes subscribers stay on your list but stop opening your emails. This can happen for several reasons: they may have lost interest in what you’re saying, they may be taking a break, or your headlines may be great, but the copy is predictable.

These challenges eliminate by improving your headlines and copy and adding more intrigue to your messages. Practice makes perfect.

The worst scenario is when Gmail enters the game and starts filtering your emails in the promotion folder, instead of putting them into the inbox. People usually never browse that folder, so your messages are buried among other garbage.

I can't list all Gmail algorithms, but over the years I noticed a common pattern: If your emails receive low open rates, due to your readers are not interested, then they are more likely to be filtered into the promotions folder...

where they get even fewer opens!

The only way to escape this downward spiral is to keep your list clean and fresh. It's very easy to do. You need to delete all subscribers who have been on your list for over 90 days and have never opened a single email.

I recommend using a good email management system like AWeber where a cleaning list is one of the standard features.

It's also important to consistently send emails. At least 2 times a week to give your subscribers a chance to read your messages.

If you stop emailing for a long period of time, your open rates will decrease. For example, after not emailing my list for a while, my open rate dropped from an average of 14-15% to below 10%.

After three months of frequent mailing, I was able to clean my list. Although the number of subscribers decreased, my open rates doubled jumping from 8.8% to 17%. One email received even 19.4% opens.

What about traffic sites where you also send emails to their members?

The same principles apply when sending emails through mailers and safelists. A better headline will result in higher open rates, increasing your chances of getting more signups and sales for your offers.

However, if the site’s membership is not clean, your messages will end up in the promo or spam folders. That happens when admins chase for the numbers and don't want to delete inactive users.

There are a lot of sites where you only get 3-4 clicks sending your emails to 3,000+ members. It's disturbing, especially when you have to visit 100 sites to receive 3 visitors in return. 

I don't recommend using such sites unless you have a lot of credits and don't have to click to earn them.

If you want higher open rates for your emails and ads, then keep your lists clean and send messages consistently. Avoid sites with low-active memberships and try to improve your copy. It will pay off with great results!

If your emails get less than 5% opens and you want to fix it then let me know, I can help. 

Thanks.