Way back in the dim and distant past (well last year) I wrote an article about email open rates and how unreliable they are.

But despite the fact that one or two others in the business did the same (I cite the very best analysis of open rates in my article) nothing much changed.

But now a research paper in the States has come out and said that open rates are just a mess. Each approach is different from the others, and each one under-estimates the number of opens that it gets.

There is talk of unifying open rates, but that is probably going to be a long way off. Until then, it is best to ensure that you only compare open rates using the same technology – not from one supplier to another.

My article on open rates is on http://www.hamilton-house.com/free%20reports/OpenRates.htm

The latest cry for uniformity is at http://www.marketingvox.com/industry-calls-for-standardized-email-metrics-046107/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mv&utm_medium=textlink

Tony Attwood