Reason 1: You Are Blasting Your Entire Database
The single biggest reason your open rates are in the gutter is that you are sending every campaign to everyone on your list. Blasting an unsegmented database ruins your sender reputation and wastes your marketing budget on people who have completely checked out.
You need to build an engaged segment in Klaviyo immediately. In my books, this is your baseline standard for regular campaign sends. It ensures you only hit people who actively want to hear from you.
Here is the exact criteria I use to set up an engaged segment for ecommerce stores:
- Opened an email at least once in the last 90 days, OR
- Clicked an email at least once in the last 90 days, OR
- Active on site at least once in the last 90 days, OR
- Placed an order at least once in the last 90 days, OR
- Subscribed to your newsletter in the last 30 days, AND
- Profile is not suppressed
Notice that these conditions use 'OR' rather than 'AND'. You want to capture anyone who has shown signs of life across any of these touchpoints over the past 90 days.
How Sender Reputation and Deliverability Work
Deliverability is not complicated. Major mailbox providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook assign your domain a sender reputation based on how recipients interact with your mail.
When you send campaigns that nobody opens, clicks, or interacts with, your reputation drops. Mailbox providers notice this disinterest and route your future messages straight into the spam or promotions tab. When you send to an engaged segment with high open and click rates, the opposite happens. Your messages land in the primary inbox.
There is also an immediate financial benefit. Most platforms charge you based on active subscriber tiers. Trimming unengaged profiles from your regular campaign sends lowers your monthly ESP bill instantly.
Reason 2: You Bought a Contact List
Buying an email list online is a terrible idea. It is the classic rookie mistake, and it destroys your account before you even get started.
Purchased lists are loaded with spam traps, invalid addresses, and people who never asked to hear from you. The moment you send a campaign to those addresses, your spam complaint rate spikes, your bounce rate goes through the roof, and your account will likely get suspended.
That is a massive mistake. You must grow your list organically through high-converting sign-up forms, checkout consent, and genuine incentives. A list of 1,000 opted-in subscribers will always generate more revenue than a purchased list of 50,000 cold contacts.
Reason 3: You Went Silent for Months
Email marketing requires consistency. If you let your list sit cold for 2, 3, or 6 months without sending a single campaign, your subscribers will forget who you are.
When you suddenly restart your email marketing out of the blue, those subscribers look at your name, wonder how you got their address, and hit the spam button. Even if they simply ignore the message, the sudden influx of unengaged sends tanks your domain reputation overnight.
If you have been inactive for more than 90 days, do not blast the whole list. You need to warm up the account gradually by starting with your most recent buyers and subscribers before scaling back up.
Final Thoughts
Fixing low open rates comes down to basic email hygiene. Build a 90-day engaged segment, stop sending to unengaged contacts, and maintain a consistent sending schedule so subscribers do not forget your brand.
Ready to Fix Your Deliverability?
If your open rates have dropped and you want our team to audit your segments and campaign strategy, check out our account audit service.
