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The Open-Rate Drop Wasn’t Just the Subject Line
The first two emails fell from 53.2% and 46% opens to 25.6% and 27.6% after the funnel and subscriber mix changed.
When our first two funnel emails dropped from 53.2% and 46% opens to 25.6% and 27.6%, my first instinct was to fix the emails.
But the copy was not the only variable. Roughly 30% of the newer subscribers were coming through Kit recommendations. We expected those readers to be colder than people who had deliberately found us through the site.
I had mixed an audience problem with a copy problem
If I rewrote the subject line and the open rate improved, I still would not know why. The useful test was to duplicate the first two emails, keep the message stable, and compare cohorts by acquisition source.
Steal this
- Split subscribers by where they joined.
- Send each cohort the same first two emails.
- Compare opens, clicks, and unsubscribes before changing the copy.
Averages hide the diagnosis. Segment first. Rewrite second.