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Why Emails Go Unread

ByAndrew Davis Updated on
Woman typing an email
Photo by Andrew Lozovyi / Depositphotos

PR professionals need to communicate in ways that actually reach the intended audience. With email as a platform, that goal can be harder than it sounds. People might receive hundreds of emails every day, and they’re not going to read every single one; as many as 34% of emails are left unread. It’s not impossible to get people to read emails, but it takes some planning. These tips can help. 

Reasons Your Emails Go Unread 

There are several reasons that people do not read emails (or stop opening them at all), including: 

  • Their inboxes are buried, and they can’t catch up 
  • The subject line feels irrelevant to them personally 
  • They received the email at the wrong time 
  • The spam filters keep them from seeing messages 

Although getting through to readers can be difficult with email, it is still one of the most important methods of business communication. Nearly everyone uses email, and more than half of people check their emails before they do anything else in the morning. 

How to Improve Your Read Rates 

When people have more than 1,000 messages sitting in their inboxes, on average, the trick is to stand out. Appropriate messaging at the right time can make the difference between a PR message that resonates with the audience, and one that wastes away. 

Protect Deliverability First

Even the best-written email will go unread if it never reaches the inbox, so maintaining strong sender reputation, clean lists, proper authentication, and consistent sending practices is essential for avoiding spam filters and improving deliverability.

Start Strong 

To increase open rates, PR professionals need to start strong. If the email is the sizzling steak, then the subject line is the tantalizing smell that drives people to the door. The subject line should be clear, and personalized when possible. It may help to think of the messaging as an elevator pitch. Getting to the point without hyperbole can help the reader assess what they are likely to find once they click inside. 

Write to the Audience 

Different messages require unique approaches to engage each reader. Professional emails sent to media outlets require a totally different style of writing than a casual message to a colleague about an upcoming deadline on an SMS engagement platform. The tone and information should reflect these distinctions. Messaging should support the brand strategy but also appeal to the reader. Personalization can increase readership, but only if it is accurate and appropriate to the content. 

Keep It Simple 

Most people spend about 10 seconds reading an email before they make a decision about it, so simplicity is key. These practices can promote readership for busy professionals: 

  • Focus subject matter to one or two points 
  • Identify main goals from the beginning 
  • Limit wordcount to 100 words or fewer, when possible 
  • Avoid walls of text that make it difficult to scan 

Some messages will fall outside these limits, but they should be set on a case-by-case basis. 

Time It Right 

Since people might receive more than 100 emails every day, sending messages at the right time is important to get ahead of the flood. People are more likely to open emails they receive on Tuesdays, sent during regular office hours. Frequency is also an important factor. PR emails sent to organizations might not be read or processed right away, so they may need a few days to catch up. Sending a follow-up after a few days can help to ensure that the message does not get lost in the shuffle. 

Monitor Bounced Emails

A high bounce rate can do real damage to email campaigns over time. When emails consistently bounce, internet service providers start to flag the sender as untrustworthy. That leads to more messages landing in spam folders, even for recipients who would have opened them. Choosing a reliable email marketing platform with built-in bounce monitoring and list management features can help businesses maintain sender reputation and improve overall email deliverability.

Hard bounces happen when an email is sent to an address that doesn’t exist or has been permanently deactivated. Soft bounces are temporary failures, like a full inbox or a server issue, but repeated soft bounces to the same address can eventually carry the same consequences. Both types of bounced emails chip away at sender reputation if left unchecked.

Cleaning email lists regularly and removing addresses that bounce helps protect deliverability before it becomes a bigger problem. Most email platforms offer bounce tracking, and reviewing those reports after each send can catch issues early. Even a small percentage of bounced emails can compound quickly if no one’s paying attention.

Work on Improvements 

As with most aspects of professional work, improving email readership may require some adjustment over time. Setting some goals and metrics to measure them can help. For example, a PR professional might work on improving their response rate in volume and frequency and see if changes to email practices meet that goal. If they do, the metrics become validation for future messaging. If they continue to fall flat, then perhaps another change is in order. Using reliable email validation tools can further improve campaign performance by removing invalid addresses, reducing bounce rates, and helping ensure your messages reach genuine recipients.

Getting people to read their emails can be challenging, but good email practices can help. By finding the right tone, frequency, and content to share, PR professionals can increase their email readership and achieve their communication goals. For students and young professionals entering the field, data on email engagement trends can provide valuable insight into when and how to reach audiences most effectively, helping to build strong habits early in their careers. 

SOURCES 

Andrew Davis is the Vice President of Marketing at TextUs, a SaaS-based texting platform. He leads demand generation, marketing operations, and brand strategy, driving growth through data-driven marketing and inbound strategies. 

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