How Do I Increase Email Open Rates from 15% to 35% in HubSpot?
Going from a 15% open rate to a 35%+ open rate is absolutely achievable. With HubSpot Marketing Hub, you can combine better segmentation, stronger subject lines, optimized send-time strategy, and deliverability tuning to dramatically increase how many subscribers actually open and engage with your emails.
Low open rates are often the result of blended audiences, outdated lists, poor deliverability, or generic messaging. When you fix segmentation, relevance, and sender reputation—then layer in HubSpot's optimization tools—you create emails that subscribers actually look forward to opening. The jump from 15% to 35% is usually a strategy shift, not a volume shift.
High-Impact Ways to Boost Email Open Rates in HubSpot
The HubSpot Email Optimization Playbook
A structured approach for increasing email open rates from 15% to 35% using HubSpot tools and best practices.
Segment → Personalize → Optimize → Test → Deliver → Scale
- Clean and segment your list: Start with engagement-based lists (clickers, openers, recent visitors) and suppress unengaged contacts. Quality > quantity.
- Craft irresistible subject lines: Write 3–5 options per send. Test variations with curiosity hooks, problem framing, or direct value. Shorter tends to win.
- Use personalization and tokens: Add first name, company name, recent downloads, or industry to subject lines or preview text when relevant. Don’t overdo it.
- Send at the optimal time: Use HubSpot’s smart send features to deliver emails when each contact is historically most active. This alone can produce a 5–10% lift in open rate.
- Fix deliverability issues: Ensure all authentication records are configured. Reduce image-heavy designs, avoid spammy keywords, and maintain consistent sending patterns.
- A/B test continuously: Test subject lines, preview text, from name, and send time. The right “from” name alone can improve open rates by 10–20%.
Email Engagement Maturity Matrix in HubSpot
| Dimension | Stage 1 — Batch & Blast | Stage 2 — Segmented Email | Stage 3 — Intelligent Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segmentation | One big list for everything. | Basic persona and industry segmentation. | Behavior + intent segments driven by real-time HubSpot data. |
| Subject Lines | Generic or promotional. | Occasional testing. | Data-driven subject line frameworks and continuous A/B testing. |
| Send Time | Same time for everyone. | Manual adjustments. | Smart send-time optimization per contact. |
| Deliverability | Issues go unnoticed. | Some monitoring. | Proactive deliverability tuning with authentication + reputation management. |
| Personalization | None or overdone. | Basic personalization tokens. | Contextual personalization tied to behavior and stage. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 35% open rate realistic?
Absolutely. Businesses that segment well, clean their lists regularly, and optimize subject lines often exceed 35–40% open rates, especially when sending to engaged audiences.
How often should I clean my email list?
Ideally every 90 days. Remove or suppress contacts with no opens or clicks, and re-engage them through a sunset workflow before permanently suppressing them.
Does using personalization really help?
Yes—when used intentionally. A relevant mention of role, industry, or recent behavior can lift open rates, but avoid overdoing it with excessive tokens that feel automated or creepy.
What’s the biggest driver of open rates?
Segmentation. Sending the right message to the right people at the right time impacts open rate more than any subject line trick.
Boost Your Open Rates and Reignite Subscriber Engagement
Use HubSpot Marketing Hub to deliver targeted, timely, and personalized email that your audience actually wants to open.
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